jewish food tour new york

A Delicious Jewish Food Tour in New York with Ultimate Food Tours!

Living in New Jersey/New York area spoils you rotten when it comes to experiencing good food. You get fantastic cuisine from almost every culture which sets your expectations high when it comes to any food activities. When I heard about Ultimate Food Tour’s Jewish Food Tour in New York, I was curious to check out something new in my neighborhood.

Now let me tell you. If you want to eat some seriously delicious food, learn about local Jewish history, and spend time with an awesome host, this tour is just that!

In this post, I’ll take you on this Upper East Side Jewish Food Tour journey with me! I hope it inspires you to check out this unique NYC activity 🙂

A little bit on Ultimate Food Tour’s background

I gotta say, aside from my curiosity about the food and its history, I always love learning about how unique ideas were born. Rarely are cool things carefully planned and executed, often times they happen because of a random life circumstance that pushes us to do something different. That follows Scott’s baby, or Ultimate Food Tours , which started as hobby, turned an Airbnb experience, and now is a well-established NYC Food Tour company offering 4 amazing options through NYC’s most iconic neighborhoods.

Things born out of pure passion and interest often reflect that in the actual experience and that’s certainly how I felt listening to Scott. He walked us through the history of the food and the neighborhood all with a personal connection and passion radiating from him. He was very knowledgeable about the topic and genuinely excited to take you on this tour. There is such a difference in the quality of your time when your guide has his full heart in what he does!

And Some Quick Logistics about the Jewish Food Tour

The tour starts on the Upper East Side and continues throughout it
This is mostly an outdoor walking tour so wear comfy shoes and dress weather appropriate
Yes, there will be bathroom stops along the route
Don’t eat much prior to the tour and portions will keep you full so no need to book resys for after either!
The cost of the Jewish Food Tour is $90 per person which is very standard for a food tour experience

Let’s go on a Jewish Food Tour in NYC!

Stop 1: orwashers’ bakery.

What’s more iconic than a real NYC bagel with lox? Nothing, so it was only appropriate to start this awesome food tour with the most delicious bagel topped with cream cheese, lox, and some green onions. If you know me, you know I am very picky about my lox and I do not overhype anything subpar. But let me tell you, Orwashers nailed this!

In addition to the tasting itself, this is where our history of Jewish foods begins. We learned that traditionally this was a sandwich that in order to become appropriate with kosher customs, had to get “re-invented” a little. This combo was originally intended to have a herring addition but since salmon was more available and cheaper in NYC, that ended up being the winner. Who knew that this substitution would become such a staple! Since the Yiddish word for Lox is Laks, that’s where that name came from. Today, this iconic sandwich is something most New Yorkers enjoy for their weekend breakfast!

In addition to their amazing bagels, Orwashers also serves bread, pastries, and cakes! Make sure to grab a traditional rugelach cookie as well!

Stop 2: Schaller’s Stube Sausage Bar

For our next stop, we had some delicious New York hot dogs. But this wasn’t some simple hot dog from a street vendor, this was some next-level meat. A perfectly done hot dog in a pretzel bun with sauerkraut and mustard was the perfect next bite!

At first, I was surprised about how hot dogs can be tied into local Jewish history. But we learned about how the famous Hebrew National Dogs came into the market and how they are still one the most popular selling hot dogs around! They’re iconic slogan of answering to a “higher authority” got them national attention and was one of the first major kosher items to start selling in supermarkets.

We also learned about the kosher custom of eating meat vs. dairy and how kosher restaurant certifications come about. I absolutely love learning about the influence of cultures on food and especially the new inventions that come about in melting-pot cities like New York!

Stop 3: Pastrami Queen

Continuing on our tour, we headed over to Pastrami Queen. If you’re a New Yorker, a good pastrami sandwich is a staple in your diet. While some will argue that Katz’ has the best one in town, after trying Pastrami Queen, you might change your mind. This hole-in-the-wall spot does indeed serve an awesome sandwich that I will cross the Hudson River from Jersey to have again. Not only was the pastrami perfectly cured and seasoned, the rye bread (which comes from Orwashers Bakery!) perfectly complimented it as well.

Stop 4: William Greenberg Desserts

Last but not least, we stopped at William Greenberg Desserts for the one and only, Black and White Cookie! If you’re from this area, chances are you had dozens of these in your life. Although what appears to be a pretty simple cookie, it’s not as easy to find a well-made black and white as you’d imagine. This bakery did indeed nail this and it was the perfect way to end our Jewish Food Tour in New York.

As many black and white cookies as I enjoyed in my life, I had no idea it carried a Jewish-American history nor that it’s thought to have roots in Manhattan itself. It also carries some interesting stories related to the war! Who knew this simple classic cookie carries so much cultural importance!

Thoughts on the Jewish Food Tour in NYC

I personally love learning about cultures through their food. It’s especially fascinating in areas like New York City where multiple nationalities, religions, and customs all come together in search for a better life. With that, different combinations of origins along with substitutions for traditional ingredients created masterpieces like a lox bagel, a pastrami sandwich, a hot dog or even a cookie! While we may be eating these foods on a regular basis, learning about their origins makes each bite that more special.

Going on this Jewish Food Tour in New York with Scott’s Ultimate Food Tour was such an awesome weekend activity. I’d certainly recommend it if you’re looking for a unique thing to do in NYC! I loved it for its history, exploring the Upper East Side neighborhood in a different way, and most importantly the delicious food choices.

Whether you are a local like myself or someone visiting NYC for the first time, I’m confident you’ll enjoy this activity as much as I did!

And if the food stops on this route don’t necessarily go with your taste palette, Ultimate Food Tours has other routes in Chinatown, Times Square, and their Iconic Food Tour throughout the city.

I want to thank Scott for inviting me and my guest to spend the day with him! The opinions in this post are my own!

Kasia is a travel blogger that loves to share her detailed itineraries and travel tips with her community. She's traveled to numerous countries and makes it a priority to explore her home state of New Jersey while still being passionate about her 9-5 career.

Simple Yet Awesome Off-Season Things To Do in Cape May

Cape May is a not-so-hidden South Jersey gem, famously located at Exit 0 off the Garden State Parkway. While…

Romantic New Jersey Date Night Ideas For 2024

Discovering cool date spots in New Jersey doesn’t have to be difficult! With a great selection of exciting date…

Miami Girls Weekend Getaway: Complete and Awesome Guide

Miami is easily the most unforgettable party spot in the United States. What better excuse to get your girlfriends…

Perfect Weekend in Key West: Your New Favorite Getaway

I always imagined Key West as a destination for older couples who have seen a lot in their lives…

A Perfect Itinerary for a 3-Day Austin Bachelorette Party

When my college bestie and bride-to-be said that she wanted her last single hoorah in Austin, I didn’t know…

Cozy Things To Do in New Jersey in Winter 2023

Since I am not a full-time traveler, I always try to find awesome local things to do in between…

Jewish Food Tour of New York

Things to do, Walks and tours

Time Out says

Explore the Lower East Side of the early 20th century, which was home to one of the largest populations of Jewish refugees in the world. Taste knishes, bialy, matzo ball soup and many other hearty Jewish delicacies on this rad walking tour, which will give you a new appreciation for some of the city's most iconic bites.

An email you’ll actually love

Discover Time Out original video

Press office
Investor relations
Work for Time Out
Editorial guidelines
Privacy notice
Do not sell my information
Cookie policy
Accessibility statement
Terms of use
Copyright agent
Modern slavery statement
Manage cookies
Claim your listing
Local Marketing Solutions
Advertising

Time Out products

Time Out Worldwide

Ultimate Food Tours

Review Highlights

“ Didn't get intimated by the menu in Chinese cause we had Scott who knew exactly what to order at each joint. ” in 5 reviews

Location & Hours

Suggest an edit

New York, NY 10002

Lower East Side

You Might Also Consider

Zamzam Travel

#Airlines ticketing #Visa Processing #Hotel booking #Dubai & Umrah Package Tour Service Provider. read more

in Tours, Passport & Visa Services, Travel Agents

NY Princess Cruises

0.4 miles away from Ultimate Food Tours

Set sail on a magical 60-minute NYC cruise!, Get closeup to Lady Liberty & Ellis Island for epic photos. Witness the iconic Brooklyn, Manhattan & Williamsburg Bridges. Admire the stunning Manhattan skyline with the Freedom Tower,… read more

in Boat Tours

0.7 miles away from Ultimate Food Tours

Take a tour without feeling "too touristy." We're not like other tours, we're cool tours! Whether you’re interested in the city’s insidious past (Gangsters and Ghosts Tours), its delicious food (Chinatown & Little Italy Food Tour),… read more

in Walking Tours, Historical Tours, Food Tours

Amenities and More

About the business.

Business owner information

Business Owner

Thanks for checking out Ultimate Food Tours! We offer a multitude of tours around New York City meant to fill your body and your mind. We strive to give our guests the best experience ever through delicious food, engaging guides, and immersive storytelling. Some of our featured tours are The Ultimate Chinatown Food Tour, Iconic Foods of the Lower East Side, SoHo Dessert Tour, and Famous Jewish Foods of the Upper East Side. Our founder, Scott Goodfriend, has been hosting food tours in NYC for over a decade. What started as a hobby to show his friends and family the city turned into a full-fledged obsession. They loved the tours and encouraged him to put the tours on Airbnb Experiences. As the reviews poured in and the tours booked up, Scott decided to expand, offering three public tours and many more custom ones. Contact us to give you a memorable New York City food experience. …

Ask the Community

Ask a question

Yelp users haven’t asked any questions yet about Ultimate Food Tours .

Recommended Reviews

1 star rating Not good
2 star rating Could’ve been better
3 star rating OK
4 star rating Good
5 star rating Great

Select your rating

Overall rating

Scott was informative, friendly and took us to some seriously delicious food places I'd never have found otherwise. Recommended!

Amazing way to walk, learn, and eat your way through New York! A different tour for every tastebud! Don't miss out, book your food tour today! UFT also has awesome nyc gear, so make sure you get a collectors edition t shirt or canvas bag!

Dumpling Time!

What a fun day we had with Scott sampling Chinatown dishes. My sisters and I had a great tour with Scott (the owner). Age food was delicious and Scott was very informative and flexible. I highly recommend the Chinatown tour. It was so much fun.

I had the pleasure of taking the Jewish Food Tour with Ultimate Food Tours, and it was an amazing experience! Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable about the jewish history of the neighborhood and took us to some of the best food spots. We tried everything from the best smoked slamon to the best black and white cookie, and everything was delicious! Can't wait to go for a 2nd round and explore a different part of the New York food scene!

I haven't tried them yet but I hear great things! the concept is awesome and the routes they do are perfect for NYC.

Fun experience! Great food!! Got to see some of the city while eating. Two birds one stone.

best food your around! check out their IG to see the fun details! a great way to take my kids to try new things!

I cannot rate this tour highly enough! Simply the best food tour I have ever been on. Scott is extremely knowledgeable, personable and funny. Not only was the food fantastic, his stories were super interesting as well. I live in New York and cannot wait to take this tour again! 100/100

The best food tour we've ever done! We chose to do a food tour in Chinatown so we knew what we were eating & avoid shellfish because of allergies! Not only did we ate at 4 of the best little hidden gems but Scott's knowledge on the area & its history is incredible. All the restaurants were so happy to see him and gave us a warm welcome. We went to places we would've never even thought of going in. Didn't get intimated by the menu in Chinese cause we had Scott who knew exactly what to order at each joint. And according to me, if you go to an international restaurant and most of the customers there are of that culture, to me, you've come to the right spot. Highly highly recommend this group! Also ver personal & funny.

I had a phenomenal time on the Chinatown food tour. Scott really catered the tour to our dietary restrictions, interests, and needs. Plus, it just made exploring all of these new places so simple and convenient. I had some of the best food of my life (and I'm a native New Yorker!) will definitely be going back to the places we visited and recommending this experience to all my friends. A perfect way to spend a Sunday morning.

19 other reviews that are not currently recommended

Star5travel

We offer flexible booking options and no cancellation fees. "Free overnight parking included for your entire booking. Our staff is always available to answer questions and give you the help you need. read more

in Travel Services

Alaska Saltwater Tours

Our full day Small Group Whale Watching, Wildlife, Natural History, and Glacier Tour ventures deep into Kenai Fjords National Park. With over 25 years experience, we will show you the Fjords' best kept secrets. This is a… read more

in Whale Watching Tours, Boat Tours, Fishing

Best of New York

Things to do in New York

Other Food Tours Nearby

Find more Food Tours near Ultimate Food Tours

Browse Nearby

Restaurants

Tavern Style Pizza

Fun Places for Teens

Sunset Cruise

Bike Rentals

Food Tours Near Me

Related Cost Guides

Town Car Service

Skip to primary navigation
Skip to main content
Skip to primary sidebar

A guide to the best Jewish food on the Lower East Side by a New Yorker

June 12, 2019 by Karen Turner Leave a Comment

As someone who grew up in New York City, one could even say that bagels run in my blood. Although New York is rapidly changing, especially Manhattan, the Lower East Side still has many of the best places to sample Jewish food in New York. This guide to the Lower East Side is set up as a self-guided walking tour of the best Jewish bakeries and restaurants in the LES (if not Manhattan).

As someone whose great grandparents lived in the Lower East Side after immigrating to the United States, the Lower East Side has a certain nostalgia for my family. I’ve tried to include my dad’s favorite places from when he was young (that still exist!) as well as some newer institutions that have opened up.

Come hungry and bring cash with you as you might not reach the credit card minimum at some places. Photos do not keep institutions in business, but money does. Although there are numerous food tours of the Lower East side , you can certainly go on your own without the rush of a food tour. I discuss the history and what to order at these famous Jewish cafes on the LES, so sit down, enjoy, and take a moment to enjoy these institutions without the rush of someone telling you that you must keep walking!

The walking route of the Lower East Side should take at least 2 hours with stopping off at various places to eat and wait in line. Think of this as an extended lunch or dinner. I recommend starting near the Broadway-Lafayette St Station subway. As a tip, New Yorkers do not pronounce Houston Street like the city in Texas, but rather closer to “House-tun.”

1 Yonah Schimmel’s Knishery
2 Katz’s Delicatessen
3 Economy Candy
4 Russ & Daughters
5 The (New) Essex Market
6 Kossar’s Bagels & Bialys
7 The Pickle Guys
8 …Afterward
9 Have you tried Jewish food on the Lower East Side?

Yonah Schimmel’s Knishery

One of the key institutions of the Lower East Side is Yonah Schimmel’s. This knishery has been making knishes at the same spot in 1910. Prior to this, Yonah Schimmel sold his potato and kasha (buckwheat) knishes with a pushcart throughout the LES. This New York institution is a time capsule, so don’t expect posh decorations. They keep it simple.

A knish is a Jewish traditional pastry that is made with baked dough and a filling. It’s often made with potato, onion, and kasha. I usually recommend sprinkling it with a bit of salt and pepper for added flavor. (There are also sweet knishes, but I think of it more as a savory snack!)

Although there used to be more knisheries throughout New York City, but many are closing. (The other main knishery is Knish Nosh, which is located in Forest Hill, Queens.) Quite a few movies were filmed here, including a film by Woody Allen. (The wall on the back has clippings from various films.)

