On Tuesday, I attended the Finals for the 2007 Simply Manischewitz Cookoff, here in NY. Thousands of entries were whittled down to 6 contestants from across the country:

• Evan Levy from Danville,CA, Southwestern Potato Kugel
• Joy Devor from Far Rockaway, NY, Fantastic Flounder Rolls
• Joe Carver from Philadelphia, PA, Falafel Pizza
• Julie Hession from Las Vegas, NV, Beef Tenderloin with Marsala Mushroom Sauce
• Greg Fontenot from The Woodlands, TX, Chicken in Balsamic Cherry Sauce
• Tracy Rapp from Memphis, TN, Southern Smothered Burgers

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I had this final bit of coverage of the ASBEE BBQ Competition that I was holding on to, but today seems like a brisket-day, so here it is. The BBQ Railroad team, from the Baron Hirsch Men’s Club were the winners in the brisket category. Here were their responses (through David Schlesinger) to my post-game questionnaire:
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Continuing my follow-up coverage of the ASBEE BBQ, here’s a transcript of an e-mail interview I did with this Barney Abis - the pit-boss of The Meat Machers - this year’s ASBEE/BBQ Grand Champions. Barney and his teammate Steve Pepper came in first in the Ribs category.

Tell us about your team. How long have you been cooking together? Have you won before?

I have entered this contest the last 4 or 5 years. I do it for the fun of it. In fact, some years I have not even entered my meat into the judging. Too many friends coming by to nosh. One year I placed in beans, but I don’t remember if it was 1st or 2nd and I could never duplicate the recipe if I tried. A lot of improvising. My winning entry this year was ribs. This is my first time cooking with Steve Pepper. We have been friends since we were children. Since my partner from last year joined his son’s team, I asked Steve if he wanted to do the BBQ. The rest is now the stuff of legend. Incidentally, my partner from last year placed 2nd in ribs - I taught him everything he knows!

Describe your winning entry. How did you come up with the recipe?

Again, my recipe was improvised. Nothing written down and nothing measured. My method for beef ribs involves first scoring the back lengthwise and removing the membrane and then rubbing down with a dry rub, squeezing a little lemon over them and adding a little vinegar and sealing in a 2 gallon zip lock bag. This is done two or three days before the actual contest. This tenderizes the meat some. I then individually wrap each slab in aluminum foil and put on the BBQ grill for about 3 hours along with some water soaked hickory wood smoking on the coals, rotate them about every 30 to 45 minutes. When they are almost falling off of the bone I take them off of the grill, pitch the foil and fat, and rub them down with a rub that is primarily dark brown sugar with cumin, red pepper or chili powder, garlic powder, and whatever else looks interesting to throw in. The combination of sweet and spicy is good. I then put the ribs directly on the grill to glaze them. After only 5 or 10 minutes I take them off and slather some sauce on them. I use any decent commercial sauce and add the dry rub mentioned above to the sauce. This year we also added some honey. I then let the sauce cook on for a few minutes and they are ready to go. I have made them many times and have never done it the same way twice I am sure.

Does your team BBQ together throughout the year?

I don’t BBQ with friends during the year, however, I make the ribs on most of the traditional American holidays, July 4th, Labor Day, Memorial Day etc. I just enjoy cooking them out by the pool. My friends and mishpachah love these ribs as in Memphis we are in the land of treif and beef ribs are hard to come by. Beef ribs are more Texas style bbq. Memphis is definitely pork.

What does competing at the ASBEE BBQ mean to you?

Competing at the ASBEE means a couple of things to me. Camaraderie, fun, a few L’Chayims, and supporting our shul. It is nice because the entire Jewish community in Memphis comes together.

Any BBQ secrets, tips, advice?

My secret to bbq besides slow cooking is have fun, a few shots of single malt scotch and don’t take it too seriously.

It has taken me much longer than I had planned to get these photos up, but here they are: My BBQ Photos.

