Written by SUSIE DAVIDSON
Thursday,
August 08, 2013 - 14:20
http://www.jewishjournal.org/ee/jewishjournal/index.php/component/fullstory/308_/a-kosher-crawl-down-harvard-street
Written by SUSIE DAVIDSON
Thursday,
August 08, 2013 - 14:20
Dr. Lawrence and Regina Dubin enjoy the fare at Rubin's Kosher Restaurant in Brookline.
AllGenerations group of Holocaust survivor community members dine at Rubin's
Special to the Journal
On the prowl for some genuinely Glatt grub? A trek down Harvard Street in Brookline will yield a diversity of delicacies. If you find yourself with a free weekday afternoon (or an idle Sunday, when kosher spots are more crowded, but parking is free), tantalize your taste buds with a kosher crawl.
TA’AM
CHINA
423 Harvard St.
617-264-7274 www.taamchina.com
Craving a little Chinese, but wary of the bite it could take out of your wallet? Ta’am China, a Glatt kosher Chinese restaurant, is home to the $7.50 luncheon special. Portions are large and choices abound, including chicken with broccoli, and beef with snow peas or other mix-ins, plus you get soup and fried or steamed rice. If you ask nicely, you can even get one of their jumbo egg rolls instead of rice.
For the price, you’d expect it to be mobbed, but according to manager Andy Chung, the numbers of lunch and dinner patrons are about the same. When the Journal stopped in, Sylvia Tuchman of Brookline shared that it was the best in Brookline. As an added bonus, Ta’am China has a liquor license for those special celebrations.
RUBIN’S
KOSHER RESTAURANT
500 Harvard St.
617-731-8787
www.rubinsboston.com
On a recent Friday at Rubin’s Kosher Restaurant, Dr. Lawrence and Regina Dubin of New York were enjoying the restaurant’s nouveau deli fare. He was digging into a corned beef omelet with pineapple, while Regina was savoring challah French toast with home fries and a fruit salad.
It is no wonder why Rubin’s, which opened in 1927, won Boston Magazine’s "Best Deli" awards in 2011 and 2012. Owner Allen Gellerman explains that Fridays are generally takeout days, and Sundays are the most crowded. Rubin’s is renowned for its wraps, platters, sandwiches and dinners, and all the sides that Bubbe made. If you don’t have time to sit and eat, try their catering or delivery services.
KUPEL’S
BAKERY
421 Harvard St.
617-566-9528 www.kupelsbakery.com
Dessert after a fleishig meal is not a problem. Head to Kupels, where the lines are long but the service is brisk. If the weather is nice, you can eat al fresco at a sidewalk table. In addition to a wide array of pastries and baked goods (the cupcakes and pumpkin loaf cake are highly recommended), enjoy their signature bagels with toppings or sandwich fillings, and hot and cold beverages.
CAFE
EILAT MEDITERRANEAN BISTRO
406 Harvard St.
617-277-7770 or
617-277-0164 www.cafe-eilat.com
Who would think you could get broiled salmon at a pizza place? Or, even sushi?
"We’ve had sushi for three years now," said Cafe Eilat manager Levana Hasson. "We have been in business for 11 years at this facility, and we are always trying to add new choices."
The main draw is pizza, and there are often tables of diners happily folding wedges of the stuff into their mouths. Those who perceive pizza as a waist-busting indulgence may be surprised at the healthful options available, including whole wheat crust and fresh vegetables. Other offerings include tuna wraps, eggplant Parmesan, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, stuffed grape leaves and grilled veggie salad.
J.P.
LICKS
311 Harvard St.
617-738-8252 www.jplicks.com
You can walk off extra calories by strolling down Harvard Street, taking in the Jewish stores and businesses, but eventually you’ll pass J.P. Licks. It’s a stop that can’t be passed up.
Always crowded (even in winter) and eclectic, it’s an ice cream, frozen yogurt or sorbet experience that can’t be beat. During Jewish holidays, look for flavors such as noodle kugel and Manischewitz blackberry wine sorbet.
Besides frozen confections, J.P. Licks features gourmet coffees. Winner of a whopping 300 "Best of" awards since its inception in 1981, it’s no wonder that the line is always out the door. Get 10 percent off your order with a stub from the nearby Coolidge Corner Theatre.
