A Jewish dairy restaurant, Kosher dairy restaurant, [1] [2] dairy lunchroom, dairy deli, milkhik or milchig restaurant is a type of generally lacto-ovo vegetarian/pescatarian kosher restaurant, luncheonette or eat-in diner in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, particularly American Jewish cuisine and the cuisine of New York City.
Due to the strict rules for separating milk and meat in Jewish law, dairy or milchig (Yiddish : מילכיק) restaurants evolved as an alternative to Jewish delicatessens which specialized in meat (fleischig). [3] They are generally ovo-lacto-pescatarian even though they may be referred to as "vegetarian" or "vegetarian and dairy restaurants". [4] Descended from the milchhallen or "milk pavilions" of Europe, they began appearing in the Jewish immigrant community of the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, where there were at one time hundreds of dairy restaurants. [5] [6] [7] Dairy kosher places were also found in Chicago and Toronto, [8] [9] as well as the East End of London. [10] [11] Dairy restaurant menus include items such as potato latkes, gefilte fish, matzo brei, vegetarian (milkhiker) borscht, kugel, protose (a synthetic vegetable meat substitute), pierogies, milk toast, poppy seed cakes, buttermilk, cheese blintzes and kreplach, as well as American dishes such as scrambled eggs or tuna salad. [4] [12] [13]
The rise of New York's dairy restaurants was aided significantly by the emergence of commercial refrigeration and the community complaints about expensive retail kosher butchers, which culminated in "meat strikes", such as the 1902 kosher meat boycott. The butchers blamed the Beef Trust, shippers, inspectors, and the kosher slaughter industry for raising the prices of kosher beef, causing New York housewives to riot on the Lower East Side and in Williamsburg proclaiming that they would live on fish. It led to citywide kosher meat shortages, and refrigeration made fresh milk and cream affordable. The growth in vegetarian diets, as promoted by progressive Jewish thinkers, also inspired a turn to dairy meals. [13]
Notable examples frequented by Jewish immigrants and American Jews, among others, include B&H Dairy and Ratner's. [14] As of 2024, B&H is still operating as one of the few, last remaining Jewish dairy restaurants in New York's former Yiddish theater district, and is run by an Egyptian Muslim and Polish Catholic couple. [15] Gangster Meyer Lansky frequented Ratner's, which named a bar after him. [16] [17] According to one story, Leon Trotsky was said to have been particularly fond of a Jewish dairy restaurant called Triangle Dairy in the Bronx, whose waiters were Russian emigrés. Trotsky refused to tip after eating as a matter of principle, insisting that "tipping was demeaning to the dignity of a workingman, and that a person should get a regular salary, enough to live on, and not have to depend on tips". He also tried to persuade other customers to refuse to tip for the same reason. This in turn led to verbal abuse, poor service, and one incident where waiters intentionally spilled hot soup on him. [18] A restaurant known as Steinberg's on the Upper West Side was beloved by writers and theater people and a refuge for Zero Mostel when he was blacklisted. [19] Isaac Bashevis Singer, a noted Jewish vegetarian, was said to favor the Famous Dairy Restaurant on West 72nd St. [20] [21]
More recently, in Los Angeles, Steven Spielberg's mother opened an aptly named restaurant, The Milky Way. [23] In Boro Park, New York City, a 2007 write-up highlighted pizza and donuts among the dairy restaurants. [24] In 2022, New York's B&H Dairy received a grant (from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express) to redo its landmark facade. [25] Israel has more than a dozen major kosher agencies to certify restaurants; for example the US-based Orthodox Union supervises two milchig restaurants. [26] In Jerusalem, several major hotels have dairy kosher restaurants, including Inbal, Leonardo Plaza, and Ramada. [27] Israeli chef Meir Adoni opened a kosher restaurant in Singapore, choosing dairy due to the difficulty in obtaining kosher meat. [28] Adoni stated that, in Singapore, "Our target market is everyone. The kosher certificate is just a bonus. It doesn't affect the food quality. Quite the opposite." [29]
Particularly in more observant denominations of Judaism, dairy restaurants are usually deemed kosher by virtue of supervision by a kosher certification agency. Some Orthodox Jewish authorities apparently treat strictly vegan restaurants as kosher, absent a certificate. [31] In 2023, vegetarian restaurants gained a vote of approval by Conservative Judaism's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, which incorporates the movement's leniency for cheese made with animal rennet. [32]
Kashrut is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the term that in Sephardi or Modern Hebrew is pronounced kashér, meaning "fit". Food that may not be consumed, however, is deemed treif, also spelled treyf. In case of objects the opposite of kosher is pasúl.
The Reuben sandwich is a North American grilled sandwich composed of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing, grilled between slices of rye bread. It is associated with kosher-style delicatessens but is not kosher, as it combines meat and cheese.
Schmaltz is rendered (clarified) chicken or goose fat. It is an integral part of traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, where it has been used for centuries in a wide array of dishes, such as chicken soup, latkes, matzah brei, chopped liver, matzah balls, fried chicken, and many others, as a cooking fat, spread, or flavor enhancer.