As a bonus, here’s BBQ coverage from other sources:

• Photos from Aryeh Samberg, ASBEE Cantor and Youth Director
• Photos from Katherine and David Weingart
• Local news coverage

A quick word on the Weingarts - David and Katherine quietly came from Virginia to ‘observe’ the BBQ. Over Shabbos they were adopted by the ASBEE Community. We became friends, and they became honorary members of my team. You can see the “I (heart) NY” pins I stuck on them. When the BBQ committee was short one judge for the ‘ribs and beans’ category, Katherine got drafted. Aren’t you jealous? They’re planning to come back to compete, next year.

Also, here’s the list of the winning teams at the BBQ:

• Best Beans - The Cattle Menshes
• Best Ribs - The Meat Machers
• Best Brisket - The Baron Hirsch Men’s Club / BBQ Railroad
• Best Booth - Memphis Area Jewish Young Couples / Harry Potroast and the Sorcerer’s Sauce
• Best Name - Kollel Torah Metzion / Abe & Sarah’s Bed & Brisket
• Grand Champion - The Meat Machers

My favorite team name? Beans Make You Sphard.

The winners of the 2007 ASBEE-Kroger Kosher BBQ Competition were announced at 3:15pm. I didn’t win. I didn’t place. That’s OK, because I had an amazing time. I made many friends - the ASBEE community is comprised of some of the friendliest, most welcoming people I have ever met. This weekend, I discovered that my self-taught, NY-style BBQ is at least as good as BBQ that you’ll find in Memphis, Tennessee - and I tasted lots of that delicious BBQ today. Hopefully, this won’t be the last they hear of me. Incidentally, my team of one was called ‘I flew in from Brooklyn, NY for this BBQ and boy are my arms tired’. We’re looking for recruits for next year. I’ll be back home tomorrow night, and I’ll work on getting some of my photos up as soon as I can.

As I write this, teams around me are preparing their briskets, ribs and beans. Luckily, ASBEE has wireless internet. Last minute adjustments are being made, tasting and seasoning is going on all around. The cooking starts at 6:00am tomorrow - don’t expect any live-blogging tomorrow. My beans are done and in the cooler. My rib-glaze is done and in the cooler. I’m eating some of the left-over ingredients (pineapple), in lieu of dinner. Wish me luck….

I have a few hours free before Shabbos, so I’ll tell you a little more about what’s going on here. As a side note, I did what will likely be my last bit of sightseeing in Memphis (The Mississippi River Museum and The Memphis Cotton Museum). I also took a few minutes to stop by the kosher aisles at the local Kroger - the major sponsor of the BBQ.

There were no BBQ related activities today, but I’ll elaborate more on what happened last night. (Again, when I get home, I’ll provide photos to make it all clear.) When registering for the BBQ, everyone had to submit an ingredient list that covered all the ingredients you need, for all your recipes. (The categories to compete in are brisket, ribs and BBQ beans, in case you forgot.) The $125 application fee covered the purchase of all your ingredients - minus the meat. Upon entering the shul social hall, each team’s supplies and ingredients were set out on tables. First order of business was to insure that all your ingredients were present. A community table contains some of the more common ingredients (spices, sauces, juices, etc.) and each team is expected to take from that to fulfill their needs. Any shortages or missing items are reported to a volunteer, and it’s on to meat selection.

Teams can pre-order as many briskets and rib racks as they want when they sign up. On orientation night, a team representative lines up at the outdoor, walk-in cooler, where they will get a chance to choose which briskets or ribs they want. As I said, meat isn’t included in the application fee, so at this point teams pay the shul for the meat they have chosen.

Cooking is not required on orientation night, but many teams do. The most common preparation that takes place is the marinating or dry-rubbing of meat. I threw together my dry-rub, covered my brisket and ribs with it, then sealed them in foil and put them back in the cooler, with a team-name tag.