Order your knish to stay or to-go at the front. I recently had the potato knish when I visited, but you’ll find other variants including the kasha knish, spinach, and a potato/cheese knish. (It’s quite a heavy snack.) I recommend bringing cash as the knishes are cheap enough that you’re unlikely to trigger the credit card minimum, even with a drink.

Katz’s Delicatessen

Too many of New York’s classic Jewish delis are closing, but I suspect that Katz’s will be around for years thanks to the infamous orgasm scene within When Harry met Sally . This classic deli was established in 1888 under another name, but the name was changed later on. In 1988, the deli changed hands, but it’s still the same food.

You can also visit their second location within the DeKalb Food Market in Downtown Brooklyn if you’re not keen on waiting in line. To avoid the crowds, I recommend coming to the main location after peak lunch hours (after 4pm) or before lunch. They’re open all nights on weekends in case you’re looking for a hearty snack without the line! (I so recommend the pickles!)

The classic here is a Pastrami sandwich on rye bread (with mustard), which is often made from beef. I also recommend the matzo ball soup (if you can share or get a half sandwich…) It’s a very Jewish dish made from chicken broth and matzah meal that is often referred to as “Jewish penicillin.” It’s perfect for warming up in winter. Don’t let your eyes be bigger than your stomach as the portions are hearty.

Katz's Pastrami - Smoked to juicy perfection and hand carved to your specifications

Others swear by the hot dogs (with mustard and sauerkraut), but to me, you can get a hotdog anywhere–but you cannot get Katz’s sandwiches anywhere else. Some other Jewish dishes that might be worth a try are the blintzes, which are often served in Eastern European cuisine. It’s similar to a pancake except folded with a sweet filling inside. Although I generally reserve latkes for Hanukkah, Katz’s serves these fried potato pancakes year-round with applesauce.

Ordering is not so complicated if you’re okay with not having table service. When you enter, take a ticket for each adult. Do not lose your ticket. From here, head to the counter for the food that you want to order. You’ll give your ticket in prior to getting the food and ticket back. Find a seat and pay when you leave!

Economy Candy

Economy Candy might be the best candy store that you’ve never heard of. This candy store that opened prior to the Depression is a sweet lover’s paradise due to their cabinets upon cabinets of candy from all over the world.

Whether you’re looking for kosher candies, Pez, high-quality chocolates, or just anything tasty, you’ll find something to buy. I spent a while browsing their homegrown candies as well as the various candies before setting on some sour candies for another day. Your inner kid will thank you!

Russ & Daughters

In 1905, a Polish immigrant arrived in the Lower East Side ready to sell his goods to whoever would buy them. Joel Russ specialized in mushrooms and later herring. His pushcart was so popular that he was able to open a store specializing in appetizers. The “J Russ International Appetizers” store moved to the current location of Russ & Daughters in 1920. Around this time, he added & Daughters to his business name after his daughters came into the business. This was the first business in the United States to ever do so. The rest is history and the business is still family-run today.

The actual Russ & Daughters shop is fairly cramped and there’s no seating. Grab a number as soon as you walk in if you intend on ordering fish or bagels. I recommend the bagel with lox and schmear (salmon and cream cheese). On the other counter, you can also purchase chocolate babka, a delicious cake made with leavened yeast.

You generally will need to get your bagel to-go, however there are benches across Houston in the park. For a sit-down brunch, head to the Russ & Daughters Cafe for the food without the fuss.

The (New) Essex Market

Interior of the new Essex Street Market with woman browsing

The Essex Street Market was the first public market to house the pushcarts that once roamed the Lower East Side. In 1940, Mayor Laguardia pushed many of the pushcarts into covered indoor markets, which resulted in the market up in the Bronx at Arthur Avenue .

The Essex Market was one of these markets, but the push to develop more housing in recent years has meant that the city has spent over a million to rehouse the vendors (and new vendors) in a shiny new market that opened in summer 2019 at the bottom of a new affordable housing development. It’s a bit of a shame to lose the old building, but the world keeps turning and hopefully these new developments make the LES affordable for more New Yorkers.

The new market is shiny, nice, and credit-card friendly. I stopped off at a few stalls, including Porto Rico Coffee, for a snack and coffee. You’ll find food from all over the world here. The Jewish food at the moment is from mainly from Davidovich Bakery, which has great bagels. You can have your bagel with craft beer, if you please. There’s ample seating upstairs with free Wi-Fi. There’s also clean (& free!) toilets at the market.

Kossar’s Bagels & Bialys

Bialy from Kossar's Bialys on the Lower East Side, one of the best places to try Jewish food in Manhattan

The bialy is a lesser-known Jewish bread item that originated in Bialystok, Poland. This recipe made its way across the Atlantic (most likely through Ellis Island!) and landed in the Lower East Side where it became a popular fixture of Jewish food in New York City. There were once so many bialy makers that they had their own union.

I’ve had a lot of bialys and I don’t understand they don’t get the same love that bagels do. Kossar’s has the best bialys that I’ve tried in New York City (or anywhere; I have yet to visit Bialystok!) Bialys by themselves are pretty inexpensive and taste best warm out of the oven! There are a few tables where you can sit to eat.

The Pickle Guys

If you love pickles and you were not satiated after your visit to Katz’s Deli, I recommend stopping by the Pickle Guys for New York pickles. They’re new to the block by comparison to some of these one-hundred-year old businesses, but they make good pickles. A great snack for later!

…Afterward

Afterward, I recommend heading to the Tenement Museum for one of their tours (I recommend booking tickets in advance as they sell out!). At this fascinating museum, you can experience what life was like for the many immigrants who came to New York City by seeing their apartments as they would have existed at the time.

Otherwise, I recommend heading to Chinatown or walking across the Brooklyn Bridge to Downtown Brooklyn ! (If you have any room left, you can stop by Junior’s Cheesecake …)

Twenty foods to try in New York City
First-time travel tips for New York City
Secret New York
New York’s Real Little Italy
How to take the subway

Have you tried Jewish food on the Lower East Side?

Love bagels? Interested in trying out Jewish food in New York City? Follow this self-guided foodie walking tour of the Lower East Side in Manhattan with different Jewish bakeries and cafes that you can't miss!

About Karen Turner

New Yorker–born and raised. Currently living in the Hague, the Netherlands after stints in Paris and Amsterdam. Lover of travel, adventure, nature, city, dresses, and cats.

Reader Interactions

The Best Jewish Food in New York City

By Aly Miller | May 18, 2016

Here’s a collection of our favorite places to get Jewish food, including new shops and plenty of old favorites.

1. Matzah Brei from Barney Greengrass

This award-winning Upper West Side establishment has been a classic appetizing store since 1908. It’s restaurant menu has all of your favorite Jewish comfort foods, but the matzah brei is definitely the best–served pancake style or scrambled with your choice of preserves or applesauce.

Photo from Aly Miller

2. Potato latkes with salmon roe and creme fraiche from Russ & Daughters Cafe

Just a few blocks away from Russ & Daughters’ iconic store is their sit-down cafe, which opened in 2014 and has since been named one of the 10 best restaurants in NYC by the New York Times . Their latkes, almost two inches tall, are the best in the city, seasoned perfectly and fried with a satisfying crunch.

Photo from Katz’s Deli Instagram .

3. Egg Cream from Katz’s

The egg cream , which contains neither eggs nor cream (who would’ve thought?), is made with Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup, whole milk, and seltzer. It comes in a tall, 20-oz glass–you might want to ask for two straws! Of course, you might as well order a pastrami sandwich, matzah ball soup and thick-cut fries while you are there.

Photo from Kossar’s Instagram.

4. Onion and Poppy Seed Bialy from Kosar’s Bialys

Next stop is Kosar’s , which is one of the longest running businesses in the Lower East Side. Since 1936, they’ve specialized in bialys. Not sure what a bialy is? They put it best :

“The Jews from Bialystok, Poland brought their local bread, called (not surprisingly) a “bialy” that they ate with every meal.”

In the early days, they sold bialys by the bag. Today, they’re resurrecting the tradition of bialys, offering new flavors, great coffee, and plenty of other Jewish foods like bagels, babka and hummus alongside.

5. Gribenes or Chopped Liver from 2nd Ave Deli

2nd Ave Deli might no longer be on 2nd Ave, but nothing else about this restaurant has really changed since it opened in 1954. The chopped liver is the best in the city, made with a mixture of veal, beef, and chicken liver, hard boiled eggs, and onions. It pairs magically with crispy curls of gribenes , fried chicken cracklings. If you’re feeling especially hungry, try on of their triple decker sandwiches, especially the “Everything but the Kitchen Sink” which just might be our favorite.

6. Grilled Cheese Challah from B&H Dairy

The best challah sandwich is found at B&H Dairy , which was established in 1938, a time when Jewish restaurants typically specialized in either meat or dairy to keep kosher. This place has the kind of old-school soda counter vibe that harkens a time when kosher delis and Yiddish theaters lined 2nd avenue.

Photo from Veselka’s Facebook.

7. Borscht from Veselka

Although Veselka isn’t a Jewish restaurant, it’s been a part of the Lower East Side for decades. The New York Times reports that in the early 1900s, non-Jewish Ukrainians began immigrating to the Jewish neighborhoods of the East Village and Lower East Side, where they felt at home with “the sounds, smells and tastes of the villages they had left behind.”

Borscht, and many other items on the menu, were definitely among the things that these two groups had in common. This deeply flavorful borscht, made with home-made stock and vinegary beets, is perfect accompanied with Veselka’s equally famous dumplings. They also have a vegetarian version which is as delicious as its meat counterpart.

8. Babka from Breads Bakery

Breads Bakery is relatively new compared to the others on this list, but everyone says its babka is the best. Countless layers of laminated dough are spread, rolled, and twisted with a chocolate hazelnut filling for the ultimate sweet treat.

9. Pickled Lox from Zabar’s Upper West Side

Sure, you’ve had your standard nova or lox. But have you tried Zabar’s Pickled Lox ? These bite-sized chunks of fish in a creamy, salty brine are a perfect balance of sweet and sour. While you are there, try any of Zabar’s other smoked fish offerings and their delectable baked goods, like their cheese Danish.

Photo from Taim’s Instagram.

10. Falafel and Fresh Pita from Taim

Get the flavors of Tel Aviv at Taim , a cozy falafel and smoothie shop in the West Village. Everything is made with fresh ingredients by hand, including za’atar-dusted pita, baba ganoush, and three must-try flavors of falafel.

Smoked meat photo from Mile End Deli’s Instagram .

12. Smoked Meat from Mile End Deli

In the style of Canadian Jewish delis, Mile End Deli doesn’t serve pastrami ( gasp! ). But their smoked brisket–simply referred to as “smoked meat”–might just become your new favorite thing. Wondering why Canadians prefer smoked meat and Americans prefer pastrami? Serious Eats leaves no rocks unturned.

13. New School Noshes from Peck’s

Head to Peck’s , a picture-perfect deli counter and coffee shop (with a backyard!) in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, for all things homemade, small-batch and Jewish. They make house-cured pastrami, potato and schmaltz pierogis, a number of pates, harissa-spiked shakshuka, and plenty of sweet and savory pastries (try the cornbread muffin with an egg baked inside of it!).

The owner of Peck’s was born and raised in the Jewish deli scene–his great grandfather started Ratner’s Kosher dairy restaurant in the Lower East Side–so we think you’ll enjoy this new-ish Jew-ish approach.

14. Chopped liver from Sammy’s Roumanian Steakhouse

Romanian-style chicken liver is really something you can only find at Sammy’s. Pete Wells calls it “the most wonderful terrible restaurant in New York” and describes its atmosphere as a “nonstop basement bar mitzvah.” Enticed yet? Their servers make their Romanian-style chopped liver right at your table, mixing in grated radishes, gribenes, and chopped onions.

15. Hummus from The Hummus Place

Looking for a no-frills spot to grab a hummus platter? This is the place. Just zip on over to the Upper West Side.

16. Knishes from Knish Nosh

Open since 1952, the Knish Nosh in Rego Park, Queens, is a knish destination worth the trip. Their hand-rolled knish varieties are filled with kasha, mushrooms, pastrami and more. If you can’t make it to Queens, get your nosh on at their Upper East Side location.

Photo from Miriam’s facebook.

17. Shakshuka from Miriam

The shakshuka at Miriam’s, an Israeli restaurant in Park Slope, Brooklyn, is our favorite in NYC. Its bright and flavorful tomato sauce is simmered with warm spices and its eggs are perfectly poached.

18. Bagels from Bagel Hole

Deciding on who makes the best bagels in NYC might be one of the hardest decisions we’ve ever made. They all taste pretty good when fresh out of the oven. But the Bagel Hole in Park Slope raises the bar. You wouldn’t know it from its bodega-like exterior, but they’ve been making what they call “old-fashioned” bagels since 1986–small, crusty, and chewy all at once.

19. Uzbeki Pilaf from Taam Tov

Uzbeki pilaf ( plov ), is a rice pilaf with carrots, spiced with cumin and cardamom. New York Magazine says, “Dishes hail from the states around Bukhara, Uzbekistan, where Jews have lived since the Babylonian exile.” Taam Tov, Hebrew for “good taste,” is pretty accurately named, and probably the tastiest and most affordable meal you’ll find in NYC’s diamond district.

Photo of greybeh from Mansoura’s website.

20. Greybeh Cookies from Mansoura Bakery

Mansoura Bakery in Midwood, Brooklyn, was opened in 1961 by a Jewish family from Cairo, who came from a long line of Syrian bakers. Their specialties today include pine nut and pistachio macaroons for Passover (you won’t find coconut macaroons here!), and greybeh, which is a shortbread cookie with a roasted pistachio on top, made year-round. Be sure to also try their pistachio turkish delight!

Photo from Shelsky’s Instagram.

21. Gravlax from Shelsky’s

If you love smoked fish, Shelsky’s is the place for you. Their extensive smoked fish and sandwich menu is proof that we’re in the middle of a Jewish food renaissance. Hallelujah.

Pronounced: KHAH-luh, Origin: Hebrew, ceremonial bread eaten on Shabbat and Jewish holidays.

Pronounced: KOH-sher, Origin: Hebrew, adhering to kashrut, the traditional Jewish dietary laws.

Join Our Newsletter

Love Jewish food? Sign up for our Nosher recipe newsletter!

Keep on Noshing

Food Videos

VIDEO: How to Make Stuffed Cabbage

Stuffed cabbage is one of the most quintessential Ashkenazi Jewish dishes.

Baklava with Honey and Cardamom Recipe

You won't miss refined sugar or butter with this sweet treat featuring cinnamon and cardamom-spiced nuts covered with honey syrup.

Chocolate Cranberry Challah Rolls with Citrus Sugar

Simple, sophisticated and just a little fancy.

