Kosher restaurant

A kosher restaurant is an establishment that serves food that complies with Jewish dietary laws. These businesses, which also include diners, cafes, pizzarias, fast food, and cafeterias, and are frequently in listings together with kosher bakeries, butchers, caterers, and other similar places, differ from "kosher style" establishments in that they operate under rabbinical supervision, which requires that the laws of "kashrut", as well as certain other Jewish laws, must be observed. Such locations must be closed during Shabbat and Jewish holidays if under Jewish ownership.

In most cases, the location is limited to serving exclusively either dairy or meat foods. But some types of establishments, such as delicatessens, frequently serve both, kept in separate areas.

Kosher restaurants exist in many cities that have Jewish communities. In cities with large Jewish populations, the choices in kosher dining available may be quite large. In the United States, New York City has the highest number of kosher restaurants, and in Canada, Toronto has the most. In cities with smaller Jewish populations, kosher dining is often limited to just a single establishment. Some cities do not have any kosher dine-in facilities, but the small communities have other arrangements for Jewish residents to obtain readymade kosher meals and other types of food that may be hard to obtain kosher otherwise.

Common types of food

Unlike in the general population, where many restaurants and fast food businesses specialize in a particular type of food, many kosher establishments have a variety of different types of food popular among Jews.

Pizza is a popular food served at kosher restaurants, but kosher pizza shops typically serve Middle Eastern cuisine, such as falafel, and other foods that can be served with dairy, such as fish.

Bagel shops are also common, serving bagels with lox and cream cheese and a variety of other spreads. At kosher bagel shops, salads may also be served. Some locations also have the menus common at pizza shops.

Kosher "fleishig" (meat) establishements often serve meat dishes popular within Middle Eastern cuisine, such as Shawarma, along with common American fast food staples like hot dogs and hamburgers. Fish may also be served at fleishig restaurants, though it cannot be served on the same plate as meat.

Kosher Chinese restaurants are also common. These are mostly either fleishig or vegetarian (serving only "pareve" food). In recent years, a tradition has developed in Jewish communities to eat Chinese food on Christmas day (and Christmas Eve), as many Chinese restaurants are open on these days [ [http://www.fortunecookiechronicles.com/blog/2007/12/25/christmas-chinese-food-and-a-movie-an-american-jewish-tradition/ Christmas, Chinese food and a movie: An American Jewish Tradition | The Fortune Cookie Chronicles ] ] .

Many kosher delicatessens exist that serve both "milchig" (dairy) and meat foods that are kept separate. The dairy items include various sliced cheeses and cream cheese, and the meats include cold cuts and meat spreads. Many pareve items and fish items are also served, such as smoked whitefish salad and herring.

Kosher franchises

While most kosher restaurants are small businesses operating only a single location, some operate multiple locations within a city (often in New York City).

Some corporate restaurants and fast food chains operate kosher locations in places with Jewish populations. In Israel, kosher Burger King, KFC, McDonalds, and Sbarro franchises can be found. In the United States, there are many kosher Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme [ [http://www.forward.com/articles/no-donuts-no-peace-cry-kosher-protesters/ ‘No Donuts, No Peace,’ Cry Kosher Protesters - Forward.com" ] ] and Subway locations [ [http://www.koshernexus.org/?p=775 Subway Goes Kosher In Brooklyn ] ] [ [http://www.kcjc.com/articles/2007/10/25/news/c.kckc.news.kosher.subway.opens.txt Kosher Subway opens to rave reviews - Kansas City Jewish Chronicle ] ] . Some of these locations must modify their typical menus in order to comply with Jewish dietary laws.

Baskin Robbins ice cream is kosher at all locations, certified by the Vaad Hakashrut of Massachusetts. A few of the flavors served at Baskin Robbins are not kosher, and a sign found at all locations that certifies the products as kosher indicates which flavors are not.

Rita's Water Ice operates some locations under rabbinical supervision. Some of these locations can be found in the U.S. states of Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania [ [http://www.shamash.org/kosher/search.php Shamash Kosher Database: Null Request ] ] .

Other types of kosher businesses

Many cities with Jewish communties also have kosher grocery stores. These can range in size from a corner store, similar in style to a delicatessen, or a full-sized supermarket similar in appearance to a big box store. Corporate supermarket chains also sometimes have "kosher" sections inside their locations in Jewish areas that specialize in food that is popular among Orthodox Jews.

Kosher cafeterias and food stands can sometimes be found at college and university campuses, Jewish community centers, hospitals, professional sports stadiums, and some tourist attractions. In some of these locations where special stands do not exist, prepackaged kosher sandwiches and other meals are offered, or can be pre-ordered. Some airlines also offer kosher meals when ordered in advance.

Controversies

With kashrut being a very sensitive issue, there have been many controversies surrounding the kosher dining industry.

Deception

In 2006, the owner of a kosher meat distributor in Monsey, New York was found to be passing off non-kosher meat as kosher [ [http://www.forward.com/articles/pot-bust-meat-scam-hit-kosher-companies/ Pot Bust, Meat Scam Hit Kosher Companies - Forward.com" ] ] . This resulted in residents of the local community needing to "kasher" their kitchens [ [http://www.jewishpress.com/displayContent_new.cfm?mode=a&sectionid=20&contentid=19411&contentName=My%20Machberes%20-%20The%20kashrus%20of%20chickens My Machberes - The kashrus of chickens ] ] .

Errors

In 1990, a planned kosher fundraising meal aboard a ship on the Baltimore Inner Harbor contained non-kosher food as the result of an error [Baltimore Jewish Times, "A Kosher Fundraiser Meal Turns Out To Be Treif" ] . The mix-up was caused by a kosher and a non-kosher caterer that were under the same ownership.

Dropping of certification

Occasionally, an establishment operating as kosher will make the choice to drop its certification and become non-kosher.

One such instance was a Dunkin Donuts in Rockville, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, D.C.), which made the decision to be non-kosher in 2007 in order to offer menu items sold at non-kosher Dunkin Donuts locations (such as ham). This led to a protest [ [http://www.forward.com/articles/no-donuts-no-peace-cry-kosher-protesters/ ‘No Donuts, No Peace,’ Cry Kosher Protesters - Forward.com" ] ] . Dunkin Donuts still has three kosher locations in the Greater Washington area.

Kosher laws

In some U.S. states and other jurisdictions, laws have been passed that mandate establishments that claim to be kosher to actually comply with Jewish dietary laws. These jurisdictions sometimes employ rabbis to aid in enforcing these laws. Some of these laws, including one in Brooklyn, New York, have been overturned by high courts on constitutional grounds [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E0DE143CF937A3575BC0A9669C8B63 Judge Voids Law Certifying Kosher Food - New York Times ] ] .

ee also

*Kosher style - restaurants that mimic some aspects of kosher laws, but are not actually kashrut.

External links

* [http://www.shamash.org/kosher/ Shamash kosher restaurant database] - A list of all kosher restaurants, cafes, diners, fast food, stores, and caterers around the world

References