I wasn’t expecting to do any cooking last night, but I got caught up in the frenzy. Unfortunately, the shul kitchen doesn’t expand when more teams apply to compete - and this year has the largest number of teams, ever. Fortunately, many people are working on tasks that don’t require cooking, so they can work out in the shul social hall. I put together some of the ingredients for my grill-glaze. I’ll combine the components tomorrow night and finish their cooking. Before signing up, I was concerned that I wouldn’t know the right-way to prepare/cook for the competition - not anymore. Every method was represented. Some people were pre-cooking their meat, so they could just put a char on it on the day of the event. Some were slathering meat in marinades or dry-rubbing (I was one of them) and leaving them raw. Whatever preparing was done, at the end of the night every team wrapped their product in foil and put it back in the cooler.

I get a lot of questions about the BBQ-beans category. Each team is given a large can of Bush’s Vegetarian Baked Beans. The trick is to improve the beans by adding things - spices, seasonings, fruits, vegetables, whatever. You’re just trying to offer the judges the best baked-beans they even tasted.

There’s so much more to discuss, but it will have to wait for my next posts. I’ll leave you with a question - I seem to be marking myself as a fanatic, by traveling from NY to Memphis, just to cook in a BBQ competition. Are there more nuts like me out there? Would you come out here to compete? Next year will be the 20th annual BBQ, nudge, nudge. Thanks to all my supporters out there and have a good Shabbos.

I wish I could post some pictures for you, but my laptop doesn’t have the software for photo-editing. I’ll work on it when I get home. Sorry.

Anyway, my first full day in Memphis has come to an end. I started my day with some sightseeing (Graceland, The Peabody Ducks, The Rock & Soul Museum and the Belz Museum of Asian & Judaic Art). At 6:00pm, there was a BBQ Orientation, followed by our first cooking session. Before I go on, I need to clarify that I am working this competition alone - unfortunately, Jabbett wasn’t able to make it. Let me also explain that working this competition alone is sheer lunacy. Especially on your first time competing. I am so overwhelmed. As long as we’re all clear on that. (I won’t start whining here - the BBQ staff read this )

By 9:30pm I had selected my meat, insured that I had all my ingredients, put my dry rub on my meat and stored it in the fridge, and done a small part of my food prep. I still have much work to do. I’ll go into more detail when this weekend is over - right now I need to catch some Z’s.

The 19th-annual ASBEE/Kroger Kosher BBQ Competition takes place this Sunday, and I’m in Memphis to cover the action! I will be competing as well, so wish me luck. Stay tuned for updates….

I just received my registration packet for the 19th Annual ASBEE/Kroger Kosher BBQ Contest & Festival in Memphis, Tennessee. If you plan on being in the Memphis area for the weekend of October 21st, 2007, come out and cheer on team Kosherblog! (For now that’s just me and Jabbett, so we’ll need all the support we can get!) Teams can compete for Best Brisket, Best Ribs and Best BBQ Beans.

If you’d like to enter a team of your own, here are the parts of the registration packet:

• BBQ Team Manual (483K, PDF)
• Kosher Ingredient Pre-order Form (58K, PDF)
• Registration Form (41K, PDF)

Do two northerners (I won’t call us Yankees, out of respect for Jabbett’s sports loyalties) stand a chance, cooking BBQ in one of the BBQ capitals of the country? Stay tuned, and find out…

Kosher Blog aficionado Seth writes in with his review of Teaneck’s latest kosher joint, Smokey Joe’s BBQ (494 Cedar Lane, 201-836-RIBS, RCBC supervision).

When I first discovered that a kosher restaurant with honest-to-goodness barbecue was opening in the area, I was pretty excited. After watching way too many barbecue competitions on the Food Network for my own good — imagining all the while what a real smoked brisket might taste like — I finally had the chance to try some for myself. Let me preface by saying that I have never had “real” barbecue beyond my meager attempts at smoking ribs, brisket and chicken with my backyard grill.

The restaurant used to be a kosher pizza joint and the decor hasn’t really been updated, but the smell when we walked in was amazing. The air was filled with the sweet and smoky scent of hardwood wafting from the open kitchen (a nice touch), where the gleaming stainless steel smoker stood as centerpiece.