RAMI’S
324
Harvard St.
717-738-3577 www.ramisboston.com
According to The Boston Globe Magazine’s "Stuff of Falafel Fantasies" survey, Rami’s was the best. Featured by Zagat, the restaurant is a Coolidge Corner institution. The little Glatt kosher gem attracts a diverse group of patrons, and it is always busy.
The Sephardic-style cuisine includes hummus, falafel, baba ganoush, Israeli salad, and tuna on their renowned pita bread. Carnivores will be happy with Rami’s signature shawarma (rotisserie turkey meat on a spit, slowly cooked with aromatic spices), bourekas (filled puff pastries), fresh marinated chicken and schnitzel. Even hamburgers and hot dogs are on the menu.
It’s a lot cheaper than a plane ticket to Israel, and just as delicious!
JERUSALEM
PITA & GRILL
10 Pleasant St.
617-739-2400
www.jerusalempita.com
More delectable Israeli food can be had around the corner at Jerusalem Pita & Grill, which opened three years ago. Appetizers include Moroccan cigars (ground meat in dough), kubeh (ground beef with spices rolled in bulger wheat), fish cakes, sambusak (half-moon rounds with chick peas), and just in case you forget what country you’re in, Buffalo and BBQ wings. Dinner choices include shawarma, lamb kebabs, grilled salmon and Meurav Yerushalmi (beef, lamb and chicken grilled with onions and spices).
The restaurant offers a variety of kosher dishes for the upcoming High Holidays, including beef brisket, roasted chicken, traditional soups and lamb tagine Moroccan style.
Top it all off with Jerusalem Pita’s non-dairy chocolate mousse or soufflé, and you will have graduated your Harvard Street kosher crawl with a bib of many flying colors!
Last modified on Thursday, August 08, 2013 - 14:48
ORIGINAL FULL ARTICLE:
A
Kosher Krawl down Harvard Street yields a diversity of delicacies
By
Susie Davidson
On the prowl for some genuinely Glatt grub?
Recent treks down Harvard Street, Brookline were no less than an
abundant adventure in variety. At home, you might prepare the same
standby favorites, and there's nothing wrong with that. But if you
find yourself with a free weekday afternoon, or an idle Sunday, when
Kosher spots are more crowded, but parking is free, you can sample
any number of cuisines that will tantalize your taste buds as they
halachically nourish your insides.
Craving a little
Chinese, but wary of the bite it could take out of your wallet? Fear
no more. Unbeknownst to many a would-be diner, Ta'am China,
a Glatt Kosher Chinese restaurant at 423 Harvard St., is the home of
the $7.50 luncheon special. Portions are large and choices abound.
They include chicken with broccoli (or cashew nuts, garlic sauce, or
fresh mushrooms), beef with snow peapods or other mix-ins, and you
get soup plus fried or steamed rice (brown rice is $2 extra). Here's
a tip: if you ask nicely, you can get one of their jumbo egg rolls
instead of the rice.
For that price, you'd expect it to be mobbed.
But according to manager Andy Chung, the number of lunch and dinner
patrons are about the same. Maybe enough people don't know? "No,"
he says."We've had the luncheon specials for 15 years now.
They're nnothing new."
So, you might want to get on the
bandwagon.
"We get customers from the Jewish stores in the
area," said Chung, who said that crispy chicken and sizzling
black pepper chicken were very popular with diners. People also come
in from out of state. "Yesterday, there were people here from
Chicago," he said. "They said 'nobody has this in
Chicago!'"
Kosher restaurants do have the advantage of being
sought out by Kosher travelers. Yet Chung says business isn't what it
used to be. "People are on vacation. The economy isn't great.
And everything, including our supplies, is just too
expensive."
Still, when the Journal stopped in, a deliveryman
from the online Dashed Delivery service in Brighton was picking up an
order ("Don't do that," Chung advised. "They increase
the price"), and others were feasting. Picking up as well was
Sylvia Tuchman of Brookline. "It's the best in Brookline,"
she said, "and his prices are good." Noting that her
husband doesn't like chicken, she said her usuals are Mongolian beef
with scallions, mushrooms, or snow peas. "But when the
grandchildren come from out of town, they request everything,"
she said.
Ta'am
China has a liquor license, for those special celebrations.
