If Jewish mothers have the well-earned reputation of never letting a person leave their house hungry, imagine what an entire Jewish neighborhood would do if they held a Kosher food crawl.
Such was the case last Sunday when this reporter and his KCP accomplice, Chana (last name withheld to protect the dieter) attended ‘A Taste of Crown Heights,’ billed as the first Kosher food crawl in the country.
The new Jewish app, JMenu, along with Toys For Hospitalized Children organized the gut-busting event with COLIve.com being the main sponsor of the food tasting tour of more than 20 eateries and beverage haunts in and around the Kingston Avenue – the main thoroughfare and headquarters of the Lubavitch Jewish sect and the purveyors of the worldwide Chabad movement.
Showcasing were restaurants and eateries, including Albany Bakery, Baguette Express, Boeuf & Bun, Calabria, Chocolatte, Dean Street Café, Eber’s Wine & Liquor, Empire Grill, Ess & Bentch, Gombo’s Bakery, Hal’s New York Seltzer, House of Glatt, JJ’s Holy Cow, Koshertown, Mama Kitchen, Mendy’s @ the JCM, Mermelstein’s & Kohen Bros. Catering, Natural Treats Juice bar, Noribar Sushi Lounge, Prime Avenue, Raskins Fish, Sushi Spot, Sweet Expressions, Table One Catering, Turk Catering, and Wine By The Case.
Among those enjoying the kosher delicacies were New York State Senator Jesse Hamilton, Assemblywoman Diana Richardson and Matthew Pitt, Director of Constituent Affairs for City Council Member Laurie Cumbo. They joined the food crawl on foot and tasted the spread at each location.
But for this intrepid editor/reporter, a veteran schnorrer of the highest magnitude when it comes to free food and drink to the press, the gastronomic pleasures proved almost to be too much.
Indeed, from the burgers of Boeuf & Bun to the to the bourbon from Eber’s Wine & Liquor; to the herring from Raskins Fish to the brownies and baked goods from Gombo’s Bakery and Choccolatted, and for enough falafels and humus to feed the Israeli army – this jolly journalist and his companion had to march back on foot all the way to Kensington just to burn off some calories.
“The people were super excited, and everyone had a great time,” said JJ Hecht, Director of Toys for Hospitalized Children, of the hundreds of people who turned out for the event. “We are extremely thankful to JMenu for organizing and COLlive for sponsoring the event.”
“We are so excited for next year,” said Shmuly Wolf, CEO of JMenu. “Today was just the beginning of something huge in years to come.”