We were seated rather quickly for a party of eight on opening night. Instead of the normal chips-and-salsa or slaw-and-pickles you might get at other kosher restaurants, here we were served exceptional cornbread with an amazing and distinctive onion jam.

The kids at the table started with the Aztec Corn Soup — a little spicy for them, but the adults loved it — and then enjoyed foot-long hot dogs and fantastic chicken nuggets.

I ordered the barbecue sampler plate with ribs, brisket, chicken, very good cole slaw, and pesto-rubbed corn-on-the-cob. The ribs were pretty good, the brisket was better, and the chicken was amazing. Probably the best piece of chicken I’ve ever had — in fact, I’m eating the leftovers as I write and even a day later it tastes great. To top it off, at each table, they have a bottle of some of the best barbecue sauce I’ve tasted.

One pleasant surprise was the impressive number of vegetarian options on the menu. We mentioned this to the owner, who told us he used to be a vegetarian so he understands the plight. My wife — a vegetarian — got the barbecue tofu taco salad. Aside from the tofu being cold it was another hit.

The other dishes ordered at the table were the carnitas. They looked like pieces of meat and beans on Ritz Crackers; the presentation left a lot to be desired but they were pretty tasty. Otherwise, the brisket chili was very good and spicy, and their hamburger was descent.

Overall, the food was very good and I will definitely be returning. I enjoy spicy food but some of the dishes created by the Mexican chefs might be a bit too fiery for the unaccustomed palate. The owner noted that they were trying to play around with their spice mixture so they can adjust the heat without “dumbing down” the food.

As was expected on their opening night, the service at Smokey Joe’s wasn’t the greatest. Nevertheless, the owner was very accommodating, giving free guacamole to every table and even offering our neighboring table a free meal because their waiter forgot about them. He also encouraged everyone to give their honest input on the food and the service. If the owner can learn from these opening night hiccups, the restaurant is sure to be a success. I hope so because I’m going to need a constant supply of his smoked chicken.

Roving reviewer Ari is back with his take on a suburban Detroit curiosity.

I normally think reviewing pizza places is a waste — but Jerusalem Pizza of Southfield, MI is worth a mention.

After eating at Jerusalem Pizza a number of times, I’ve had the opportunity to try BBQ Chicken Pizza, Falafel Pizza, Mexican Pizza, Alaskan Pizza, Hawaiian Pizza, and a variety of others. If you check out the menu, you’ll notice that there are a number of other strange pizza offerings, including chulent and kishke, both of which I’ve heard are very good. In fact, first hand, I can say that most of the items served at Jerusalem Pizza are very good.

But is it “pizza?”

I’ve had bad pizza (Pizza Cave of Teaneck, NJ), mediocre pizza with good crust (Cafe Eilat of Brookline) and altogether excellent pizza (Jerusalem Pizza of Elizabeth, NJ). I’ve had overpriced pizza (Nut House of Silver Spring) and cheap pizza (Blue Cheese Pizza at Jabbett’s — free!). None of those places served a pizza that even vaguely resembles the item served by Jerusalem Pizza.

Jerusalem Pizza provides only three tables, so you will almost certainly be eating take out. The “pizzas” come in a familiar cardboard box, and look vaguely like traditional pizza. The crust is thick, crunchy, and a bit oily. The plain cheese pizza is mediocre.

But the specialty pizzas make Jerusalem Pizza stand out. In one notable example, BBQ sauce is layered with tofu chicken and cheese, while another layers corn, beans, and nachos. Tehina, falafel and olive oil? These pizzas offer a surprising variety to my jaded eyes. The thick crust is used as a vehicle to heap on toppings (frequently up to a half-inch mound).
The pizzas are too small, the crust is too thick, and everything costs too much. But I keep going back to Jerusalem Pizza because there are plenty of other pizza places if I just want a cheese pizza.