Dessert
after a meat meal is not a problem. Just head next door to Kupels,
where the lines are long, but the service is brisk. You can eat al
fresco there as well, at a sidewalk table. In addition to all manner
of pastries and baked goods, you can enjoy their signature bagels
with toppings or sandwich fillings, and hot and cold beverages. Try
it while the weather is still warm.
Weekly specials include four
cupcakes for $4.99, a loaf of cracked wheat organic bread for $3.99,
a bagel, plain cream cheese and a 12 oz. pumpkin-spiced coffee for
$3.19; and a pumpkin loaf cake for $3.79.
On a Friday
in Rubin's Kosher Deli a block north, Dr. and Mrs.
Lawrence Dubin of New York were among several other parties enjoying
the restaurant's nouveau deli fare. "Whenever we come to
Brookline to visit our children, we always stop at Rubin's for
lunch," he said. "The food is excellent, and the people are
very nice." He was digging into a corned beef omelette with
pineapple, while wife Regina was savoring challah french toast with
home fries and a fruit salad (not a place to miss an acoutrement, a
bowl of confectionery sugar for sprinkling stood nearby). Is it any
wonder why Rubin's, which opened in 1927, won Boston Magazine's
“Boston’s Best Deli” awards in both 2011 and 2012?
Owner
Allen Gellerman said that Fridays were takeout day, and Sundays were
the most crowded. So on a return visit on Sunday, the Journal was
delighted to encounter, among other groups of diners, two long tables
filled with members of the "Allgenerations" Holocaust
survivors group headed by Serena Woolrich of Washington. Survivors,
second and third generations, and their family members were together
for camaraderie, and of course, delicious kosher food. While we
didn't snoop at their plates, we know Rubin's is renowned for their
wraps, platters, sandwiches and dinners, and all the sides that Bubbe
made. If you don't have time to sit and eat, try their catering and
delivery services.
Who would think you could get broiled
salmon at a pizza place? Or, even sushi? "We've had sushi for
three years now," said Cafe Eilat manager
Levana Hasson. "We have been in business for 11 years at this
facility, and we are basically always trying to add new choices,"
she said. Offerings include tuna wraps, eggplant parmigiana,
burritos, quesadillas, nachos, grape leaves, and more.
But the
main draw is pizza, and you might see tables of diners happily
folding wedges of the stuff into their mouths if you drive by on a
Saturday night. But not in summer. "Not a lot of kosher students
are in Boston, and also, Shabbat
ends so late," said Hasson.
"So now it's Sundays and Thursday nights."
Cafe Eilat
also serves many out-of-town visitors, uses Dashed Delivery, and can
prepare for large groups. "And we're handicapped accessible,"
Hasson stresses.
Those who might perceive pizza as a waistbusting,
less healthy indulgence could be surprised. "We have whole wheat
crust and fresh vegetables, and we've added a grilled veggie salad,"
said Hasson. They can improvise for customers, and also offer gluten
free choices." So imagine your kids and grandkids having a lot
of fun while devouring something they don't know is good for them.
The ultimate culinary coup!
Or you can always, on your own, go for
broke with everything on it, and worry about it later. You could of
course walk it off down Harvard, taking in the Jewish stores and
businesses along the way - but then, the problem, or good fortune,
depending on how you look at it, it's that you'll pass
by J.P.Licks.
Always crowded (even in winter),
always eclectic, it's an ice cream, frozen yogurt or sorbet
experience that can't be beat. Look for Jewish holiday-themed flavors
such as noodle kugel and Manischewitz Blackberry Wine Sorbet at those
times of year. At other times, you'll just have to settle for what
they got. This month, it's Fresh Peach, Fresh Banana Walnut Chip,
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, Chocolate Pretzel, Fair Trade Organic
White Coffee Chunk, Fresh Mint, Fresh Watermelon Sherbet, Lemon
Raspberry Sorbet, Sangria Sorbet, Black Raspberry Chip Low Fat
Yogurt, Dairy Free Coconut Almond Lace, Chocolate Fudge Soy, and
Passion Fruit Yogurt X. Besides iced confections, J.P. Licks, which
has won a mere 300 "Best of" awards since its inception in
1981, has gourmet coffees. It's no wonder that on a recent Sunday
visit, the line was out the door. Get 10 percent off your order with
a stub from the nearby Coolidge Corner Theatre, and check for the KVH
Kosher Certificate posted in the back.