Share this story

The Best Brunch Spots in New York City
The Best Restaurants Open on Monday in New York City
17 Great Places to Eat Sushi in Manhattan

An oval shaped plate of food with sunny side up eggs, thinly sliced steak, a bowl with white rice, and bowl with an orange sauce

19 Vital Jewish Delis in NYC

Where to find the best hot pastrami and tongue, gefilte fish, and matzo ball soup

Share this on Facebook
Share this on Twitter
Share All sharing options

Share All sharing options for: 19 Vital Jewish Delis in NYC

Jewish delis were once the backbone of the New York food scene, but in the modern age their numbers have greatly diminished. Everything from low-fat dieting trends to anti-meat preferences over the last couple of decades has had an effect, but so have newer and more faddish forms of food that make hot pastrami, gefilte fish, and matzo ball soup seem hopelessly old-fashioned. Luckily, in the New York City area, there are plenty of delis left, even though the pandemic has wiped out several permanently, including Jay & Lloyd’s in Sheepshead Bay, Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop in the Flatiron, and Fine & Schapiro on the Upper West Side. Meanwhile, places with a new approach to deli cuisine, like Edith’s Sandwich Counter, are opening up and giving another boost to a New York classic.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission.

Liebman's Kosher Deli

This kosher Riverdale institution was founded in 1958 by the Dekel family and still flourishes under the same ownership. Revel in the old-fashioned ambiance, including sea-blue naugahyde booths, pale beige walls, wood-grained formica, and copious neon in the front windows, through which one spies a luscious display of hot dogs and Liebman’s signature round knishes. Sandwiches are of the overstuffed variety, with both pastrami and corned beef cured on the premises. Be sure to get gravy on your fries.

Open in Google Maps

The glass window of a storefront with neon letters that read: “Liebman’s Delicatessen, Caterers.”

Barney Greengrass

Styling itself as the “ Sturgeon King ,” this 1908 repository of preserved fish on the Upper West Side is also a fully functional meat deli, with notably normal-sized sandwiches (pastrami, tongue, turkey, salami, and chopped liver) at prices a bit below par. There are some crossover favorites, too, such as pastrami-cured salmon on a bagel and a tongue omelet. One of the best reasons to go here is the dining room, with nicely padded chairs and goofy retro wallpaper.

A small, empty restaurant with historical wallpaper

Also featured in:

An overhead photograph of a yellow table with a greasy slice of pizza from Joe’s.

The Most Iconic Dishes in NYC

A line of ornate row houses with blue sky and clouds above.

23 Restaurants That Show Off the Upper West Side

Pastrami Queen

This microscopic kosher deli has been an Upper East Side mainstay since 1998, when it moved from Kew Gardens, Queens, to the present location, and swapped names from Pastrami King to Pastrami Queen . The pastrami is sliced thick and crumbly by machine — though it almost seems hand sliced — and the sandwiches on rye are of the overstuffed variety. Other recommendations: garlic fries and the epic potato pancake, but skip the matzo ball soup. A newer larger version appeared not long ago on the Upper West Side.

A sizable potato latke takes up a whole plate, next to a side of apple sauce

PJ Bernstein

This place, founded in 1965, shows how the Jewish deli has evolved since the late 19th century. By no means kosher, you can get bagels with eggs and bacon, as well as hot meat sandwiches with melted cheese. Nevertheless, a solid core of dishes remains, including some not so easy to find at delis with shorter menus. Matzo brei is a scramble of eggs and broken up-matzos, served with applesauce. Among hot sandwiches, the pastrami is good, sliced perhaps too thin but seething with flavor, while the sleeper among sandwiches is hot pickled tongue — such tenderness is rare among tongue sandwiches.

Yellow scrambled eggs with some matzo black at the edges peeping out.

Brooklyn Diner USA

This Brooklyn-themed tourist trap has a core menu of Jewish deli favorites, including decent pastrami that’s better in a hash with eggs than in a sandwich. The matzo ball soup is top-notch, and so is the comically large all-beef hot dog, which weighs in at nearly a pound and constitutes a full meal. Chocolate babka and noodle kugel are other classic deli orders, at this place with an interior intended to evoke a 1940s diner.

A large ball of matzah sits in broth, topped with celery, carrot, chicken, and dill

Ben's Kosher Delicatessen

This kosher Garment Distric fixture, a chain originating in Long Island, took over the humongous space (seating 360) two decades ago. The premises was once a deli called Lou G. Siegel, which had been in this location since 1917. The combination of the two creates one of the oldest continuously operating delis in town. The sprawling menu here is sometimes hit or miss, but the hot tongue is superb. The pastrami is good but not fantastic. Don’t miss the glistening gefilte fish, but skip the too-sweet cabbage soup.

A large neon sign in red lettering sits on the side of the building and reads: “Ben’s Restaurant: Chicken Soup Cures Everything”

Sign up for the newsletter Eater NY

Thanks for signing up!

Check your inbox for a welcome email.

Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.

Sarge's Delicatessen

Founded in 1964, this Murray Hill fixture named after a police officer is open every evening till 11 p.m., a rarity these days. Sporting Tiffany-style lamp shades, dimpled naugahyde booths, and hanging salamis, it was closed by a grease fire in 2012 and remained closed until early 2014 . The pastrami is fine-grained and mild, and sandwiches arrive extravagantly stuffed. Tongue, rolled beef, hot brisket, and turkey pastrami are also worth considering. But think twice about the sandwich known as "the Monster," piled to absurd heights with corned beef, pastrami, roast beef, fresh turkey, and salami. Breakfasts and burgers also available, all day.

A piece of rye bread is precariously placed on top of a heap of pastrami

Pastrami House Delicatessen

This offshoot of a Lincroft, New Jersey establishment on Hoboken’s main drag offers a very full deli menu, including some invented surprises. That means all the usual square and round knishes, split pea and matzo ball soups, kasha varnishkas, bagels and lox, and potato latkes, in addition to stranger additions like a mini Reuben in a hot dog bun and pastrami chili con carne. The pastrami, by the way, is quite good, while the corned beef verges on the rubbery.

Two halves of a pastrami sandwich rest in a to-go container beside a half-pickle and side of coleslaw

2nd Ave Deli

This old-fashioned kosher deli was founded in 1954 by Abe Lebewohl in the East Village, along a strip of Second Avenue known as the Yiddish Broadway for all its Jewish theaters. In 2006, a landlord dispute forced the neighborhood fixture to move to Murray Hill. There is now also an Upper East Side branch. While the pastrami is good, the corned beef is better. The place has long been celebrated for its cholent — a bean stew — and derma, also known as kishka, a creamy sausage incorporating grain and meat in a cow intestine. The challah French toast is a longtime East Village classic, now rarely seen in its home neighborhood.

Hobby's Delicatessen

Located on a side street in downtown Newark, and open only during the daytime — except on hockey game days — Hobby’s is one of the country’s most enduring Jewish delis, in the same family since 1962 . There’s a large dining room lined with reminders of the city’s history. The pastrami is gloriously greasy and smoky, with tongue the second-best meat choice, and roast brisket the third. All three come on a sandwich called the "Hat Trick." Currently closed, it’s slated to reopen May 1 of this year.

Customers sit together in pairs and small groups in a diner featuring with leftover holiday decorations and American flags

Frankel's Delicatessen

It was something of a modern miracle when Frankel's appeared in Greenpoint, just above the Nassau stop on the G. It perfectly captured the spirit of an old-fashioned deli from early in the last century, with its gleaming interior, counter ordering, neon sign, and white enamelware trays. The pastrami is of the newfangled sort — hand sliced, perhaps overly smoky, and intensely flavorful. Appetizing fish also available, and don’t miss the hot dog.

A woman stands at the counter of a small cafe, bagels are hung on the wall, as are a series of neon signs that read: Nova, Caviar, Latkes, Chopped Liver, and Bagels

Katz's Delicatessen

Located at the heart of what’s left of the “Jewish Lower East Side,” Katz’s is quite simply the city’s — and maybe the nation's — best deli. Hand-cut behind a glass counter in thick, steaming slices, the pastrami is the superior deli meat, with roast brisket coming in second, while the corned beef lags a bit in tenderness but not flavor. The sausage called knoblewurst is absolutely delicious and garlicky as all get out, and the hot dogs are a delight, too. Don’t miss the green tomato pickles, but skip the soggy French fries. Marvel at the interior, at least partly dating to the 1880s.

A thick pastrami sandwich on rye is cut in half on a plate.

The 38 Essential Restaurants in New York City

Russ & Daughters Cafe

This spinoff from Russ & Daughters offers deli classics like chopped liver, matzo ball soup, and potato knishes. The emphasis is on preserved fish, of course, as it is at Barney Greengrass, but the pastrami smoked salmon on a pretzel roll more than makes up for the the lack of actual pastrami. The serpentine space, cheerily decorated in white and powder blue, extends from Orchard to Allen streets, and seems as old as its original location.

Two mini potato knish sit on a plate next to a metal side serving cup on a ceramic plate

19 Destination-Worthy Restaurants in the Lower East Side

Assorted fried item sit in metal trays while a worker in a blue baseball cap attends to them

22 Classic Restaurants Every New Yorker Must Try

Edith’s Sandwich Counter

A little over a year old, Williamsburg’s Edith’s Sandwich Counter (there’s also a grocery and bakery on Leonard Street) seeks to redefine the Jewish deli as we know it. There’s a coffee slushie with tahini instead of milk; a bagel sandwich with egg, bacon, cheese, and a latke inside; and, perhaps best of all, a Philly-style cheese steak sandwich using pastrami instead of Steak-umms. There are tables outside but nowhere to sit inside, but don’t hold that against them — the sandwiches are really exciting.

Two halves of a hero at perpendicular angles, with pastrami and cheese visible inside.

Gottlieb's Restaurant

Located in the Satmar Chassidic neighborhood of Southside Williamsburg, Gottlieb’s is a venerable kosher classic, clad in wood and looking like it’s still stuck in the '60s. Available in two sizes, the sandwiches here run to pastrami, corned beef, tongue, turkey breast, salami, and roast beef. The place also has a sub-specialty in Chinese-Jewish fare. The Hungarian goulash is particularly commendable, as is the gefilte fish.

More in Maps

Junior's restaurant.

A Downtown Brooklyn stalwart since 1950, Junior's has a jazzy and brightly-lit façade shining late into the night, and it's handy to the Manhattan Bridge. Junior’s was once mainly a more purely Jewish deli, but in the intervening years it has added diner food and neighborhood specialties to its menu, from jerk chicken to catfish fingers to eggplant parm. These are of indifferent quality, so stick to the Jewish deli specialties for a fine meal, including pastrami and corned beef on twin miniature onion rolls, split pea soup, chopped chicken liver, and the dense and delectable cheesecake, which many consider the city’s best.

Groups of people sit at tables and waiters take their order in a busy diner

The Most Kid-Friendly Restaurants in NYC

An overhead shot of oval dishes with burgers, french fries, pickles, and greens laid out across two blue tables with booths and chairs on the side

21 Timeless NYC Diners and Luncheonettes

Mile End Delicatessen

As if it had been picked up in Quebec and brought here by a cyclone, Mile End (named after a Montreal neighborhood) specializes in hand-sliced “smoked meat,” the Canadian answer to pastrami. It’s got a slightly different constellation of spices, a bit more sweetness and ruby color, and, in general, less smokiness. Other sandwiches — such as the salami-based Ruth Wilensky — reflect Jewish-Canadian food attitudes. Schnitzels and matzo ball soup round out the menu.

A charcoal-colored building with the word “DELICATESSEN” painted above its large windows.

15 NYC Restaurants to Visit on Christmas or Christmas Eve

How New York City Hot Dogs Conquered the Galaxy

David's Brisket House

This place was once an ancient Jewish deli — until it was taken over, first by Jamaicans and then by Yemenite Muslims. The latter kept the menu mainly intact, proving that kosher and halal are in nearly perfect accord. Today, David’s constitutes a beacon of warm deli meats in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and visitors of all stripes drop by for its specialty: roast brisket on a roll with gravy. The pastrami and corned beef are also quite good, too, as are the cheese-dressed fries.

Two halves of a brisket sandwich on a club roll with gravy, accompanied by four pickle spears

Mill Basin Kosher Deli

A deli that doubles as an art gallery? This kosher deli in the Mill Basin neighborhood of Brooklyn does just that. The hot dogs are particularly fine and can be enjoyed while eyeballing Lichtenstein and Calder prints, and original paintings, most far less distinguished. While the stuffed derma is a bit gluey, the garlicwurst is excellent. The pastrami could use a little more oomph, but the matzo ball soup is first rate, especially with noodles.

An eggroll with a fried shell cut open to show the red meat inside.

18 Times Square Restaurants Where New Yorkers Actually Eat
Don’t Sleep on Park Slope Restaurants
The Best Coffee Shops in New York City

Related Maps

Where to Eat in Park Slope Right Now

Follow Eater NY online:

Follow Eater NY on Twitter
Follow Eater NY on Facebook
Follow Eater NY on Youtube
Follow Eater NY on Instagram

This Is My Happiness - SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE

New York Food Tours: Jewish Cuisine

Within the hustle and bustle of busy, loud New York, there’s a food that stirs nostalgia and feels homey to many people. That’s Jewish food. Culinary historian Sarah Lohman, a blogger at Four Pounds of Flour acting as a docent for Context Travel, takes Alexandra Korey on a tour of New York’s lower East side for a literal taste of Jewish history. (This is a guest post from my friend Alexandra , an art historian based in Florence and the brains behind one of my favorite blogs, ArtTrav .)

When people immigrate, they bring with them culinary traditions that change based on the new country. Adaptations are made for local ingredients, and often, over time, people look to changes in their homeland and evolve their recipes. This is not true of most Jewish food: Jews who came to New York brought over traditions from mostly eastern Europe, but they did not have a “homeland” to which to look for the evolution of flavour. Many of the recipes for things like bagels, latkes and pastrami haven’t changed at all in a hundred years. So if you’ve got any Eastern European in you – like I do – chances are you’ll feel quite at home in a Jewish deli in New York.

Of the flavours we tasted with Sarah on Context Travel’s Jewish Cuisine and Culture tour, many were new to me. For example, we tried pastrami smoked salmon, which uses the same kind of spice rub and smoking found on beef pastrami but on the fish; we tasted “real” pastrami but also corned beef and the less fancy brisket; and we dined on Knishes begun 114 years ago (or at least their yeast was). Sweet and savoury pickled pineapple from a place that pickles everything finished our tasting walk and opened up the discussion towards the integration of other immigrant tastes (this one with a Dominican Republic influence).

As we munched for three hours, Sarah provided a walking history of the area, which proved most fascinating: the lower East side provided an entry into New York for poor immigrants from many nations over the decades, who would slowly move up and out, making space for the newest wave. Only now, as gentrification has pushed rent prices through the roof, has this changed.

Where to taste Jewish Cuisine in New York

Schimmel’s Knishes

137 E. Houston

A knish is a pastry stuffed with, most traditionally, potato or kasha (buckwheat grout). Yonah Schimmel has been at this location for 114 years, and his knishes are made from a mother yeast that has been kept alive the whole time. Now that’s historic food. Eat at the formica tables and check out the walls covered with photos of famous visitors (like Woody Allen, who filmed here).

Russ and Daughters

179 E. Houston

100 years of business in 2014 for the first store in town to be “and daughters” rather than “and sons”. This is an “appetizing” which is not a new word for appetizers, but apparently refers to milk rather than meat meals in the Kosher diet. If you were catering an event or just having friends over for an easy brunch, you’d order it from here, getting amazing smoked fishes, prepared salads, the freshest cream cheeses, but also fancy caviars and lots of tasty sweets. This does not come cheap, but it is the best quality. After so long in the take-out business, Russ and Daughters opened up a café at another location nearby in May 2014.