Congregation Nusach Hari B’nai Zion of St. Louis will be hosting its second-annual Kosher Chili Cookoff this Sunday, according to this press release. I’ve always wondered how to properly assure kashrut at such a community-wide event — not only do the organizers require that meat be purchased through the shul, and that their rabbi approve all other ingredients brought to the competition, but they even provide all the cookware and utensils.

For attendees, the $5 entrance fee will get you tasting rights until all the chili’s gone.

Once again, we welcome roving reviewer Ari — now relocated from Boston to the midwest — who offers us a comparative glimpse of kosher dining near his new home.

Milk and Honey, a restaurant located off the main entryway of the JCC of Metro Detroit, is under the supervision of the Vaad Harabonim of Greater Detroit. Equally important, the food was a cut above most other restaurants at which I’ve eaten.

This dairy restaurant provides a relatively narrow assortment of fish, pasta, and vegetarian dishes. The menu (Adobe PDF) is certainly a different approach than Rubin’s twelve-insert menu. The basic, simple treatment of the menu is reflected in the restaurant’s decor as well. Tables are angled so that you face your party, rather than your neighbors. (Emily and I discussed that Ta’am China would have managed to squeeze in about 40% more tables.) The feeling of privacy is compounded by an orzo-shaped bar that divides one side of the restaurant from another. It was nice to have some space, both on the table, and around us. Of course, space is cheaper in the midwest.

We started with Minestrone soup for Emily, and Mushroom Barley for me. Her soup had a deep tomato flavor, while mine was relatively bland. Mine was only mildly better than Tabatchnick’s, though it had a lot more solids. Emily’s would be worth ordering again.

Given that Emily and I try to eat high-fat/high-starch foods, we followed with twice-baked potato skins. These were amazing, with solid amounts of cheddar and sour cream, and fresh chives. (As a note, ketchup is delivered in a bowl, rather than in the bottle!)

It was too early for us to eat the full-size fish or pasta dishes, and they were out of the portabella mushrooms (for the portabella sandwich), so we each had main course salads. Emily’s caesar had real anchovies, fresh croutons, and a generous portion. My Greek had great feta chunks, beets, and a great-tasting mild dressing. I appreciated that neither of the salads were drenched, and both were truly fresh. Given that we visited on a Sunday, I sometimes get nervous ordering vegetables at restaurants…

Dessert was Tiramisu and Apple Pie! The pie slice was bigger than my face with caramel sauce and ice cream. Tiramisu is a dessert that I love, but is so hard to find. Milk and Honey’s version was in a martini glass, and was a cut above.

In summary, lunch was great. I didn’t like that they included the tip on the bill, but the service was polite, the food was excellent (other than my soup), and I got out for a four-course meal for $45 when all was said and done.

That said: Jabbett and I have debated why no restaurant has tried to capitalize on the foot traffic of the Newton JCC. It seems like a great captive business and family audience, in a decent Jewish neighborhood.

(Jabbett’s note: To suggest that the Newton JCC is in a “neighborhood” is overly generous, perched up on that hill in what could be Newton’s only “middle of nowhere.” I’d have no problem driving to the suburbs for a good kosher meal, but there are far livelier spots — with far greater concentrations of kosher Jews — to choose from.)

Steven I. Weiss reports the closing of the Village Crown, which he describes as the “best kosher restaurant, dollar-for-dollar, in New York City.” The Village Crown Group will continue to offer catering and takeout from its midtown location.

The press release is here.

Ari and Emily sent in the following report about their trip to Philadelphia. Enjoy!

We hit three restaurants - Chinese Vegetarian Kosher Restaraunt, Maccabeam, and Maxim (which I don’t believe has any relation to the magazine, as I didn’t see Tara Reid anywhere.).