The Israeli Food
Foodie group on Meetup acknowledges that rating falafel is not easy.
"This is a more difficult task than you think," the blurb
states. "The falafel recipe is not an easy one to master,
especially when every taster has a different opinion on the
best."
According to The Boston Globe Magazine's "Stuff
of Falafel Fantasies" survey, Rami's was the
best. "Rami's is up there with the places/meals for which I am
happy to blow my daily carb limit," writes a satisfied Yelp!
poster about this gem of a place. And it's laid-back as well. "The
service was interesting in that I paid after I ate, but whatever
works," wrote the Yelp-er.
Featured by Zagat, Rami's is a
Coolidge Corner instution. And although Glatt Kosher and under the
supervision of KVH, Chabad Rabaanim (the Kashruth Commission),
"Kosher is just a bonus for us," said owner Haim Cohen. "We
get Indians, Asians, Blacks, Hispanic, and all nationalities. People
who aren't even kosher." Clearly, they know a good thing, as the
little restaurant is always busy.
'We do catering on a large
scale, for corporate events," added Cohen.
The Sephardic
style cuisine includes hummus, falafel, baba ganoush, Israeli salad,
and tuna on their reowned pita bread. Carnivores will be happy with
Rami's signature shawarma (rotisseried turkey meat on a spit and
slowly cooked with aromatic spices), bourekas (filled puff pastries),
Kebabs Yerushalmi of lean ground meat rolls, fresh marinated chicken,
schnitzel, and even hamburgers and hot dogs are on the menu. You can
also get hummus, baba and tahini to go by the pound.
It's a lot
cheaper than a plane ticket to Israel, and just as delicious!
More
delectable Israeli food can be had around the corner from Harvard
Street at Jerusalem Pita & Grill, which opened three
years ago at the corner of Pleasant and Beacon Streets. Appetizers
here include Moroccan cigars (ground meat in dough), kubeh (ground
beef with spices rolled in bulger wheat), fish cakes, Sambusak
(half-moon rounds with chick peas), and just in case you forget what
country you're in, Buffalo and BBQ wings. Dinner choices include
shawarma, lamb kebabs, grilled salmon, Meurav Yerushalmi (beef, lamb
and chicken grilled with and onions and spices., and mixed
grill).
"We at Jerusalem Pita are committed to complete
satisfaction of our delicious and authentic Israeli cuisine,"
said proprietor Rada Roda. "We offer a verity of kosher dishes
for the upcoming high holidays, such as beef brisket, roasted
chicken, traditional soups, lamb tagine Moroccan style, and many more
specials."
Top them off with Jerusalem Pita's mousse cakes or
souffles (how they do those nondairy is worth a visit alone!), and
you will have graduated your Harvard Street Kosher Krawl with flying
colors!
WHERE
TO FIND THEM:
Ta'am China
423 Harvard
St.
617-264-7274
Monday-Thursday
11 am. -10:30 p.m.
Friday 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Sat. 30 minutes after
Shabbat to midnight
Sunday and Holidays: noon-10:30
p.m.
www.taamchina.com
Kupel's
Bakery
421 Harvard St.
617-566-9528
Sunday-Thursday
6 a.m.-8 p.m.
Friday 6 a.m.-Shabbas
www.kupelsbakery.com
Rubin's
Kosher Restaurant
500 Harvard St Brookline, MA 02446
(617)
731-8787
rubinsboston.com
Cafe
Eilat Mediterranean Bistro
406 Harvard
St.
617-277-7770 and 617-277-0164
Sunday-Thursday
11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Friday 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Fall: Opens on Saturday
one hour after Shabbat
www.cafe-eilat.com
J.P.
Licks
311 Harvard St.
617-738-8252
Open
Daily 10 a.m.-midnight
www.jplicks.com
Rami's
324
Harvard St.
617-738-3577
Sunday-Thursday
10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m.-3
p.m.
www.ramisboston.com
Jerusalem
Pita & Grill
10 Pleasant St.
617-739-2400
Open
Sunday to Thursday 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Open
One hour after Shabbat on Saturday nights from November to
March
http://www.jerusalempita.com