Katz’s Deli

205 E. Houston

This is a New York pilgrimage stop for many tourists, and is famous for its very thick pastrami sandwich. The sandwich costs 19$ but it is so loaded with beef, it costs them a fortune to make. Sarah explained that there is a lot of pressure on Katz’s and others to sell the property to real estate developers (for a lot of money!) but they’ve held off so far. The place gets very busy from lunchtime onwards, so consider an early lunch or late brunch.

Kossar’s Bialys

367 Grand St

The story of the Bialys really touched me. There’s a town in Poland called Bialistok that had a 50,000 person Jewish population before Hitler’s 1941 invasion. Now, they are 5. Their traditional bread, something like a bagel without the hole and with a bit of chopped onion in the middle, lives on only in New York.

Barney Greengrass

541 Amsterdam Ave

If you want to sample some excellent Jewish Cuisine without heading down to the lower East side of the city, Barney Greengrass’s is up near Museum Mile. This local café has preserved its retro look and no-nonsense service, and its huge sturgeon sandwich is worth the price. (In the photo, smoked salmon and cream cheese on pumpernickel bagel.)

For a guided tour in New York that includes tasting these foods, I highly recommend Sarah and her fellow docents at Context Travel and their group tour: Jewish Cuisine and Culture .

Where to See Historic Architecture in California

Hikes in Yosemite with Kids | This Is My Happiness

5 Amazing Yosemite Hikes with Kids

The Best Place to Travel with Kids in California?

Great post! This is the exact food tour I like to do every time I’m in New York. I even have a Russ & Daughter cooler bag that I bring back filled w/ smoked fish, pastrami, etc. And Barney Greengrass is truly one of my fave restaurants anywhere in the world. Just thinking about it makes me pine. All of these establishments lend such a wonderful sense of place. I also recommend a trip to the Tenement Museum in the LES. Gives proper context to these spots.

Thanks so much for this insight, and I can imagine that these places lend a wonderful sense of place. It’s a shame that we don’t have many establishments that carry on old traditions from immigrant groups. Of course, in CA it’s all about the newer immigrant groups, but in the rest of the country, it would be wonderful to see more places like these that continue old food traditions and stay true to themselves.

This is fantastic, I wanted to learn more about Jewish food last time I was in NYC but didn’t make it beyond a few bagel shops — there was a Hasidic holiday the weekend we were there and most of the local businesses in Brooklyn were closed. I’ve never had a knish nor a bialy and those are some things I can try as a vegetarian.

Well, now you’ll have to go back and take this tour! And Alexandra is a vegetarian, too, so I think she tried the non-meat items and left the pastrami to her husband.

This is interesting. I love exploring different varieties of food and indulging it here in New York? Wow! It’s just perfect and I couldn’t ask for more. Maybe I can bring my kids here too because they love to eat and want to visit New york too. Thanks for sharing this!

Katz is a staple (long lines) but I also love Murray’s Bagels (not Jewish, I think). Love Bialys too! Great pics

Pingback: Conquibus: an artisan & food tour in Florence - ArtTravArtTrav

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

This website uses cookies to improve your browsing experience and analyze the use of the website. Learn More

Lower East Side Food Tour

Tour Information

Lower east side food, lower east side food highlights.

Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery
Kossar's Bialy and Bagels
North China Dumpling
Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery
The Pickle Guys*

Searching Availability...

Click here to see our full schedule of pay-what-you-wish walking tours in NYC.

The Lower East Side is known for its blend of cultural diversity and rich history.

It's also known for its great food. Our pay-what-you-wish food tour is the perfect way to discover this fascinating neighborhood.

Tour Description
Schedule and Meeting Point
Sites We Visit
Guide to the Lower East Side
Other New York Food Tours
Free Tours by Foot

TOUR DESCRIPTION

Where can you find a historic Synagogue next to a Bulgarian punk discotheque, trendy boutiques that sit comfortably beside decades-old "Mom and Pop" shops, or tenement apartments interspersed between luxury high-rise condos?

Look no further than our Lower East Side Food Tour to discover America's great Melting Pot!

The streets of the Lower East Side tell the tales of struggling immigrants - Eastern Europeans, Russians, Germans, Puerto Ricans - who came to America in search of opportunity.

They brought with them recipes from the 'old world' and you can still taste these foods today.

Ever eaten a potato knish? How about a bialy or pretzel? Care to try a green tea doughnut?

Not in the mood for something exotic - no worries - we'll grab some of the best Chinese dumplings in New York City and we will pick up some pickles along the way.

Join Free Tours by Foot as we visit historic synagogues, check out the area's latest in arts and architecture, learn about life in the tenements, and master useful Yiddish phrases, all while refining our palates with delectable treats from around the globe.

At the food shops, YOU choose what treats you would like to nosh (that's Yiddish for 'snack on'). Try them all or none at all.

Unlike other tours that charge around $45 with some excluding food, on this tour, YOU choose what to eat and how much to spend.

The suggested amount to bring for snacks is $7-10 , depending on your appetite! Vegetarian and vegan options are available at several shops.

Food shops we stop at:

Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery (see video below)

*On major Jewish holidays, these shops are closed and we visit other delicious food shops instead.

Tour information

Reservations: REQUIRED. Click here to reserve . Groups of 5 or more should visit our groups' page .

Where: Outside Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery, 137 E. Houston St. Look for your guide with the Free Tours by Foot logo. Please use our Google map for directions to the start of the tour .

Duration: Approximately 2 hours. Tour distance is approximately 1 mile (1.6K)

When: Sundays @1:30pm and Tuesdays & Thursdays @1pm. View our full tour calendar .

Cost: This tour is free to take, and you get to decide what, if anything, the tour was worth when it's done.

A name-your-own-price tour is a tour for anyone's budget. The suggested sampling cost is $8-12, depending on your appetite.

We do make changes to shops for various reasons and we cannot guarantee that all shops listed above will be visited on each tour.

SITES WE VISIT

In addition to the food stops listed above, we also visit many interesting and well-known sites in the Lower East Side such as:

Russ & Daughters

Katz's Delicatessen

Angel Orensanz Foundation
Williamsburg Bridge
Doughnut Plant

Here is some detail of the amazing sites on our tour:

Yonah Schimmel’s Knishes

Since 1910, this shop has been baking some of the best knishes in New York City.

Along with the traditional classics like potato and kasha, there’s sweet potato, spinach, mushroom, and even jalapeno.

The dumbwaiter is one of the oldest in the city. The tin on the ceiling is original.

This iconic Jewish New York eatery also has egg creams, latkes, kugel, and many more delights.

Let your guide tell you what these foods are and help you decide what you'll like the most.

When it comes to Jewish delicatessens, Katz’s is the undisputed champion.

This iconic eatery has been serving up some of the best pastrami and corned beef sandwiches in the world, not to mention great hot dogs, knishes, and knockwurst, since 1888.

It's also where Harry met Sally . Read more about this NYC phenomenon here .

Orensanz Foundation for the Arts

The Angel Orensanz Foundation is an event space housed inside the former Anshe Chesed Synagogue, a Gothic Revival gem dating back to 1849. The building is a designated historic landmark.

It was built by a congregation formed in 1825. The congregation was made up primarily of immigrant German Jews, but also Dutch and Polish Jews.

The congregation grew so large that a new synagogue had to be constructed to house services.

In the 1850s, it had the largest membership of any synagogue in America.

By the 1970s membership dwindled as the neighborhood changed and the building was eventually abandoned.

In 1986, it was rescued by a Jewish-Spanish sculptor, Angel Orensanz.

Orensanz created the Orensanz Foundation for the Arts.

The building has art shows and concerts; it can also be rented out for special events.

Among the most famous events that took place here was the wedding of Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker in 1997.

In 2011, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Haus Party Tour made a stop here!

Economy Candy

In 1937, Economy Candy opened and now almost 80 years later, this candy shop is still going strong with what is most likely the most extensive selection of candy in the city.

From old hard-to-find favorites like Squirrel Nut Zippers, Chuckles, and Charleston Chews to modern sweets like Pop Rocks, Pez dispensers, and Big League Chew, Economy Candy has thousands of types of sweet treats.

Russ and Daughters

This landmark 'appetizing' shop opened in 1914. Appetizing (in this case is a noun, not an adjective) is a Jewish food tradition among American Jews.

Typical appetizing foods are smoked and cured salmon, herring, homemade salads, and cream cheeses.

Jewish dietary laws require that meat and dairy products not be eaten or sold together.

As a result, fish and dairy products are sold in appetizing stores, while meat and non-dairy items are sold in delicatessens.

This famous shop was opened by Joel Russ, a Polish immigrant who started off selling mushrooms from a pushcart.

He saved up money to open this widely successful store. His daughters went to work in the shop, hence the name.

Proof of just how good the food is at Russ and Daughters is the fact that, after 100 years, it is still open - and quite crowded as well.

Luckily, they opened a sit-down cafe in 2014 located at 127 Orchard on the 100th anniversary of Russ & Daughters.

Read more about other stops we make from our Lower East Side self-guided tour .

See photos of the tour on our Facebook page.

And much, much more

North america, united kingdom & ireland, middle east & india, asia & oceania.

Guides New York

The Resy Guide to Jewish Food in New York

By Elyssa Goodman September 14, 2023

As one of the most vibrant Jewish American enclaves in the country, New York City has also become home to a host of Jewish American, Eastern European, and Middle Eastern cuisines — a reflection of the global Jewish diaspora. This began with the arrival of Jewish emigres in the 19th century, and it continues today with loving dedications to classic dishes and exciting modern twists on traditions. Jewish cuisine is an essential layer of New York’s culinary multitudes, and a unique and foundational part of New York’s dining scene.

Here, we’ve collected some of the most legendary New York City spots for Jewish cooking across the cultural spectrum, whether it’s knishes or hummus, pastrami or falafel. It’s time for a taste of the Old World, along with the inventive creativity of more new-school establishments, too.

Katz’s Deli

Lower East Side

View in list

Russ & Daughters Cafe

Barney greengrass.

Upper West Side

Agi’s Counter

Crown Heights

Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery

12 Chairs Cafe Soho

B&h dairy.

East Village

Shalom Japan

Williamsburg

2nd Ave Deli

Upper East Side

Jewish American

Frankel’s

gertrude’s

Prospect Heights

New American

West Village

Laser Wolf Brooklyn

Mile End Delicatessen

Boerum Hill

Fort Greene

Mediterranean

4.7 · Italian · $$

Remove 2 Add Update

The legendary delicatessen , known in particular for its luscious, housemade pastrami and corned beef, is not only a New York staple, it’s New York’s oldest deli, period. Opened in 1888, it’s one of the few tourist destinations in New York where you can actually get a phenomenal meal of classic Jewish deli staples. This includes the aforementioned smoked meats, as well as matzo ball soup, potato latkes, and more. If you’ve never been, the pastrami or corned beef are a must; if you have, the knoblewurst, a thick, juicy garlic sausage, is a non-negotiable.

Walk-ins only. 

The famed appetizing counter, opened on the Lower East Side in 1914, began a cafe counterpart in 2014, 100 years after establishing its legacy on East Houston Street. Serving only breakfast and lunch, it features Russ and Daughters’ legendary smoked fish as well as a host of contemporary Jewish and Jewish-inspired classics. A petite Pastrami Russ, for example, uses pastrami salmon in their take on a reuben, complete with muenster and sauerkraut, on a pretzel bagel. Sip on an egg cream, indulge in caviar, or a challah eggs benedict to feel the blend of New York’s Jewish culture past and present.

From its beginnings in 1908, Barney Greengrass , known as “The Sturgeon King,” became a beloved restaurant and appetizing store. (“Appetizing” refers to a place where fish and dairy are sold together without meat, and interestingly, it’s a term rarely used outside of New York.) Come here for all the smoked fish you could ever want, including, of course, sturgeon, nova, and lox, as well as other breakfast additions like omelets, blintzes (sweet cheese wrapped in light crêpes), or matzo brei (matzo and eggs scrambled and fried).

Walk-ins only, cash only.

After a career in distinguished restaurants like Prune and Via Carota , chef Jeremy Salamon struck out on his own with Agi’s Counter in Crown Heights. The cuisine is inspired by a breadth of classic Jewish and Eastern European dishes with an eye toward the future. Salamon’s vision, at once innovative and timeless, lives in offerings like the outrageous spanakopita babka (order a slice heated up), palacsinta (warm Hungarian crêpes) made with strawberry black pepper jam, and even a confit tuna melt oozing with alpine cheddar on griddled potato pullman bread. Pro tip: Don’t sleep on the New York-style cheesecake that’s dressed in olive oil.

When the Lower East Side was a haven for Eastern European Jewish emigres, Yonah Schimmel emerged on East Houston Street in 1910. It’s been there ever since, now an iconic “knishery” and landmark of Jewish American culture. Pop in for a knish, which features all kinds of ingredients in either a round or square pastry. Classics include potato and kasha (buckwheat), but you can also try your hand at sweet options like cherry cheese or apple strudel, or veggie-forward options like sweet potato or mushroom.

Walk-ins only

Inspired by the old-school restaurants from Tel Aviv, 12 Chairs, in both Soho and Williamsburg, offers a host of Israeli and Middle Eastern specialties in a vibrant, warm setting. It’s a great place to share their famous hummus in addition to a host of other meze. Their dreamy Baladi eggplant with tahini and pine nuts, lamb kebabs, and pita sabich are also not to be missed. Don’t sleep on the hamin, a traditional Jewish meat stew, when it’s in season in the winter.

This East Village lunch counter has been a downtown staple of Jewish American cooking since it opened in 1938. As noted by its name, it’s a dairy restaurant, so no meat is served; it’s only fish and vegetarian dishes. Lunch counter aside, the restaurant is open until 11 p.m. most nights (until 10:30 p.m. on Saturdays), so you can drop in anytime for sandwiches on their fabulous homemade challah, a cup of borscht (hot in the winter, cold in the summer), kasha varnishkes, stuffed cabbage, and more. It’s all wallet-friendly, too: a large bowl of borscht will only set you back $6.50.

Walk-ins only.

Nestled in a corner of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood since its 2013 opening, Shalom Japan blends the cultures of husband-and-wife chefs Aaron Israel and Sawako Okochi. Together, they’ve created a unique and now-beloved cuisine combination with standout signature dishes, like their famed matzo ball ramen, a lox bowl stylized like a poke bowl, a sake kasu challah, a pastrami and sauerkraut okonomiyaki, and so much more.

Opened in its first incarnation in 1954, the 2nd Ave Deli has been a purveyor of Jewish American and Eastern European dishes ever since. And yes, you can get the requisite (and delicious) smoked meat sandwiches here — the tongue is excellent — but it’s also one of the few places in the city to try dishes like cholent, a long-simmered stew of beef, potatoes, and beans; or kishke, a.k.a. stuffed derma, a sausage made with meat and matzo meal.

Walk-ins only at both locations in Midtown East and the Upper East Side.