Maccabeam, an Israeli-style grill which is about 8 blocks from the center of the historic downtown, came highly recommended. After locating the restaurant and entering somewhat dingy confines, we were pleasantly surprised by prompt table service. The metal tableware and ample seating stood in stark contrast to a meal at Rami’s. Despite being denied a few menu items because of the impending Fourth of July (”No Lafas or Lamb — our meat order didn’t come in”), E and I were quite happy with the food. We shared a steak and onions pita, and a shwarma pita. We were pleased that the salad in the pocket was fresh and tangy, with a notable amount of parsley and lemon juice that we both enjoyed. The meat in each of our pitas tasted pretty similar, although the schwarma dripped clear oil and the steak a tasty yellow substance. The french fries were really lousy. Don’t get those.

Chinese Kosher Vegetarian Restaurant, in Chinatown, gets respect for having a terrible name. Unfortunately, Cherry Street possesses a strong and unpleasant odor. Once inside, I was falsely seduced by the variety of wheat gluten dishes which included “pork” and a variety of “chicken” and “beef” efforts. I made the mistake of ordering the sweet and sour pork. It was well presented but disappointing, with balls of fried glutein smothered in a bottled sweet and sour sauce. E’s Tai Chin Chicken was awesome. It came with some weird jelly that we poked, and some crazy glutin blobs, but the sauce was tastier than anything “Uncle Ta’am” puts out. The soups were also interesting, with an unusually thick hot and sour broth. I enjoyed the vegetable (as opposed to meat) wontons in my soup, though they fell apart when touched. I would say that the restaurant merits a return visit, but I wish I had known to get one of the better dishes. Of course, for a total lunch cost of $13 for two people, including tip, whatever.

Maxim, a LARGE Israeli style restaurant next to our hotel, was a bit overwhelmed by our party of about 30 people. Since we all ordered at the same time, I don’t feel right really reviewing the quality of the food. The shwarma and beef kabob platters that we shared were solid, unspectacular examples of the genre, though we did find some undercooked chicken. The five people around me thought that the side of cilantro-flavored rice was spectacular. I thought the portions were small for the $14-18 price range.

The real highlight of Philly was the Kosher Experience in the ShopRite neighboring Maxim. This subsection of the store was as large as the Butcherie, and laid out in a less-threatening manner — the Butcherie should learn that high shelves intimidate shoppers, but I digress. We bought 79-cent bags of Bloomy’s candy, were shocked at $1.99 for Rubashkin Turkey Deli Slices, and drooled at the huge cheese selection. The wife and I planned to split a $7.99 rotisserie chicken for breakfast, but ultimately decided against it. Are the high real estate prices the reason that this can’t be replicated in Boston’s supermarkets?

DeGustibus Cooking School at Macy’s in NYC is having a series of 3 kosher cooking classses, starting next week.

Clearly Kosher
Series of 3 $240 or $85 per class if available

All food will be strictly Kosher

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2006 1:00 to 3:30PM
BILL SPITZ, the new executive chef of Levana demonstrates an early spring menu that emphasizes contemporary American dishes with some global influences.

TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 2006 1:00 to 3:30PM
ALEXANDRE PETARD, the executive chef of the recently opened La Carne Grill, formerly of the Box Tree, prepares some of his irresistible delicacies.

TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 2006 1:00 to 3:30PM
JOSÉ MIREILLES, owner, executive chef of the venerable Kosher bistro, Le Marais, demonstrates his spin on comfort food featuring appetizers, main courses, and knock out sides.

Contact DeGustibus for more info & registration.

Levana Kirschenbaum, author of Levana’s Table, will be giving a cooking class at Williams-Sonoma in The Shops at Columbus Circle on Thursday, March 17th. The Pesach seder oriented menu will include:

• Tilapia-stuffed Seabass with Watercress Horseradish Sauce
• Roasted Garlic and Artichoke Soup
• Lamb Shanks and Dried Fruit stew
• Roasted Asparagus
• Endive and Apple Salad with Walnut Dressing
• Almond Wine Cake with Strawberry Sauce

All ingredients and utensils will be strictly kosher. There will also be a cookbook signing. Class is from 6 to 8 pm. Fee is $60.00. You must register in advance: 212-823-9750 or contact Marlene at wscolumbuscircle@yahoo.com.