Kosher foods are foods that conform to the Jewish dietary regulations of kashrut. The laws of kashrut apply to food derived from living creatures and kosher foods are restricted to certain types of mammals, birds and fish meeting specific criteria; the flesh of any animals that do not meet these criteria is forbidden by the dietary laws. Furthermore, kosher mammals and birds must be slaughtered according to a process known as shechita and their blood may never be consumed and must be removed from the meat by a process of salting and soaking in water for the meat to be permissible for use. All plant-based products, including fruits, vegetables, grains, herbs and spices, are intrinsically kosher, although certain produce grown in the Land of Israel is subjected to other requirements, such as tithing, before it may be consumed.
Jewish cuisine refers to the worldwide cooking traditions of the Jewish people. During its evolution over the course of many centuries, it has been shaped by Jewish dietary laws (kashrut), Jewish festivals and holidays, and traditions centred around Shabbat. Jewish cuisine is influenced by the economics, agriculture, and culinary traditions of the many countries where Jewish communities have settled and varies widely throughout the entire world.
In kashrut, the dietary laws of Judaism, pareve or parve is a classification of food that contain neither dairy nor meat ingredients. Food in this category includes all items that grow from the ground, fish, eggs, and non-biological edible items.
Richard H. Schwartz is a professor emeritus of mathematics at the College of Staten Island; president emeritus of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA); and co-founder and coordinator of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV). He is best known as a Jewish vegetarian activist and advocate for animal rights in the United States and Israel.
Kishka or kishke refers to various types of sausage or stuffed intestine with a filling made from a combination of meat and meal, often grain or potato. The dish is popular across Eastern Europe as well as with immigrant communities from those areas. It is also eaten by Ashkenazi Jews who prepare their version according to kashrut dietary laws.
Kosher style refers to Jewish cuisine—most often that of Ashkenazi Jews—which may or may not actually be kosher. It is a stylistic designation rather than one based on the laws of kashrut. In some U.S. states, the use of this term in advertising is illegal as a misleading term under consumer protection laws.
The Islamic dietary laws (halal) and the Jewish dietary laws are both quite detailed, and contain both points of similarity and discord. Both are the dietary laws and described in distinct religious texts: an explanation of the Islamic code of law found in the Quran and Sunnah and the Jewish code of laws found in the Torah, Talmud and Shulchan Aruch.
A kosher restaurant or kosher deli is an establishment that serves food that complies with Jewish dietary laws (kashrut). These businesses, which also include diners, cafés, pizzerias, fast food, and cafeterias, and are frequently in listings together with kosher bakeries, butchers, caterers, and other similar places, differ from kosher-style businesses in that they operate under rabbinical supervision, which requires the observance of the laws of kashrut, as well as certain other Jewish laws, including the separation of meat and dairy.
The mixture of meat and dairy is forbidden according to Jewish law. This dietary law, basic to kashrut, is based on two verses in the Book of Exodus, which forbid "boiling a (goat) kid in its mother's milk" and a third repetition of this prohibition in Deuteronomy.
Tza'ar ba'alei chayim, literally "suffering of living creatures", is a Jewish commandment which bans causing animals unnecessary suffering. This concept is not clearly enunciated in the written Torah, but was accepted by the Talmud as being a biblical mandate. It is linked in the Talmud from the biblical law requiring people to assist in unloading burdens from animals.
A kosher airline meal is an airline meal that conforms to the standards of kashrut. Many airlines offer the option of kosher meals to passengers if ordered in advance. These not only contain food that is kosher, but also other features to aid observant Jews, such as copies of Tefilat HaDerech and prayers that are recited before and after eating and bread on which the mezonot blessing is recited, thereby enabling observant Jews to consume the bread without washing hands.
Jewish vegetarianism is a commitment to vegetarianism that is connected to Judaism, Jewish ethics or Jewish identity. Jewish vegetarians often cite Jewish principles regarding animal welfare, environmental ethics, moral character, and health as reasons for adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Ethiopian Jewish cuisine is the cuisine of the Beta Israel. The cuisine of the Ethiopian Jews is similar to the cuisine of other Ethiopians, with some variations.
Orthodox Union Kosher, known as OU Kosher or OUK, is a kosher certification agency based in New York City. It was founded in 1923 by Abraham Goldstein. It is the certification agency of about 70% of kosher food worldwide, and is the largest of the "Big Five" major certification agencies, which include OK, Kof-K, Star-K, and CRC.
Kosher by ingredient is an approach to observing the laws of kashrut that determines whether a food is kosher or not based on ingredient, rather than by the presence of a hechsher. This approach has fallen out of favor with Orthodox Jews, but is practiced by many Conservative Jews as well as by some Reform Jews and Reconstructionist Jews.
B&H Dairy is a kosher Jewish dairy restaurant or luncheonette in the East Village of Manhattan in New York City. The original owners, Abie Bergson and Jack Heller, later Sol Hausman, opened it in 1938 when the area was known for the Yiddish Theatre District. Bergson was an aspiring actor, and Molly Picon and Maurice Schwartz were patrons. Bergson sold the luncheonette in the 1970s and it went bankrupt in 1978. Bob Sherman, a partner in a construction firm, bought it. A 1940s style lunch counter B&H serves cheese blintzes with sour cream, borscht, matzo brei, and other kosher dairy Jewish cuisine known as milchik. It is owned and operated by an Egyptian Muslim and Catholic Polish couple, Fawzy and Alexandra Abdelwahed. It was closed for a time due to a gas explosion and a fire but reopened. It was noted in an interview by Lily Tomlin.
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