Since opening in 2019, Gertie has come to define part of modern Williamsburg, living in the present while saluting the past. Open only until 4 p.m., the restaurant and bakery is a spin on diners, with Jewish roots at its core: It’s named for founder Nate Adler’s grandmother. There are classics like a whitefish melt, alongside a turkey pastrami club given a zetz (Yiddish for ‘punch’) with pickled peppers and jalapeño schmear. And don’t forget their updates on the rainbow cookies and chocolate babka your grandmother used to make (or buy from her bakery). It’s fun and fresh, with a nod to the Jewish eateries of yore.

Frankel’s , opened in 2016, is among the new generation of restaurants embracing Jewish American fare with a modern twist. The corner deli, which provides both smoked meat and fish in the same venue, caters to a breakfast and lunch crowd. Their bagels are hand-rolled (their bacon, tomato, and scallion cream cheese bagel sandwich is a staff favorite), but all of their sandwiches are nothing short of fabulous. In particular, the pastrami, egg, and cheese on their unique challah roll is a salty, creamy, melty, glorious way to start your day, but they’re also famed for their pastrami, brisket, and matzo ball soup.

Gertrude’s is Gertie’s sister restaurant, and it’s helmed by Nate Adler and Rebecca Jackson, also of Gertie, with the addition of chef Eli Sussman, also of Samesa and formerly of Mile End. It just opened this year for dinner and drinks (brunch is forthcoming). It’s inspired by classic New York and European dining spots of yore, all with inflections of Jewish culture. The menu, like Gertie, features flavors from the Jewish diaspora: latkes with celery crème fraîche and trout roe, crispy beef tongue with a persillade sauce, challah rolls with duck butter, root vegetable and blood orange tzimmes, and more.

Edith’s Sandwich Counter

Owned by Jewish American restaurateur Elyssa Heller , Edith’s began in 2020 as a pop-up in Brooklyn and, after lines around the block, has since blossomed into a thriving space of its own. Its Williamsburg sandwich counter is open for breakfast and lunch, and Edith’s also operate out of Tiny’s in Tribeca, too. Meant to bring attention to the women involved in Jewish cooking, the restaurant is named after Heller’s great aunt. The menu at Edith’s combines nods to Jewish backgrounds of all kinds, be they Ashkenazi, Sephardic, or even Jewish American. You’ll find everything from hand-twisted bagels to a chicken schnitzel sandwich breaded with za’atar to a pastrami cheesesteak, blending a multitude of Jewish American culinary experiences all at once.

Balaboosta, the consistently beloved restaurant helmed by chef Einat Admony, takes its name from the Yiddish word originally meaning “the perfect homemaker.” For Admony it also means “the fearless emotional center of her family, who makes sure her table is not only full of gorgeous food, but also full of friends, love, laughter. ” At Balaboosta, Admony’s Israeli, Persian, and Yemenite background shines. Creamy hummus with tahini and s’chug, cauliflower with lemon and Bamba, their famous brick chicken with muhammara, and more all keep Admony’s spirit of home alive.

This “shipudiya” or “skewer house” from chef Michael Solomonov is named after the character Lazar Wolf, a butcher in the iconic musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” about Jewish life in pre-imperialist Russia. Structured around its charcoal grill, the restaurant’s skewer-focused, prix-fixe menu starts with their hummus and pita and a host of vegetable salatim, or side dishes. Then prepare for their famed skewers with meat and vegetables. Finish it off with their brown sugar soft serve. Come for the food, stay for the sights: on top of the Hoxton Williamsburg, there’s nothing quite like its views of the city.

Since 2014, Tsion Café has been a destination for diners seeking out a unique and vibrant blend of flavors from Ethiopia and Israel: Think sambusa and malawach, along with shakshuka and doro wat. Chef and co-owner Beejhy Barhany is an Ethiopian Jew whose family left East Africa to settle in Israel, eventually making their way to America, and Tsion represents her journey from Ethiopia and Israel to the U.S. If you come for brunch, don’t overlook either the Addis eggs (spicy scrambled eggs with onions and jalapeños) or the Tsion eggs (eggs scrambled with smoked salmon) in which the eggs are enveloped by injera.

Call (212) 234-2070 to make a reservation.

Mile End, whose founders hail from Montreal, describes itself as “the ultimate combination between Bubby’s comforting recipes and Montreal-style cuisine” and it shows. The menu lives at the intersection of the traditional New York and Montreal Jewish delis, with Montreal-style smoked meat as the star of the menu. There’s a salty and succulent Bubbies poutine with braised brisket, cheese curds, and brisket jus atop French fries, as well as the classic Wilensky, a nod to the famous Montreal Jewish deli of the same name; it’s an ode to their signature sandwich of seared beef salami and mustard on an onion roll.

At Miss Ada, Israeli and Jewish chef Tomer Blechman’s Mediterranean menu lives for seasonal, local ingredients. It’s also about modern takes on classic dishes. The sweet potato hummus, for example, features crème fraîche, paprika oil, and almonds, and salmon belly skewers glisten with charmoula. Chicken shawarma, falafel, and shakshuka are also favorites. It’s a smart treat nestled in Fort Greene, and definitely not to be missed.

Elyssa Goodman is a New York-based writer and photographer whose work has appeared in Vogue, Vanity Fair, InsideHook, and other publications. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter . Follow Resy , too.

Discover More

The Resy Guide to Where (and What) to Drink This Spring in New York

The Resy Guide to Outdoor Dining in New York

Resy Regulars

Where Emmett Burke From New York’s Emmett’s Takes Out-of-Towners

The Rundown

All About Only Love Strangers, Opening Soon on the Lower East Side

New on Resy

Now on Resy: Ramen by Ra, Jongro BBQ, Paulie Gee’s, and More Local Favorites

New York’s Newest Restaurant Openings, Now on Resy

Five Things to Know About Farm to People Kitchen & Bar in Bushwick

Resy Spotlight

Chef Dan Barber on the Future of Food Today

Resy Questionnaire

20 Questions with Nōksu’s Dae Kim

Five Things to Know About Koreatown’s Beut

The Resy Guide for Celebrating Eid al-Fitr in New York

Dish By Dish

How Chama Mama Celebrates Georgian Cuisine and Culture, in Five Dishes

“Meju Isn’t Just About Delicious Food — It’s a Story”

Staff Picks

The New York Restaurants We Loved in March

15 of the Best BYOB and No-Corkage-Fee Restaurants in New York

Resy powers the world’s best restaurants, using technology to imagine the future of hospitality.

Global Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Cookie Policy
Accessibility Statement

Skip to primary navigation
Skip to main content
Skip to primary sidebar

Danas Table

Published: Jul 21, 2022 by Dana Shrager · This post may contain affiliate links

Best Jewish Food in the Lower East Side, New York City

The Lower East Side in New York City is a Jewish foodie heaven with the best lox, pastrami, knishes, pickles, and babka in the United States. This neighborhood keeps the food traditions alive that Jewish immigrants brought to NYC over 100 years ago.

At it's peak in the early 1900's, the Lower East Side had about 90 Jewish food shops and restaurants within just nine blocks. Although the area was overcrowded and poor, its residents strove to continue their culture, especially the Eastern European food. Since then, the area has been home to other waves of immigrants and is no longer an active Jewish neighborhood. Nevertheless, traces of Jewish life remain, especially the iconic Jewish food that is still going strong today.

Crowded streets of Lower East Side NYC with tenements and pushcarts circa 1905.

What follows is a self-guided Jewish food walking tour. You'll learn where to go and what to order. Let the deliciousness begin.

Save This Recipe!

Enter your email below & I'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you’ll get my monthly-ish recipe newsletter and my free e-cookbook!

Houston Street: Jewish food crawl, part 1

Walking from shop to shop and sampling the food is one of the best things to do in the Lower East Side of NYC. Start your Jewish food crawl on Houston Street. Within four short blocks, you can experience the best food that NYC has to offer at Russ & Daughters, Katz's Deli, and Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery.

Remember to arrive well before lunch time as they all get long lines with people waiting out the door. Starting at 10 AM is not too early, but note that Yonah Schimmel doesn't open until 11 AM. Check current hours so you can plan accordingly.

If you want to get your food to-go and then eat outside, there are parks across the street from Yonah Schimmel and behind Kossar's Bialys is Seaward Park.

Russ & Daughters Appetizers

Russ & Daughters is a Jewish appetizing shop which means that they sell foods that you put on a bagel. This is the ultimate place for bagel lovers with an endless number of topping options. They set the bar high with around 11 varieties of smoked and cured salmon and 9 options for cream cheese such as vegetable, caviar, and vegan. Then there's sturgeon, sable, trout, and more. Go ahead and select your favorite varieties of bagel, cream cheese, and fish to build your ultimate sandwich. For non-fish options, they have egg salad, chopped liver, and cream cheese. You'd be hard pressed to find a better one-stop shop.

Different varieties of salmon in case at Russ & Daughters NYC.

Since you order from the counter, you get to watch the counter person work their magic. I was thrilled to watch their expertise as they hand sliced the lox extra thin. Every sandwich is made to order. There's no seating at the Houston Street location, so it's all to-go. For the ultimate experience, get a variety of bagel toppers and enjoy them all weekend long. (Note to self: get an AirBnb apartment next time, so I can load up on R&D treats and eat for days.) The good news is the Russ & Daughters Cafe nearby on Orchard Street will re-open later in 2022, and it has tables for dining.

The same family has operated Russ & Daughters for four generations starting in 1904 as a pushcart and then moving to a storefront in 1914. The shop is very popular, so try to go on a weekday, arrive early, and have patience. They have their own (confusing) number system for determining whose turn it is to order. You get a number when you arrive and wait outside. Then you need to listen for a range of numbers to be called. If your number falls within that range, then it's time to move inside. Next, you wait a short while next to the counter until it's your turn to step up to the plate. The wait is well worth it when you take your first bite of food.

Wrapped babka breads on counter at Russ & Daughters NYC.

In addition, I was happy to discover that their chocolate babka (similar to a coffee cake) is very fresh and delicious. I checked, and they said that the babka was baked that day. It was the best babka that I've ever eaten. The cake part was soft and fluffy, and the chocolate was dark and good quality, but not overwhelming. It's available by the slice or as a whole loaf. I learned that they have their own bakery in Brooklyn where they also bake bagels, rugelach , black & white cookies, and other Jewish treats.

Katz's Deli

Katz's Deli is conveniently a block down and on Houston as well. Arguably the best Jewish deli in NYC, Katz's has been operating since 1888. But it needs no introduction. Remember the scene in the movie "When Harry Meets Sally" when a woman blurts out to the waiter, "I'll have what she (Meg Ryan) is having." Well, the woman must have been talking about the pastrami sandwich, which is, by all standards, an orgasmic experience. Don't bother ordering anything else. This is the ultimate pastrami sandwich, and the single best thing that they sell. For a drink, take my father-in-law's advice and get a Dr. Brown's cream soda.

Katz's Deli sign saying "Where Harry Met Sally...Hope You Have What She Had, Enjoy!"

Katz's also has its own idiosyncratic system for ordering food too. Upon entry, you are given a paper ticket which needs to be presented to each of the different stations (meat carving, side dishes, drinks, etc.) where your selection is marked on your ticket. DO NOT lose that ticket as it needs to be presented upon exit to the cashier to settle up your bill. Lose that ticket and you will face the consequences.....whatever that means, and I didn't want to find out. In any case, based on the size (and projected strength) of the security guard next to the cashier, I strongly suggest you hang onto your ticket with your life.

Pastami sandwich on rye bread with mustard.

Now...back to the pastrami. When you order your sandwich, stick to the traditional rye bread and mustard. The person at the cutting station will usually give you a generous sample to try while he is preparing your sandwich. And, boy is it heaven. Lean, hot, moist, and with just the right amount of garlic and peppercorn flavor. The pastrami literally melts in your mouth. Trust me, your tastebuds will be dancing. And, make sure to tip the person at the cutting station BEFORE he finishes your order. The result will be a sandwich that is probably the equivalent of 2 to 3 sandwiches from anywhere else. The sandwich is easily shareable. But, be prepared to pay for it too. My order, which came with several different pickles and was a mile high, cost just over $23.00, including tax. That's a lot! But, it's worth it.

Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery

Two people standing in front of Yonah Schimmel's Knishery on Houston Street.

Yonah Schimmel is also nearby on Houston Street. They started as a pushcart and then opened as a storefront in 1910, making them the oldest family owned and operated Knishery in America, according to their website. They are kosher too.

I saw the owner arrive to start preparing the food and could see that they were making everything fresh that morning. They are known for their knishes filled with mashed potato or kasha (buckwheat). By definition knishes are a snack made of thin dough stuffed with various fillings and then baked, but Yonah's knishes are large and filling enough for a meal. They also have many other tasty versions such as sweet potato, cabbage, and soft cheese with fruit.

In addition, while you're there, order an egg cream drink to get the full old-fashioned Jewish experience. It's a carbonated drink that's just a touch sweet, a little chocolatey, and made to order with milk, seltzer, and Fox's U-Bet chocolate syrup. There is no egg or cream in the drink despite its name, and no definitive backstory as to how this misnomer came to be. All I can't tell you is that an egg cream tastes like nostalgia, of a bygone era. This drink was extremely popular in the 1900's and was commonly made at soda fountain counters, especially in NYC.

Tenement Museum

While on the Lower East Side, be sure to go to the Tenement Museum on Orchard Street to learn about the history of the neighborhood. It's very moving and memorable. Make a reservation in advance because it's a guide-led, immersive experience that is offered on specific days and times.

The museum is in a former tenement building where Jewish, German, Italian, and other immigrant families lived during the 1860's until the 1930's when the building was condemned. In addition, the museum has a second apartment building and walking tours that cover the time periods up to the 1980's. Your guide re-enacts the journey of actual people who lived in the building. It's interesting to learn about the plight of different families and to see the artifacts and living conditions of the time period.

I had a hard time picking which specific tour I wanted to see because they all sounded so interesting. Ultimately, I picked an apartment tour with a convenient time, and my whole family was enthralled with the tour. I highly recommend this museum for a unforgettable experience.

Now back to the food.

Grand Street: Jewish food crawl, part 2

Going to the above three establishments on Houston Street is more than enough amazing food for a satisfying food crawl, but we wanted to go for the ultimate experience. So, we headed over to Grand Street to check out three more places which are close together in a row. It's about an 11 minute walk from Houston over to Grand Street. The Tenement Museum is about halfway between the 2 sets of food shops.

The Pickle Guys

The Pickle Guys are not just about the pickles, although those are very tasty indeed. They also have every imaginable vegetable pickled and displayed in barrels, including olives, peppers, and onions. They even have pickled pineapple and mangoes. Their pickled foods are made the old-fashioned way without preservatives and are kosher . If pickled foods are your jam, then this place is not to be missed. In addition, if you're looking for homemade horseradish around Passover time, then stop by here for authentic, fresh horseradish; it's a seasonal specialty.

Kossar's Bagels & Bialys

Kossar's is a few doors down, and they've been making bialys since 1936. They are the oldest remaining bialy bakery in the US. Bialys are a cousin to bagels, but they're softer like an English muffin, and they have onions and poppy seeds in the center. The bialys are made on site in brick ovens. Sometimes you can catch them in action and watch through a window while they make the bialys in the back.