Also, check out http://www.levanacooks.com/ for more of Levana’s delectable cooking classes. The March 14th class will feature Israeli Street Food:

• Fish Chraimi
• Marinated Eggplant slices
• Falafel Balls with Hummus Tehina and Israeli Salad
• Za’atar-rubbed Mulaouach with Schug
• Spinach Borekas
• Rugelach

I had the great pleasure of spending a week in South Florida at the beginning of this month. My a cappella group, the University of Pennsylvania Shabbatones, toured area synagogues and schools (and took in some beach time). During this trip, I had the opportunity to try a number of different kosher restaurants, of which South Florida has quite a few. I thought it would be useful, given the weather up north, to provide some restaurant recommendations for those escaping to warmer climates.

Our first day involved lack of sleep and a great performance at a Hebrew school in South Miami. Before hitting South Beach, we had a great, filling dinner at Thai Treat (there are, I believe, two in the Miami area, so my review deals only with the one at 2176 NE 123rd St, North Miami). As a general comment, everyone really enjoyed their dinners, even those who weren’t so interested in having Thai food. Additionally, the staff was great, holding the restaurant open late for us while remaining very friendly.

I love Thai food, so the opportunity to have fleishig Thai, rather than merely vegetarian, was thrilling. I began with Thai Beef Salad (grilled beef, cucumber ,tomato, onion, scallion, lime juice and chili paste), which was much bigger than I had anticipated, and probably could be a full dinner entree for most people. The beef was thinly sliced and well seasoned, its taste mingling very nicely with the rest of the salad, which had traditional Thai flavor. As an entree, I ordered the duck special of the day, Volcano Duck. I love duck and don’t get to have it nearly enough. My only complaint with this dish was that the individual pieces of duck, fried to be nicely crispy, could have been a bit thicker to match some chewiness with the crispy outside. While I don’t remember the full list of ingredients for this dish, the duck was served in a nice, slightly spicy, curry sauce that was wonderfully paired with the duck and vegetables so as to be tasty and complementary, without overpowering duck.

I was able to try bits from other people’s dinners and am happy to recommend the chicken pad thai and chicken in ginger sauce. And I am confident that any of the other dishes will be great. I was also impressed with the pareve Thai iced tea (a beverage usually including some sort of cream), which was very refreshing. Part II will be posted soon.

This week’s “Kosher Today” newsletter reports that a glatt kosher restaurant has opened in Aruba, Kineret Aruba Glatt Kosher Deli:

Kineret Aruba Glatt Kosher Deli opened on December 30 th at the Playa Linda Beach Resort, amidst the high-rise resort hotels. Carlos Sommerstein, owner of a bagel factory and several bagel stores on the island, said he opened the restaurant after receiving many requests from tourists for kosher food. “I just felt bad to see so many people looking for kosher foods and then decided it was an opportunity as well,” he said. Sommerstein told Kosher Today that the initial response has been “extraordinary.” Kineret opens at 11 for tourists who wish to catch a brunch and stays open until 11 p.m. While he imports most of the kosher foods from the US, including Rubashkin’s and Meal Mart glatt kosher meats, Sommerstein bakes his own bread and bagels. Kineret Aruba also has a take-out department for those tourists who wish to dine in their rooms or want food for the Shabbat. The restaurateur said that he initially had difficulty finding a mashgiach (supervising rabbi) but that he has now retained a rabbi from Buenos Aires and that he was concluding negotiations with the OK Certification to certify his restaurants which has some 40 tables on a magnificent outdoor veranda. “I hope that Aruba will now be a major destination for kosher tourists,” Sommerstein says enthusiastically about his latest venture, which he hopes will be open year-round. He thanked kosher consultant Joshua Shuchatowitz for his help in setting up the venture.

It’s nice to see a kosher establishment take hold in the Carribbean, where flying in pre-made meals from Miami is, as far as I know, the best any hotel can do.

Update: They didn’t receive OK certification.