Community Magazine July 2012

P izza and hamburgers are standard comfort foods found in most mainstream kosher eateries, and continue to be a mainstay of the kosher food industry. In recent years, however, kosher supermarket shelves are being stocked with all types of foods from around the world, and new kosher restaurants specializing in the exotic are opening, while existing establishments expand their fare and offerings to appeal to more diverse tastes. Food companies and restaurants have been eagerly reformatting their product lines in order to attract newer, more savvy kosher consumers, who are interested in not just filling their plates and stomachs, but also broadening their flavor palettes. Case in point: hummus. Once considered an exotic product itself, today, plain hummus barely rates anymore. Shoppers in a kosher supermarket might find as many as 38 flavors of hummus, from sixmanufacturers, with never-seen-before taste combinations. Similarly, restaurants are expanding their menus to appeal to various ethnic tastes. For instance, sushi is no longer relegated to Japanese – or even Asian restaurants for that matter. It’s not unusual anymore to find the seaweed wrapped specialties on the menu at a kosher Italian café or a French steak house. A growing number of restaurants are moving in directions that were unheard of 15 years ago, exploring culinary regions that previously had no representation in the field of kosher dining. daVE GoRdoN Ethnic, Exotic & Eclectic Kosher food in America has expanded to span the full gamut of tastes and cultures. 34 Community magazine