Kossar's glass case filled with baskets of bialys.

Kossar's also sells bagels, bulka rolls (soft wheat rolls), and pletzels (onion boards) in addition to some Jewish sweets. You can get cream cheese and sandwiches there too. Kossar's is doing their part to keep these traditional Jewish baked goods alive for all of us to enjoy.

Doughnut Plant

Doughnut Plant is couple doors down from The Pickle Guys and Kossar's on Grand Street. So, even though they are not a Jewish food, don't miss an opportunity to try their legendary and creative doughnuts. They're even kosher .

Two doughnuts from Doughnut Plant NYC next to bag.

The doughnuts are extra fresh and made without preservatives. Both the cake and raised are excellent, and now they have sourdough which is made with wild yeast and isn't sour. Their less common flavors like blueberry or peanut butter & jelly are excellent as are their traditional flavors like vanilla and chocolate. Choose your favorite or try a new combination; you can't go wrong.

The Most fun in New York City

A Jewish food crawl in the Lower East side makes for an unforgettable day. The food tour is great for a group or is a fun thing to do alone in New York City. The memories of these beloved Jewish dishes linger long after the adventure.

If you crave these Jewish foods and you're not in NYC, all six of these companies offer nationwide delivery. Check out their websites or Goldbelly for details, and let the feast begin.

What are your favorite Jewish dishes to order at these establishments? Share in the comments.

More Travel

A Teenager's Guide to Positano, Italy | FoodieGoesHealthy.com

Reader Interactions

LOWER EAST SIDE FOOD TOUR

Quick Details

Hour Glass Duration: 3 hours

Map Marker Stops: Six different tasting locations

Food Tastings: All food included. Enough food for lunch. Vegetarian friendly. Click here for other dietary restrictions.

ABOUT LOWER EAST SIDE FOOD TOUR

Don’t fall for the culinary tourist traps when you’re in Manhattan! Sidewalks of NY offers irresistible New York food tours in the cultural hotspot of the Lower East Side.

Join us as we explore what was once an immigrant and working-class neighborhood rich in ethnic diversity and culture. Learn about the history of the tenement buildings occupied by the poor. The neighborhood is best known for having once been a center of Jewish culture. We view historic synagogues and nosh on delicacies from the best kosher-style delis and bakeries in the city.

Bon appetit!

TASTING LOCATIONS

(6 of the following places, you MAY NOT go to ALL of the places, subject to change)

*Private Tour tasting locations may be different than ones listed below.

Katz’s Deli: The best delicatessen in New York (Est. 1888)
Russ and Daughter’s: NYC’s premier appetizing shop (Est. 1914)
Castillo de Jagua: Authentic Caribbean Spanish Cuisine (Est. 1986)
Economy Candy: Stocking all types of candy, nuts, and dried fruit from floor-to- ceiling. “Noshers’ paradise of the Lower East Side.” (Est. 1937)
Formaggio de Essex: resplendent with beautifully packaged jams, honeys, mustards, vinegars, olive oils, and cured meats
Zerza at The Essex St. Market: Cooking up healthy and flavorful Moroccan cuisine
North Dumplings: Authentic handmade northern Chinese dumplings.
The Pickle Guys: Pickles made the old-fashioned way. Try a new, half sour, or full sour pickle. Pucker up! (Est. 2002)
Kossar’s Bialys: The oldest bialy bakery in the United States. (Est. 1936)
The Doughnut Plant: Unique flavors and a mouthwatering family recipe. (Est.1994)

Behind every great food establishment in this city, there is an equally great story of history, tradition, and even innovation. On our food tours in New York City, you discover these amazing histories while tasting what has made these eateries so prized among locals. Discover just what makes Sidewalks of NY food tours the best in the city!

FOOD TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Mouthwatering food from century-old authentic Jewish delis and bakeries
No waiting in a line wrapped around the block for scrumptious delicacies
Explore the Lower East Side’s historic tenement buildings and synagogues.
Visit an old-fashioned candy store serving the neighborhood since 1937.
Taste a tres leches and blackout cake doughnut from award winner Doughnut Plant NYC.
The personalities of our native New Yorker tour guides thrill and entertain you.
Learn about the culture and history of the neighborhood and its gentrification.
Check out the funky mix of trendy boutiques, mom-and-pop shops, and cozy cafes.

Private Lower East Side Food Tour

Want to make our delicious and fun Lower East Side food tour a private event? Contact us! We specialize in curating the best private culinary experiences.

Chevron down Meeting Location

The tour meets in front of the Katz’s Deli located at 205 East Houston Street. If you are lost or running late, please call us at 877-568-6877.

Directions: The closest subway stop is the 2nd Ave stop on the F train. Exit the station and walk east on E Houston. The bakery is located on the right between Forsyth and Eldridge Streets.

You can also take the B, D, F, or M to Broadway-Lafayette. Walk east on E Houston St until you pass Forsyth St. The bakery will be on your right.

The Delancey and Essex Municipal Parking Garage is located at 107 Essex St, between Delancey and Rivington, and it’s about a 5-minute walk to the tour meeting location (205 East Houston Street). There is free street parking if you get very lucky. Read the signs for parking rules and restrictions.

Chevron down What's Not Included?
All food tastings are included.
One bottle of water is provided. Additional drinks have to be purchased on your own.
Tip for your food tour guide. It is customary to tip your guide 15%-20% of the purchase price.
Chevron down Activity-Specific Policies

Please review the seller’s policies for this activity. Once tickets are purchased, these are binding.

Non-refundable, cannot be rescheduled Once purchased, tickets cannot be refunded and cannot be rescheduled because your space is being guaranteed at the event.
Activity takes place rain or shine The activity runs regardless of weather conditions. In the rare situation where the seller is forced to cancel the event, ticket-holders are allowed to reschedule to another time (subject to availability).

Related Food Tours

Map Marker New York City
Clock 11am-2pm
Calendar Friday & Saturday

WEST VILLAGE FOOD TOUR

The tastes, traditions, and old-world class of these landmark establishments make for a true New York experience. It’s no coincidence these foods can all be found in the historic and savory West Village.

Clock 3pm-5:30pm

PIZZA, BEER, & HISTORY TOUR

Enjoy learning interesting tidbits and increase your cultural knowledge, all while savoring three pizza samplings and two beer tastings in historic Greenwich Village.

Info Private Only
Clock 11am-1pm
Calendar Monday - Friday

MIDTOWN FOOD TRUCK TOUR

We’ve done the legwork so we can guide you to the tastiest and most innovative cuisines prepared and served on the street.

New York Jewish Tours

Moshe d. sherman.

Moshe D. Sherman is Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Jewish Studies, Touro College. He has served as a professor of Modern Jewish History for more than thirty years, with an emphasis on the American Jewish experience.

Welcome to New York City, with the world’s largest Jewish community outside of Israel! Jews first arrived in the lower Manhattan section of New York in 1654. Since that time, successive waves of immigration, particularly during the 19th and early 20th centuries, brought more than a million immigrants to New York. Following World War II, hundreds of thousands of additional immigrants arrived, including Holocaust survivors, Hungarian Jewish refugees in 1956, Iranian Jews after the fall of the Shah, and Jews from the former Soviet Union. No surprise that New York City has hundreds of historic landmarks, synagogues, Yiddish theaters and more.

New York Jewish Tours are designed to help tourists and all those who are interested in exploring the rich and exciting sites of New York’s Jewish past and present.

New York Jewish Tours are customized to meet your specific needs. Whether you are a few people or a large group, looking for a short walking trip, or touring the city for longer, we will work with you to best accommodate your interests and circumstances.

In the 1800s, New York’s Jewish elite dined at ‘The Kosher Delmonico’

Having worked as a kosher butcher before immigrating, felix marx set out to create a delmonico’s-style offering for well-to-do, observant jews..

THE DELECTABLE salt beef sandwich at Dublin’s kosher Deli 613. (photo credit: Deli 613)

'The Felix style'

More From Forbes

Mr. broadway proving that the jewish deli can still thrive in new york city.

Share to Facebook
Share to Twitter
Share to Linkedin

Mr. Broadway is a kosher deli near New York City’s Times Square, which is expanding, despite many ... [+] delis closing.

An exhibit at the New York Historical Society “I’ll Have What She’s Having” in 2023 highlighted how the quintessential New York City deli known for their corned beef and pastrami sandwiches has been disappearing for years. And only a handful remains. But don’t tell that to Mr. Broadway, a Glatt kosher Jewish deli, located in proximity to Times Square on West 38 th Street, and close to the Garment Center in the heart of Manhattan.

But the history of Mr. Broadway, which opened in its current location in 2023, reveals the flux that the Jewish deli has been facing. Its co-owner Moti Zilber, who runs it with Ronnie Dragoon (who had co-owned Ben’s Deli), says Mr. Broadway had been R. Gross Dairy and was located a block away on Broadway for the last 37 years until the pandemic dried up 85% of its business. It lost its lease and took over the space that used to house Ben’s Deli and turned it into Mr. Broadway.

The eatery, by New York City standards, is massive and covers 6,000 square feet, accommodates 280 people, and has two private rooms, one for 18 people and the other for 45 people.

A kosher deli, Mr. Broadway, has made adjustments to its menu to appeal to a wider audience, and is renovating its site as well.

Unlike the famed Katz’s Deli on the Lower East Side, Mr. Broadway is Glatt Kosher, follows kosher rules strictly, enabling them to attract many Orthodox Jews. But Zilber is quick to note that it attracts a wide-ranging audience including Arabs and Middle Eastern people as well as many tourists out to see a Broadway play.

Netflix s Best New Show Arrives With A Perfect 100 Critic Score

Apple watch series 10 to boast welcome upgrade report claims, wwe raw results winners and grades on april 15 2024.

Adapting to Modern Audiences

But Zilber emphasizes that it offers a lot more than traditional corned beef and pastrami sandwiches. Its menu has many Mediterranean options, as well as some Chinese dishes and includes many items not seen on most Jewish deli menus including chicken ‘po boys and cauliflower wings. “We see where the demand is in the market and we have to change with the times,” he says.

Not Just Pastrami and Corned Beef

Since many people avoid ordering pastrami and corned beef because they’re high in sodium and salt content, it offers an array of salads and healthier food. Zilber adds, “You don’t have to eat corned beef and pastrami every day,” suggesting that indulging on certain occasions won’t hurt you too much.

What the Renovation Will Bring

And Mr. Broadway is not standing pat. It is currently under a limited renovation that will include a new cocktail bar and take-out deli that is slated to open at the conclusion of this year’s Passover festivities. It will be offering six draft beers and an array of wines from a variety of global locations.

It will also have a special take-out men to offer prepared foods and meats prepared by the pound, as well as meat from the butcher shop, as well as gefilte fish and traditional Jewish fare. It also delivers, using all of the major food delivery services.

On Yelp, responders were mostly positive with some reservations, about dining at Mr. Broadway. Anais from Astoria wrote that “Mr. Broadway has always been my go-to place for kosher food since I can remember.” She likes the eggplant pastrami appetizer and the schnitzel and called the service better than most kosher eateries.

But Michael from New York City said he’s been there for lunch twice for a simple deli sandwich and found it “fatty and oily,” and when he asked for rye bread, it was served on white bread. He preferred Ben’s Deli, the previous eatery in that space.

But Yitskak from Texas liked its adherence to kosher standards, found the food authentic and the staff knowledgeable and liked the chopped liver and pastrami sandwiches.

Many Jewish delis have faded, so what will it take for Mr. Broadway to survive? “Making sure we serve the right quality meat,” is Zilber’s response. “We only serve American meat, nothing from Argentina or Peru as many delis do,” he explains.

Ironically, he says, he sees a heightened demand for dining in a traditional deli. “So many others have closed,” he notes.

Editorial Standards
Reprints & Permissions

Share full article

Supported by

At Passover, the Only Constant Is Changing Recipes

Joan Nathan, a doyenne of Jewish American cuisine, has long treasured the holiday and witnessed its evolution through food.

An overhead image of a brisket topped with tomatoes, onions and herbs. One half is sliced, while the other half remains intact.

By Joan Nathan

In 1980, my husband Allan and I hosted our first Passover Seder at our home.

There were about eight of us: my husband’s Uncle Henik, who had numbers from Auschwitz on his arm; my Polish in-laws who’d had to flee to the Soviet Union; a few friends; and my daughter, still a toddler, racing around making us all laugh.

Recipe: Brisket

We sipped wine from the silver bar mitzvah cup my father had brought from Bavaria, but the rest of the tradition came mostly from my husband’s family. In my more assimilated German family, we would have started the Seder with Manischewitz gefilte fish cut into small pieces with toothpicks and herring in cream sauce. But at this first Seder, where I learned how traditions are adapted, how each family creates their own, and the compromises of marriage, it was my husband’s Polish Jewish traditions: a platter of gefilte fish with carrots in the eyes, sweet Manischewitz.

At Passover, the Seder table becomes an altar. Each family’s voyage personalizes the holiday, bringing with it customs and culinary adaptations of recipes. As our world gets more fluid, tradition differentiates each of us, in a good way, from everyone else. And yet, sometimes traditions need freshening up.

Once a spring festival of rebirth in the desert, Passover goes back thousands of years and has always been a ganze production, a big deal, as my mother used to say. The original menu, as outlined in the Book of Exodus, consisted of maror, which we know as arugula and later came to represent the bitterness of enslavement; unleavened bread (matzo), round and baked in an open fire; and a whole lamb roasted before dawn. That’s it. No haroseth, no gefilte fish, no chicken soup, no matzo brittle.

These days, in addition to the bitter herbs, parsley or karpas, symbolizing the fruit of the earth that awakens in spring, are now dipped in saltwater to remind us of the tears of enslavement. A hard-boiled egg, burned in the oven or with a match, represents birth and rebirth. A roasted lamb or beef shank bone, chicken leg or broiled beet (for vegetarians) illustrates the festival sacrifice.

Recipe: Whitefish Salad

And, of course, also at the table there’s often that traditional gefilte fish , though the approach has changed over the decades. Still, I feel there is something even mystical about making it.

Take my mother-in-law’s method. She taught me to mold ground pieces of pike, carp and whitefish into oval gefilte fish just as she had in Poland before World War II. She insisted on cooking the fish dumplings for 2½ hours. Early on, I reduced the time to just 20 minutes. After all, cooked is cooked.

I still make my version each Passover with friends during what we call a “gefilte fish in,” lugging pots, ground fish, ingredients and recipes to make the fish balls. But today, this Eastern European favorite has fewer and fewer takers, so I sometimes replace it with a salmon or halibut terrine, or a simple yet tasty smoked whitefish salad — served with matzo, rather than bagels — for one of the appetizing courses.

Recipe: Chocolate-Hazelnut Schaum Torte

For years, our Seder ended with my father’s favorite chremslach, a matzo fritter with which he had grown up in Germany; as well as a kiss, also called a Schaum torte, essentially a large meringue with strawberries, an emblem of spring piled on top. Recipes for the torte, carefully handwritten in German, go back generations in my father’s family. My mother learned to make it from the German-Jewish-inspired “Settlement Cookbook.”

