Kosher Restaurant Review: Hapina: 5 Towns

Well it's finally happened: We sold our home and closed yesterday! As we move South to our new digs very shortly, my in-laws took us out for dinner. Wanting to stay local, we opted for Hapina, an Israeli grill restaurant located in Cedarhurst, Long Island. I hadn't been there for quite sometime and was surprised at the expanded location ( they doubled the size and now it can serve as a party room) and the new decor as well as the addition of sushi to their menu. We ordered the necessary appetizers: cigars and fallafel balls. They came with fresh pita bread, humus and tihina all of ehich were fresh and tasted excellent. The sushi was not too bad either. I was most impressed by my pita sandwich choice: lamb: grilled to perfection and succulent. The whole family enjoyed their choices:cornish hen etc.. Needless to say I was very impressed with the changes they have made and would certainly recommend it as a great place to take eat out if you want quality food at an affordable price. Entrees were generally in the $10 or below range and the service while not great was certainly good enough.

Introducing New Jewish Music and Entertainment Blog

I'd like to introducing you all to my new upcoming blog: Jewish Music Insider. Feel free to add it to your blogroll. This new blog will feature the latest in upcoming Jewish music releases and reviews as well as interviews with key Jewish music figures. It will also include kosher restaurant reviews and polls on a variety of Jewish music and entertainment questions. Stay tuned....

Kosher Restaurant Review: EJ's Too, Dairy Restaurant

West Hempstead, Long Island is currently home to about 1000 religious orthodox Jewish families. Unfortunately it never fared very well in the way of restaurants. Many eateries have come and gone and there are only 2 that have been a mainstay: Wing Wan (kosher chinese) and Hunkis Pizza. You can imagine my surprise when I saw a sign for a dairy restaurant in the neighborhood. This new restaurant I refer to is EJ's too, located on Hempstead Ave right next to I & DGlatt. The great thing about this new establishment is that they are open later ( Till 12 AM Sat. nights) than Hunkis ever was. Hunkis isn't even open Sat. Nights after Passover, so that is a welcome change for the community. EJ's too is a offspring of Ej's Pizza in Teaneck owned by Elliot Rosenfeld. They went all out on the decor and space for this new establishment. Ej's too is by far one of the best looking kosher pizza stores you will find in Long Island. They feature a full salad bar and plenty of seating space to accommodate even the largest crowds (and they are getting them too). Ej's offers a nice selection of different pizzas as well as pasta dishes. Prices are reasonable: regular slices are $2, pasta dishes are $4.50 for sides and $6.50 as a main. I sampled a regular slice and thier garlic knots( 25 cents each). The garlic knots were a nice size but they lacked enough garlic flavor and should have been a bit oilier. The pizza was not bad: nice amount of cheese and the sauce although not my favorite was pretty good. It looks like the neighborhood is standing behind this new restaurant and many of the younger kids seems to like it as well. They are starting a special for Monday nights where pies are just $9.99. That will certainly capture a lot of interest I'm sure. Ej's too is set to be the next hotspot of West Hempstead and I think even some 5- Towners may start frequenting this new dairy restaurant.

Kosher Restaurant Review: KBurger

A friend of mine recently introduced me to a burger joint that was certainly responsible for putting Burger Nosh out of business. The establishment I speak of is none other than K Burger. K Burger is owned by the same people that brought you Pita Hot and this fast food joint is right next door. The owners smartly opened up the wall and made an entrance from one to the other. The decor is bright an art deco type which I found appealing. I have been to many of the more well known burger restaurants i.e. Burger Bar etc.. This place in my opinion has the best hamburgers hands down as well as the best deal for your dollar. My wife was even more impressed by their chicken fingers which were moist on the inside and crisp and tasty on the outside. Just like Burger Bar they offer to make it the burger "your way" with a variety of tasty toppings such as garlic mayo and garlic dill Mayo (my favorite). You can also ask for the topping on the side should you choose to use them as a dipping sauce say for your chicken fingers. The "K Burger" was moderately priced at $7, chicken fingers for $4.50 ( a nice portion) and they offer kid meals as well (chicken fingers with your choice of fries or onion rings and a soda: $8). The service was quick and they don't hassle you about your choices. I think I have found a new favorite place to frequent and of course I can always go for shwarma next door if I crave it.

Kosher Restaurant Review: Cafeccino: Queens

Those of you living in Queens have perhaps said farewell recently to a long standing fast food eatery named "Burger Nosh". Burger Nosh suffered from some fierce competition of new restaurants that had opened such as K Burger and closed after many years of serving the Kew Garden Hills Community. In it's place now stands a new Cafe called Cafeccino. Caffeccino is owned by a nice fellow named Kenny who was the previous owner of deli/restaurant in the 5 towns called Traditions. Let me give the lowdown on this new joint in Flushing. Firstly if you have any delusions of taking your small ones with you you'll be in for a big treat: No High chairs. I was quite surprised that someone who had been in the family food business for so long could over look such an elementary concept but perhaps he wants to keep them out? The decor is nice and the seats are comfortable but the acoustics can make it very loud once the place fills up. The service this past Sunday was nothing short of horrible. We waited quite sometime to get any bread on our table not to mention our food. Our waiter was obnoxious to say the least and had very little knowledge about how the food was prepared. Perhaps good help is hard to find in this industry but we would have been better off with more bad help so at least we have been served more promptly. The food itself was quite good however and the portions were fairly large. The cappuccinos and the sort were a bit pricey and from what I heard they weren't very big, so I passed. For the economically conscious they had a half salad/half wrap combo for $5.95 and "to go" they have wraps ( I got one to stay anyway) like grilled salmon for just $6.95 ( it came with sautéed mushrooms, onions and peppers and was served cold) that was quite delicious. It looks like they have a pretty good breakfast menu as well. My experience personally was very stressful and I'm not sure I would go back. If it's just me and a friend I might consider giving it another run. The tables are quite close together so perhaps it's a better "to go" place than eat in. Bottom line: good food, horrific service, prices are ok. Most entrees start at $8.95 and go up to $19.95 for fish dishes.