Councilman David G. Greenfield is calling on the “well-known” Zagat Guide to make “greater efforts” to incorporate “a wide range of New York cuisines” into its “famous” guidebook in light of the fact that the “latest edition” features “none” of the many “delicious kosher dining options” in Brooklyn.
Zagat’s updated 2017 edition was released recently, and while some readers say they “already have Yelp for this,” others claim that Zagat offers a “more consistent” and “reliable” guide to New York dining. For that reason, Greenfield said, “it’s really a shame” that the new Zagat guide offers “zero kosher options in Brooklyn,” which is historically “home” to much of New York’s “vibrant” Jewish community, including several of the best kosher restaurants in the world.
In fact, the new guide lists “just three restaurants” in Bensonhurst, “only two” in Midwood, and when it comes to Boro Park, Zagat lays “a big goose egg.” The guide includes only eight kosher restaurants, only one of which – Mexikosher, on Manhattan’s “happening” Upper West Side – is “new this year.” It includes no kosher restaurants in Brooklyn.
“I urge the editors of Zagat to seek out a more diverse array of dining options in New York, and particularly in Brooklyn,” Greenfield said. “We have some of the finest restaurants in the world in Brooklyn, and many happen to be kosher. But you wouldn’t know that from reading the Zagat Guide. Update your Guide! Your customers – and your stomachs – will be glad that you did.”
(YWN Desk – NYC)
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9 Responses
The guides to “fine dining” list only high quality restaurants, and there are very few kosher restaurants that are high quality. This is because that Jews who keep kosher are not especially affluent. Even those of us with good incomes have high expenses (kosher food, tuition, and lots of children, etc.). We will never be able to support a large number of “fine” restaurants. Frankly, we consider things such as Torah and Mitsvos to be more important. In addition, many factors important to our community (level of kashrus, accomodation of children, etc.) are of no importance elsewhere.
#1 Chazal say any money spent on Seudat Rosh Chodesh is all given back. There are also Plenty of fine restauants that are kosher and doing very well.
Few kosher consumers consult Zagat, and few Jews would want their favorite kosher restaurants overrun by Zagat readers.
I don’t think your constituents elected you to waste time with shtusim, Mr. G.
Mr. Willner: I partially agree with you. However, I have colleagues from around the country who when they visit New York, would dine at a “fine dining” kosher restaurant if it was listed in Zagat. This would increase customer traffic for the restaurant, which is the reason they are in business.
Just make our own parallel guide with Stars of David ratings, and call it maybe “Zagatzky”
“We will never be able to support a large number of “fine” restaurants. Frankly, we consider things such as Torah and Mitsvos to be more important. In addition, many factors important to our community (level of kashrus, accomodation of children, etc.) are of no importance elsewhere”
I’ve heard these arguments previously but have never understood why being focused on “torah and Mitzvot” is mutually exclusive with supporting fine restaurants. For those with the resources, and clearly there are tens of thousands of affluent frum yidden in New York, they would gladly support a fine dining alternative with a good chassideshe hashgacha, where management focused on quality of service (one of the worst attributes of existing “high end” kosher restaurants), cleanliness and menu diversity in addition to the obvious requirements for great chefs, good wine lists etc. For those with kids, there are plenty of more casual kosher dining locations meant for families eating together. No reason to drag the yinglach to a restaurant with dinner entres priced in the $35-$45 range where they don’t serve French fries and macaroni anyway.
#5 – there might be a serious Lashon ho’ra problem.
Jewish guides indicate milk or meat, hecksher, some broad indicator of price (expensive means “better” or at least hopes to be). In general if it has waiters and table cloths it is probably better ones that don’t. But since most frum Jews don’t have a “fine dining” tradition, a business oriented towards kosher “fine” dining might have a problem. Out best restaurants are strictly “minor” league, which reflects a wise and deliberate decision by our community to focus on more important things (such as kashrus).
To No. 7
There is no inyan of “lashon harah” if a kosher dining guide were to offer objective and truthful evaluations of kosher restaurants. Obviously, one would be careful about making pejorative comments about the quality of hashgacha (e.g. “the rav hamachsir is not regarded as a real talmid chacham” on hilchos kashrus”) but otherwise, to say the fish is overcooked, the chulent too salty, and the waiter had bad hygiene etc. is not lashon harah under any standard.
akuperma — foist of all, I don’t wanna talk lashon hara on you or anything, but, CAN YOU PLEASE LIGHTEN UP!YOU TAKE YOURSELF PRETTY SERIOUSLY, WHEW!!!
Second of all, you are talking L”H yourself the way you belittle our “strictly minor league restaurants”, just saying, ahem!!! Get out to eat some time; I think you make lots of presumptions, but then again what else is new.