Tradition though it was, I always found the torte too sweet, so while visiting my son’s new in-laws in Denmark, I was so pleased when Eva, David’s future mother-in-law, served a similar meringue. Hers, called Eva’s cake, was filled with bitter chocolate and roasted hazelnuts to cut the sweetness. Now that torte, in a Danish family for generations, is part of our family’s Seder.

In my decades as a food writer, I have been fortunate to host many different and special Seders. At one particularly memorable Seder, about 10 years ago, more than 40 people gathered and, after dessert, we watched the children in the annual Passover play, a family tradition started decades ago. When it was over, there was a stunning silence, and I sensed that no one wanted this evening to end. It wasn’t just a dinner party. It was a sacred space.

Follow New York Times Cooking on Instagram , Facebook , YouTube , TikTok and Pinterest . Get regular updates from New York Times Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping advice .

More on Food and Dining

Keep tabs on dining trends, restaurant reviews and recipes..

We scouted Chicago’s vast food scene, from stellar hot dogs and renowned Italian beefs to refined tasting menus, to find the city’s 25 best restaurants right now .

Food myths come from many sources, and American cooks have swallowed lots of them. A veteran food journalist debunked five common kitchen misconceptions .

In the fourth installment of her YouTube series, Cooking 101, the cookbook author and chef Sohla El-Waylly will help you make flawless fish .

As governments impose limits on plastic food packaging, climate-friendlier alternatives are in the works. Here are some that might be coming to a grocery store near you .

Eating in New York City

Pete Wells, our dining critic, has unveiled his annual ranking of the 100 best restaurants in New York City .

At Shaw-naé’s House on Staten Island, the owner and chef Shaw-naé Dixon serves up Southern classics and a warm welcome to her “living room.”

Once the pre-eminent food court in Flushing, Queens, for regional Chinese cuisines, the Golden Mall has reopened after a four-year renovation. A new one in Manhattan is on the horizon.

At Noksu, dinner is served below the street, a few yards from the subway turnstiles. But the room and the food seem unmoored from any particular place .

New KC Market is a one-stop shop for kosher…

Things To Do Restaurants, Food and Drink

New kc market is a one-stop shop for kosher food, jewish products, at 28,000 square feet of retail space, it’s one of the largest kosher markets in florida..

Barbara and Sam Malkin of Boynton Beach shop for matzo ball soup at KC Market in Boynton Beach. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

It’s a supermarket, a restaurant, a pharmacy, a pizzeria, a bakery and a Judaica store: KC Market in Boynton Beach is becoming a one-stop shop for a community desperately in need of kosher food and Jewish products.

At 28,000 square feet of retail space, it’s one of the largest kosher markets in Florida. The owners took over a former Publix at Military Trail and Woolbright Road and opened late last month, filling the store with kosher wines, meats, cheeses and snacks, as well as dips, salads and soups made fresh each day at their Dania Beach commercial kitchen.

KC, which stands for “Kosher Central,” also has an 11,000-square-foot market in Hollywood and plans to open a third site in the coming months in Hallandale Beach, said Ian Kass, Boynton Beach store manager.

“We are mimicking the Hollywood store, but this store is much bigger,” Kass said. He pointed to the selection of hundreds of kosher wines, stacked six levels high, and 15 freezers full of kosher ice cream (the Hollywood store has six).

A look at the kosher fish counter at KC Market, a kosher grocer that's expanding from its current 11,000 square-foot store in Hollywood to a 40,000 square-foot site formerly occupied by Publix in Boynton Beach. The company also plans to open a 10,000 square-foot site at the oceanfront Oasis condominium tower in Hallandale. The two new sites are slated to open by fall 2023.

The Jewish community in Boynton Beach and neighboring areas has been growing rapidly and lacked a kosher market. Residents had to travel to stores in Delray Beach and Boca Raton for the nearest fully kosher and kosher-style groceries. Central Palm Beach County residents also could shop at large chains such as Publix and Winn-Dixie, which have small kosher sections but no kosher butchers on-site, said Rabbi Levi Feigelstock, executive director of the Orthodox Rabbinical Board of Broward and Palm Beach Counties , which certifies restaurants and markets that adhere to Jewish kosher laws and has certified KC Market.

Kosher laws stem from the biblical books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy and were expanded on in later rabbinical teachings. Only certain animals may be eaten, such as cows, sheep and chicken, and there are detailed rules about how they can be killed. Fruits and vegetables must be free of bugs; meat and dairy cannot be eaten together, and their utensils must be separate, too.

KC Market took over a former Publix at Military Trail and Woolbright Road. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Jewish residents moving to the Boynton Beach area do not all abide by these kosher laws; the observant are only a small percentage, less than 2%, according to a 2018 survey by the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County. Still, that survey showed enormous Jewish growth in Greater Boynton: a 32% increase, to 90,000 Jewish families, over the previous 10 years, said Michael Hoffman, the Jewish Federation’s president and chief executive officer.

“The population has increased even more since then, since COVID and lots of migration during that time,” Hoffman said. “We are in the middle of updating that data.”

Whether they are religious or not, customers visiting the store on a recent day said they relished shopping for KC’s variety of products that are rarely seen in traditional South Florida supermarkets, such as schmaltz, which is rendered poultry fat used in Eastern European cooking, and gluten-free bourekas, a Sephardic Jewish pastry filled with meat, cheese or vegetables.

KC Market's newest location in Boynton Beach has plenty of Eastern European specialties. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Customer David Mermelstein of Boynton Beach said he has been visiting the store a few times a week since it opened. On a recent day, he was stocking up on spreads and salads for an upcoming gathering at his synagogue.

“The Jewish community here is growing by leaps and bounds,” he said. “A store like this is going to attract more young people to Boynton Beach.”

Kass said he and his 50 employees are learning the culinary needs of Boynton Beach’s Jewish community, which he said favors Eastern European comfort foods, such as chopped liver, brisket and knishes. He said KC’s Hollywood clientele is heavily Israeli with Middle Eastern roots and prefer lighter fare, with staples such as lamb, chickpeas, lentils and dried fruits.

Customer Barbara Malkin of Boynton Beach said she is glad her nearby KC has plenty of Eastern European specialties. She and her husband, Sam, looked over the chopped liver offerings and remembered how their families made the traditional rich and cholesterol-inducing schmear.

Herring is a specialty at kosher grocer KC Market's newest location in Boynton Beach. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

“I don’t like Israeli food so I’m loving this,” she said. She filled her cart with minestrone soup, eggplant in tomato sauce, stuffed cabbage, vegetarian chopped liver and meatballs.

The store is also stocking up for Passover, when observant Jews refrain from bread products and eat specially marked foods. A big display promoted Coke and Diet Coke with yellow caps that signify they can be drunk during the holiday.

Still to come are two on-site restaurants, one serving meat dishes and the other dairy meals, since observant Jews keep these foods separate. Also on the way are an on-site pharmacy and an outpost of Cohen’s Judaica , which has a shop in Boca Raton.

Shoppers are perusing the aisles at the new KC Market in Boynton Beach. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Kass said he’s been glad to see an assortment of people shopping in the store, including Jews who don’t keep kosher but want to take a look at new products. Orthodox Jews like Kass see eating kosher food as a mitzvah, or commandment from God, and believe sharing their kosher lifestyle is also a good deed.

“We are bringing kosher food to people who don’t normally eat kosher food,” he said. “This is one of the greatest mitzvahs.”

KC Market is at 3775 Woolbright Road, Boynton Beach. Hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays. Visit Facebook.com/KCMarketFL or call 561-396-9711.

More in Things To Do

Now touring as Daniel Hillard, aka Mrs. Doubtfire, in "Mrs. Doubtfire, The New Musical Comedy," actor Rob McClure is at the top of the list of reasons to see this production at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts before it leaves on Sunday, April 21.

Theater | Theater review: Without a doubt, you don’t want to miss ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’

Baoshi, Pembroke Pines' only food hall, will be throwing Asian cocktail and dumpling-making classes over the last two weekends in April. Here's everything you should know.

Restaurants, Food and Drink | How bao that? Dumpling, cocktail-making classes on tap at Pembroke Pines’ only food hall

Here is how to get tickets to see the Colombian pop star and hear music from her new album, “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran.”

Things To Do | Ticket alert: Shakira’s first tour in six years is coming to South Florida

Lionfish, the James Beard Foundation-blessed, sustainability-themed seafood spot on Delray Beach’s buzzy Atlantic Avenue, permanently closed on Saturday night. In its place will rise a restaurant that needs no sugarcoating: Sugar Factory, an American brasserie chain and celebrity magnet

Restaurants, Food and Drink | ‘I didn’t want to do it anymore’: Acclaimed Lionfish restaurant in Delray Beach has closed, to be replaced by celebrity-magnet Sugar Factory

Get JTA's Daily Briefing in your inbox

I accept the JTA Privacy Policy .

By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org

Joan Nathan, pioneering Jewish food maven, dishes all in her new autobiography

( JTA ) — Joan Nathan had just settled in for a conversation about her most recent book, “My Life in Recipes,” when the food writer became distracted.

A media personality was coming for lunch the next day, she said, but she realized she was missing two of the ingredients for the matzo balls she planned on serving. She paused to search for what she needed while also musing about what substitutes she might use in their place.

A few days later, Nathan reported success: The luncheon was “lots of fun” and the matzo balls were delicious, she said, though she added, “They could have been cooked a tad bit more.” That forthright response is in line with the Joan Nathan whom readers have come to know from reading and cooking from her 12 cookbooks.

Now, Nathan, 81, has released a 436-page autobiography, “My Life in Recipes,” that looks back at her storied career, from her childhood in Providence, Rhode Island, to the research and writing that has made her the undisputed doyenne of Jewish food writing. Not that Nathan says she has spent much time thinking about her broader impact.

“I guess I have made a big contribution to the Jewish world. I never thought about it,” she told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “I humanized Jewish food all over the world and I think I made it important for people to realize it is part of their lives.”

The stories in “My Life in Recipes” date back to before Nathan’s birth in 1943. Many of the recipes that accompany and enrich the memoir were passed down within her family, like the matzo balls (tweaked with the addition of nutmeg and freshly grated ginger); a sweet- and-sour fish reminiscent of a dish her father enjoyed growing up in Augsburg, Germany; her German great-grandmother’s challah, made with mashed potatoes; and her mother’s cole slaw.

Nathan believes the cole slaw — made with orange juice and pickle juice — is a riff on a recipe that first appeared in a 1901 cookbook published by a Jewish woman to help recent immigrants , many of whom were Jewish, integrate into American life.

“Sometimes there are familial salads, secret salads, that you want to keep within the family. These are things I have learned and respected over all these years that I have been writing,” Nathan said. “She [my mom] probably took it originally from ‘The Settlement Cookbook’ and then she played around with it. That is how home cooks do it.”

Cookbook author Joan Nathan demonstrates a 60-minute Moroccan challah in advance of her book “Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France” at her Washington, D.C. home on Oct. 12, 2010. (Getty Images)

Other recipes in the new book, such as kolo, an Ethiopian barley snack, were picked up from friends and from some of the people in out-of-the-way places Nathan has met and befriended during her many years as a food writer.

In 1970, when she was 27, following graduate studies in French literature at the University of Michigan and a stint working as a bilingual assistant in French and English at the United Nations, Nathan moved to Israel and eventually became Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek’s foreign press attaché. While in that position, she became intrigued by the good food served in people’s homes in Jerusalem. That nterest culminated in the first of her cookbooks, “The Flavor of Jerusalem,” which she wrote with her friend Judy Stacey Goldman.

During that same 30-month period she had a defining meal that changed the trajectory of her life. She and Kollek were invited to a local Arab village to meet with the mukhtar, or village head. Kollek didn’t want to go because he knew that the mukhtar wanted a new road built, one that would be very expensive. But they went and by the end of the languorous, sumptuous repast at the mukhtar’s home, the village got a road and Nathan got a lifelong career.

“That meal showed me how food can break down barriers and bring people together,” she writes. “I understood then that food is not ornamental — it is central, and worthy of study — and that I could explore the world through food.”

Related: Joan Nathan’s Raspberry-Walnut Rugelach, from “My Life in Recipes” (The Nosher)

Following her return to the United States, in 1974 Nathan married attorney Allan Gerson, whom she met in Israel. The couple moved to Boston where she studied at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. While there, she wrote a paper, “Food Traits: An Overlooked Component of Ethnic Identity,” for a class on ethnicity and politics taught by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who soon after was elected to the U.S. Senate, representing New York. Nathan also wrote about ethnic food for a column in The Boston Globe, and when she and her husband moved to Washington, D.C. in 1977, she found a niche at the Washington Post in focusing on Jewish food.

Mitchell Davis, a food consultant who spent 27 years at the James Beard Foundation, most recently as its chief strategy officer, recalls Nathan as among a handful of women who “had a tremendous passion and precision and capacity to understand and translate different food cultures around the world” and made a broad impact as a result.

“If Julia [Child] was the first, I put Joan in my mind along with Marcella Hazan for Italian food, Madhur Jaffrey for Indian and Paula Wolfert for Moroccan food,” he said. “Because of her persistence and precision, and finding the story and getting it right, she did for Jewish food what all of those people did for other cuisines.”

Nathan gets her stories by finding her way into people’s homes and kitchens and listening to them. Food writer Leah Koenig, who is the author of seven cookbooks including the encyclopedic “Jewish Cookbook,” remembers a trip she took to Israel in 2010 with Nathan to explore what Koenig calls “the then-burgeoning food scene there.”

“It was an honor to see her in action as a researcher,” Koenig said. “I remember one day in the Jerusalem shuk where she literally followed her nose into the kitchen where a man was preparing an interesting chickpea dish. I watched in awe as she asked him question after question. Her genuine enthusiasm and curiosity were absolutely infectious and she walked away with a story, a recipe, a friend and a source she could return to.”

Joan Nathan at a National Yiddish Book Center event in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 2011. (Dina Rudick/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Cookbook writer Adeena Sussman notes that Nathan not only talks to people to learn their food stories, but she cooks with them, too. Cookbook author Katja Goldman spent a couple of afternoons in her kitchen with Nathan about 30 years ago, once to shape challah with her and another time for a story about varieties of stuffed pasta, such as Italian tortellini and Chinese wontons. Goldman showed Nathan how she made kreplach, an Eastern European meat-stuffed dumpling that is served in soup.

“She had me show her how to do it, discussed the process and asked a lot of questions,” said Goldman.

Nathan gets people to open up to her and share their recipes by showing an interest in them.

“When you want their recipe, you are acknowledging that you accept them as human beings,” said Nathan. “They will share with you. It’s being yourself with somebody and showing an interest. You have to get into their homes.”

In 1994, Nathan received a James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook for her fifth cookbook, “Jewish Cooking in America,” in which she documents, in her words, “how varied Jewish food can be.” Most of the recipes are attributed to the individuals who shared them with Nathan, with introductory notes about the roots of the recipe.

“She makes the point very early on in ‘Jewish Cooking in America’ that Jews have always adapted to where they have gone and have taken advantage of local ingredients,” said Matt Sartwell, managing partner of Kitchen Arts and Letters, a Manhattan bookstore specializing in culinary themes. In her chapter in the memoir titled “My Holiday is Passover,” she shares a recipe for gefilte fish made with American halibut, a saltwater fish, which is a change from the classic gefilte fish made with the whitefish and carp found in Eastern European lakes.

