NEW KOSHER IN TEANECK, NEW JERSEY

A diverse new wave of kosher in Teaneck
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Last updated: Sunday February 7, 2010, 1:34 PM
By ELISA UNG
RESTAURANT REVIEWER
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Kosher isn’t just for those who keep kosher. Just look at some of the newest additions to Teaneck’s dining scene.

On one corner of Queen Anne Road, there’s MochaBleu, a new bistro and patisserie serving enormous calzones, fresh sushi and baked goods crafted by a French pastry chef who has never before worked in a kosher restaurant.

A few doors down, there’s the new Burgers Bar, with a menu that seems in line among the wave of quick-serve burger spots: beef is ground in-house, fries are available regular or spicy, and 17 sandwich sauces like sweet chili and “bar-b-fruit” are also made fresh.

Blocks away sits Etc. Steakhouse, a small but thrilling BYO that was one of the best overall restaurants I reviewed last year. Down on Cedar Lane is Smokey Joe’s, which serves some of the most tender brisket and delicately smoked chicken that I’ve had in North Jersey. Nearby, you can get samosas at Shalom Bombay and English-style fish and chips and salmon fajitas out of Fish of the C’s.

Any of these are restaurants I’d be eager to visit despite the presence of any kosher designation. Such dining comes with inherent restrictions for those of us who don’t keep kosher — no shellfish and no mixing meat and dairy. They typically close sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, and kosher meat is often more expensive.

Still, it’s exciting to see the growing number of kosher restaurants poised to find broader appeal in Teaneck.

Clark Loffman, the owner of Fish of the C’s, the year-old fish-and-chips spot, said this isn’t coincidental. “My survival will depend on being able to cater to the entire community, and not just people who care about keeping kosher.”

Because fish doesn’t carry the premium cost of kosher meat, Loffman’s strategy is to price his menu to compete with non-kosher restaurants — fish and chips start at $7.95. He says it’s recently starting to pay off. “We’ve seen an increase in the non-kosher crowd coming in and enjoying the food.”

Fashion designers Hila and Naftali Abenaim opened MochaBleu in the West Englewood Plaza section of Teaneck with the aim of creating a stylish, young atmosphere – and to fill a void they had been feeling for the three years they’d lived nearby.

“I hadn’t found any place where I could get a normal napoleon. Or a fresh wrap, or an asparagus salad,” said Hila Abenaim. Their menu has been attracting a clientele that’s more than a third non-kosher.

A few doors down, former advertising executive Mitch Krevat recently opened the third U.S. location of Burgers Bar, a concept started in Israel. Krevat says he purposely won’t erect a large sign reading “kosher restaurant” – he wants his eatery to be widely embraced. “A good burger is a good burger,” he said — even with the absence of cheese.

When Stuart Kahan opened Ma’adan, the popular Cedar Lane food shop, in 1982, it was one of the area’s first kosher establishments. Now, he says about a quarter of his customers do not keep kosher. “That’s a byproduct of opening up a store that has good food,” he says.

Still, Kahan sounded a cautionary note, pointing out that previous businesses that tried to gain a foothold in the area went out of business within months.

“I worry for some of them because in this climate, I would not have the nerve to open a store with the economy the way it is. … The pie is only so big and can only get cut up in so many pieces,” Kahan says. “At the same time, when more places open up, it attracts more people from outside the area.”

That’s precisely why Loffman, the owner of the fish restaurant, sees it as important to compete more broadly. While Teaneck continues to be a destination for kosher food, “there’s obviously going to be a saturation point,” Loffman said, and, “It becomes more important to attract more customers” and “offer something to the bigger community.”