Cookbook author and self-described nice Jewish boy Jake Cohen, 30, cites “Jewish Food in America” and Nathan’s work ferreting out Jewish food from around the world as the “reason I am able to do what I do today. She paved the way.”

Nathan, Cohen said, “pioneered preserving tradition and family recipes. We had a recipe box of my great-grandmother’s recipes. If it wasn’t from the family, you didn’t have cookbooks to cook from. What she did was provide resources for people who don’t have family recipes.”

The recipes Nathan writes, said Cohen, are different from the recipes he was trained to write in culinary school.

“I write in a cold, scientific way [recording] how the recipe will be easily conveyed in words,” he said. “Hers is through feel. It feels like an oral tradition passed down from my grandmother.”

In a food world increasingly rife with contestation over the origins and cultural ties of particular foods, Nathan in some ways represents a throwback to a simpler time. When podcast host Kara Swisher recently asked Nathan if Israeli food was stolen from Arab cuisines — a charge often leveled against it —Nathan said she does not delve into food politics.

Yet she also offered an answer about hummus: “It’s not stolen,” Nathan said, adding that it was popular across the region. She credited American Jews who began traveling more regularly to Israel in the late 1960s with popularizing the chickpea spread in the United States. She also said she was saddened by the friendships between Jewish or Israeli food writers and Arab food writers that were “destroyed” amid the current Israel-Hamas war. She said she hoped to see a ceasefire, and praised the efforts of World Central Kitchen chef Jose Andres to feed Palestinians in Gaza. (The conversation took place before the Israeli army killed seven World Central Kitchen workers , causing the group to suspend its operations.)

And she offered a suggestion for a dish that could one day become associated with memorializing the Oct. 7 attack on Israel the same way that hamantaschen are a symbol of survival on the Jewish holiday of Purim. Mujaddara, a lentil-and-bulgur dish that appears in “My Life in Recipes,” is fitting both because it is popular among both Arabs and Jews in the Middle East, Nathan said, and because it is often eaten before Tisha B’Av , a Jewish holiday of mourning.

“Why would you have something happy to memorialize a tragedy?” Nathan asked. “But it tastes good … and it’s a humble dish. That’s what I would use.”

Nathan began “My Life in Recipes,” which she claims will be her last book– “I have written a dozen! That’s good!” – when the pandemic struck in 2020.

“ My husband had just died , it was a time of reflection,” said Nathan. “I looked at the body of my work and I wanted to share it. It took a long time to get ready to write it because I had to go through all of my letters and my files. I had to contact people I hadn’t spoken to in 50 or 60 years.”

Nathan’s Rolodex is packed after decades of culinary exploration. But she believes forging more intimate relationships around food can be just as powerful as discovering previously unsung food traditions in far-flung places.

“It is so important for children to talk to their parents and their grandparents and find their past and their path to the future,” she said. “We need the connection. Otherwise we will all be the same. And we don’t want to all be the same.”

In the 1800s, New York’s Jewish elite dined at ‘The Kosher Delmonico’

The NYT’s ‘100 best restaurants’ in NYC in 2024 include an Israeli falafel joint and 2 Jewish delis

Sammy’s Roumanian, famed Lower East Side restaurant, will reopen with a Passover seder

Pioneering Israeli Chef Efi Naon opens a new restaurant, Frena, where his acclaimed Taboon once stood

Williamsburg Israeli restaurant Mesiba lives up to its name, which means ‘party’ in Hebrew

IMAGES

BEST NEW YORK Jewish Food Tour!
Famous Jewish Food Tour in New York
The 13 Best Jewish Delis In NYC
New York food: a tour of the Jewish Lower East Side
New York Food Tours: Jewish Cuisine
The Best Jewish Food in New York City

VIDEO

This is the Most POPULAR Street Food in NYC! #halalguys
I Went to New York’s Most Famous Steak House
The Most OVERHYPED Restaurant In New York
BEST 5 BURGER Restaurants in New York City. Food Tour by local insider
Wie schmeckt TÜRKISCHES Essen in New York?
New york city restaurants facts #fayazmohammed #facts #newyork #trending #viral #shorts

COMMENTS

Foodie New York Jewish Lower East Side Walking Tour
A tour through the Lower East Side explores the story of immigrant life following the arrival at Ellis Island for Eastern European Jews. One of the most famous neighborhoods on earth, the Jewish Lower East Side hosted remarkable political, social, artistic, economic, and culinary movements that would help to define the modern American experience.
A Delicious Jewish Food Tour in New York with Ultimate Food Tours
July 18, 2023. Living in New Jersey/New York area spoils you rotten when it comes to experiencing good food. You get fantastic cuisine from almost every culture which sets your expectations high when it comes to any food activities. When I heard about Ultimate Food Tour's Jewish Food Tour in New York, I was curious to check out something new ...
Jewish Tours
Don't miss your chance to see the historic synagogues and best Jewish landmarks in New York, NY. Our Jewish tours show the best sights, sounds and tastes of the city. Barry Judelman (845) 548-6110. [email protected]. Home; Tours; ... I was on a 'Barry's Jewish New York' Tour in November with my family, and we had one of the best times ...
Jewish Food Tour of New York
Time Out says. Explore the Lower East Side of the early 20th century, which was home to one of the largest populations of Jewish refugees in the world. Taste knishes, bialy, matzo ball soup and ...
Ultimate Food Tours
Specialties: Thanks for checking out Ultimate Food Tours! We offer a multitude of tours around New York City meant to fill your body and your mind. We strive to give our guests the best experience ever through delicious food, engaging guides, and immersive storytelling. Some of our featured tours are The Ultimate Chinatown Food Tour, Iconic Foods of the Lower East Side, SoHo Dessert Tour, and ...
BEST NEW YORK Jewish Food Tour!
Let's explore NYC's Jewish history with a food tour in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.. from a Hasidic Bakery to Kosher Pickles, and bialys this will be a ...
A guide to the best Jewish food on the Lower East Side by a New Yorker
Kossar's Bagels & Bialys. The bialy is a lesser-known Jewish bread item that originated in Bialystok, Poland. This recipe made its way across the Atlantic (most likely through Ellis Island!) and landed in the Lower East Side where it became a popular fixture of Jewish food in New York City.
The Best Jewish Food in New York City
10. Falafel and Fresh Pita from Taim. Get the flavors of Tel Aviv at Taim, a cozy falafel and smoothie shop in the West Village. Everything is made with fresh ingredients by hand, including za'atar-dusted pita, baba ganoush, and three must-try flavors of falafel. Smoked meat photo from Mile End Deli's Instagram.
Walking Food Tours Offer Visitors a Taste of Jewish New York
The family-run Levy's Unique New York, for example, leads a "Jewish Heritage of the Lower East Side: Immigrants and Noshes" tour that visits food icons like Katz's Deli and Russ ...
19 Top Jewish Delis Around NYC
The challah French toast is a longtime East Village classic, now rarely seen in its home neighborhood. Open in Google Maps. 162 E 33rd St, New York, NY 10016. (212) 689-9000. Visit Website. The ...
A new walking tour of NYC Israeli restaurants becomes an exercise in
The 10 of us had assembled for the first-ever Delicious Cities tour in New York, a new domestic food tour initiative from Inbal ... (The Nosher and the New York Jewish Week have the same parent ...
The Best NYC Food Tours
Ultimate Food Tours: Famous Jewish Food of New York City . The influence of Jewish food culture can be seen everywhere around the city, from bagel shops to delicatessens to pastrami shops and sandwich counters. This unique tour led by Ultimate Food Tours investigates the history of Jewish immigration to the city in the early 20th century and ...
New York Food Tours: Jewish Cuisine
Of the flavours we tasted with Sarah on Context Travel's Jewish Cuisine and Culture tour, many were new to me. For example, we tried pastrami smoked salmon, which uses the same kind of spice rub and smoking found on beef pastrami but on the fish; we tasted "real" pastrami but also corned beef and the less fancy brisket; and we dined on Knishes begun 114 years ago (or at least their yeast ...
Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy
The Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy is a non-profit educational organization, created in 1998, with a mission to celebrate, preserve, and share the Jewish heritage of New York City's neighborhoods, starting with the iconic Lower East Side. The Conservancy's deeply knowledgeable guides will lead you on a fascinating exploration of The Lower ...
Lower East Side Food Tour
Where: Outside Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery, 137 E. Houston St. Look for your guide with the Free Tours by Foot logo. Please use our Google map for directions to the start of the tour. Duration: Approximately 2 hours. Tour distance is approximately 1 mile (1.6K) When: Sundays @1:30pm and Tuesdays & Thursdays @1pm.
25 Jewish dishes to eat in NYC right now
Edith's iced café ($8.25) — a slushie made of cold brew, oat milk and tahini — is a delicious vegan concoction that's both less sweet than a milkshake but creamier. What's more, Edith ...
The Resy Guide to Jewish Food in New York
The Resy Guide to Jewish Food in New York. By Elyssa Goodman September 14, 2023. As one of the most vibrant Jewish American enclaves in the country, New York City has also become home to a host of Jewish American, Eastern European, and Middle Eastern cuisines — a reflection of the global Jewish diaspora. This began with the arrival of Jewish ...
Best Jewish Food in the Lower East Side, New York City
The Lower East Side in New York City is a Jewish foodie heaven with the best lox, pastrami, knishes, pickles, and babka in the United States. This neighborhood keeps the food traditions alive that Jewish immigrants brought to NYC over 100 years ago. At it's peak in the early 1900's, the Lower East Side had about 90 Jewish food shops and ...
Lower East Side Food Tour
FOOD TOUR HIGHLIGHTS. Explore the Lower East Side's historic tenement buildings and synagogues. Visit an old-fashioned candy store serving the neighborhood since 1937. Taste a tres leches and blackout cake doughnut from award winner Doughnut Plant NYC. The personalities of our native New Yorker tour guides thrill and entertain you.
New York Jewish Tours
New York Jewish Tours are designed to help tourists and all those who are interested in exploring the rich and exciting sites of New York's Jewish past and present. New York Jewish Tours are customized to meet your specific needs. Whether you are a few people or a large group, looking for a short walking trip, or touring the city for longer ...
Jewish New York Ny
Follow Us on Instagram. #jewishnewyorkny. 201. Walking tour of Jewish New York Ny. Recommended Jewish food and restaurants, Sites and synagogues, Jewish events and recommended tour guides.
In the 1800s, New York's Jewish elite dined at 'The Kosher Delmonico'
APRIL 17, 2024 03:42. THE DELECTABLE salt beef sandwich at Dublin's kosher Deli 613. (photo credit: Deli 613) (New York Jewish Week) — When downtown steakhouse Delmonico's opened in 1827, it ...
Where to find a Passover seder in New York City in 2024
Join 92NY for their community second-night seder, hosted by Rebecca Schoffer, 92NY's director of Jewish Family Life. The seder will be at 92NY's Buttenwieser Hall (1395 Lexington Ave) on at 5 ...
Mr. Broadway Proving That The Jewish Deli Can Still Thrive In New York City
The eatery, by New York City standards, is massive and covers 6,000 square feet, accommodates 280 people, and has two private rooms, one for 18 people and the other for 45 people.
At Passover, the Only Constant Is Changing Recipes
Joan Nathan, a doyenne of Jewish American cuisine, has long treasured the holiday and witnessed its evolution through food. ... Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha ...
New kosher market shows Jewish growth in Boynton Beach
New KC Market is a one-stop shop for kosher food, Jewish products At 28,000 square feet of retail space, it's one of the largest kosher markets in Florida.
A New York-Style Jewish Deli Has Actually Opened in DC
Beresovsky's Deli opened in Navy Yard across from Nationals Park this week. Both Berry and Reginbogin grew up in Jewish families in Los Angeles, where delis were a staple. In fact, Berry's first restaurant job was serving during the graveyard shift at Jerry's Famous Deli in LA. Beresovsky's Deli is an homage to Berry's great ...
The Jewish Museum
Monday, April 15, 2024 2 - 2:45 pm Exhibition Galleries. 45-minute tours of the exhibition. Scenes from the Collection tours are led by the Museum's docents and meet in the elevator lobby of Floor 3. Included with Museum Admission. Installation view of Scenes from the Collection. The Jewish Museum, New York. Photo by: Roz Akin. Add to Calendar.
Joan Nathan, pioneering Jewish food maven, dishes all in her new
Food writer Leah Koenig, who is the author of seven cookbooks including the encyclopedic "Jewish Cookbook," remembers a trip she took to Israel in 2010 with Nathan to explore what Koenig calls ...

A Delicious Jewish Food Tour in New York with Ultimate Food Tours!

A little bit on Ultimate Food Tour’s background

And Some Quick Logistics about the Jewish Food Tour

Let’s go on a Jewish Food Tour in NYC!

Stop 2: Schaller’s Stube Sausage Bar

Stop 3: Pastrami Queen

Stop 4: William Greenberg Desserts

Thoughts on the Jewish Food Tour in NYC

Similar Posts

Simple Yet Awesome Off-Season Things To Do in Cape May

Romantic New Jersey Date Night Ideas For 2024

Miami Girls Weekend Getaway: Complete and Awesome Guide

Perfect Weekend in Key West: Your New Favorite Getaway

A Perfect Itinerary for a 3-Day Austin Bachelorette Party

Cozy Things To Do in New Jersey in Winter 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Jewish Food Tour of New York

Time Out says

Ultimate Food Tours

Review Highlights

Location & Hours

You Might Also Consider

Amenities and More

Ask the Community

Recommended Reviews

People Also Viewed

Best of New York

Other Food Tours Nearby

Browse Nearby

Related Cost Guides

A guide to the best Jewish food on the Lower East Side by a New Yorker

Yonah Schimmel’s Knishery

Katz’s Delicatessen

Economy Candy

Russ & Daughters

The (New) Essex Market

Kossar’s Bagels & Bialys

The Pickle Guys

…Afterward

Have you tried Jewish food on the Lower East Side?

About Karen Turner

Reader Interactions

The Best Jewish Food in New York City

Join Our Newsletter

Keep on Noshing

VIDEO: How to Make Stuffed Cabbage

Baklava with Honey and Cardamom Recipe

Chocolate Cranberry Challah Rolls with Citrus Sugar

Share this story

19 Vital Jewish Delis in NYC

Share All sharing options for: 19 Vital Jewish Delis in NYC

Liebman's Kosher Deli

Barney Greengrass

Pastrami Queen

PJ Bernstein

Brooklyn Diner USA

Ben's Kosher Delicatessen

Sign up for the newsletter Eater NY

Thanks for signing up!

Sarge's Delicatessen

Pastrami House Delicatessen

2nd Ave Deli

Hobby's Delicatessen

Frankel's Delicatessen

Katz's Delicatessen

Russ & Daughters Cafe

Edith’s Sandwich Counter

Gottlieb's Restaurant

More in Maps

Mile End Delicatessen

David's Brisket House

Mill Basin Kosher Deli

Related Maps

Follow Eater NY online:

Site search

New York Food Tours: Jewish Cuisine

You may also like

Where to See Historic Architecture in California

5 Amazing Yosemite Hikes with Kids

The Best Place to Travel with Kids in California?