The complications of keeping kosher while traveling can put a damper on even the best-planned trip. Instead of resigning yourself to packaged food, though, by choosing destinations with strong traditions of kosher cuisine, you can go for the food instead of despite it. Some of the widest selections of fine Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Israeli -- as well as local -- kosher cuisine are found in New York, Jerusalem, Paris, and Budapest.
New York
New York has no shortage of kosher eateries, and maybe it's exactly that competition that keeps the restaurants sharp and able to meet the demands of locals and visitors alike.
Mill Basin Kosher Deli and Fine Art Gallery
Considered Brooklyn's finest kosher deli, Mill Basin has become a New York institution. Stop in for some old favorites like pastrami and kasha varnishkes or sample specialties like the Superhuman Sandwich with cold cuts and vegetables. The deli's world-class art gallery displays works of modern masters, including a collection of original Art Deco works by Erté and Romain de Tirtoff, turn-of-the-century posters by Alphonse Mucha and 3-D art by James Rizzi, as well as works by other well-known artists.
Mr. Broadway Kosher Deli
Another New York landmark, which offers deli, grilled, and Mediterranean specialties, as well as Chinese cuisine and sushi. Its widely talked-about food draws a crowd, making it the ideal place to experience the energy of a true New York deli.
Chickpea Restaurant
This Manhattan-area restaurant serves both meat and parve Israeli cuisine along with a variety of sandwiches, including falafel and shawarma. Living up to its slogan "get fresh!", it offers pitot baked on site and the Create-a-Salad menu from which guests can select fresh ingredients to design their own salads.
The Original Yonah Schimmel Knishery
A celebration of the humble knish founded by Romanian immigrant Yonah Schimmel in 1910. Over time it has secured such a significant place in the minds' of New Yorkers that an oil painting of the restaurant hangs in the Museum of the City of New York. Potato, kasha, spinach, cabbage, vegetable, and mushroom knishes are hand-rolled then baked in brick ovens on the premises.
Kossar's Bialys
Kossar's Bialys has been hand-making some of the city's best-loved bialys, bulkas, pletzels, and sesame sticks to go since 1927. You won't find automatic tunnel ovens or freeze-dried ingredients here - only quality high-gluten flour, fresh onions, and fresh poppy seeds go into these bialys, which are backed in an old-fashioned brick oven for an authentic flavor.
Jerusalem
Jerusalem's multitude of kosher restaurants reflects the city itself, offering a mix of Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Israeli cuisine.
Eucalyptus Restaurant
One of Jerusalem's most widely-reviewed restaurants has earned its fame with a cuisine designed around foods mentioned in the bible and foods linked with Jerusalem's history. In the relaxed surroundings of this spacious, rustic-style eatery guests can try meals made with figs, dates, khubeiza (a wild plant eaten during the 1948 siege of Jerusalem), cyclamen leaves, akubit hagalgal (a thorn plant), quail, lamb, and fish from the Mediterranean Sea. Award-winning chef Moshe Bason is often on hand to answer questions about his unique dishes.
Heimishe Essen Restaurant
Just like mom used to make -- tzimmes, knishes, gefilte fish, liver and onions, and kugel that guests can enjoy in the intimate indoor seating area or out on the patio. Start your meal with one of over twenty types of salads and appetizers or add your falafel, potatoes, or sweet and sour cabbage to your main course.
Abu Shukri Restaurant
Located in the Old City of Jerusalem, this Middle Eastern restaurant has become legendary for its thick, hand-pounded hummus -- available with chick peas in olive oil, black beans, or toasted pine nuts -- served with a side dish of salad, falafel, or French fries. Its meat menu includes grilled kabobs, shawarma, and kubbeh (dumplings stuffed with meat).
Masaryk Restaurant
Masaryk offers an outstandingly wide variety of fine Middle Eastern cuisine. Come in early for a breakfast of eggs, omelets, fresh fruits, or yogurt, or stop in later in the day for thick vegetable soups, unique sandwiches combinations, and a long list of fish and pasta dishes. Desserts range from pears in wine or simple cakes and ice cream.
Eshel Avraham Grill
Generous portions of authentic Sephardi meat specialties, soups, grilled and roasted dishes are served in a relaxed atmosphere. The restaurant's friendly, efficient staff can help guests choose from among dishes like kebabs and skewers, mixed grill, shawarma, veal chops, and lamb chops, all of which come with fresh pitot and garnishes. Traditional Sephardi appetizers, such as cigars and pastels, are also available.
Paris
With a Jewish community now at 375,000 members, the number of kosher establishments has been growing to match and Paris currently boasts more than 200 kosher restaurants, cafes and bakeries.
Jo Goldenberg's Delicatessen
Situated on the most famous street of the Le Marais Jewish quarter, this busy, no-frills
deli serves classic Ashkenazi dishes such as chicken soup with kreplach, pastrami, chopped herring, gefilte fish, bagels, and cheesecake. Other East European favorites like beef goulash and borscht can also be found here.
O'Mazal Restaurant
Just a few steps from the Victory Synagogue is this high-caliber restaurant cooking up specialties of French, Middle Eastern, and grilled cuisine. Weekday meals include the daily special with North African kemia (appetizers), along with either dessert or a glass of wine. Plan an evening out to dine in the cream-and-burgandy seating area where the house pianist-singer ensures an audience of elegance.
Chez Akol Restaurant
A Paris exclusive, Chez Akol realizes the "pur beurre" lunch with dishes such as crepes, confections, and cheesecake. It's also the only place in town with kosher butter pastries. Sample French specialties such as croissants, brioche, and pain chocolat or stick with bagels and cream cheese. Pizzas, paninis, salads, and sandwiches are also served in this classy yet homey establishment.
Allo Sarina Restaurant
This small restaurant offers Mediterranean dishes such as stuffed sweet pepper, couscous, artichokes, eggplant, beans, steak, and veal dishes. From the simply decorated interior guests can watch passers-by through large picture windows that look out onto the street.
Korcarz Bakeries
Polish immigrants Joseph and Helene Korcarz opened their first bakery in 1948 and now run five Korcarz bakeries, providing kosher products to numerous markets and retailers around the country. The original patisserie, widely-known for its friendly atmosphere, serves classic French and Middle Eastern pastries along with tea and Illy coffee.
Beggel Toasts
A modest little establishment serving toasted bagels (Florence-style, Norwegian, and feta, among others), pizza (Mediterranean, five-cheese, cheese-less Tunisian and other styles), quiche, crepes, salad, and borekas that guests can dine on indoors or at the outdoor tables. Top off the meal with cheesecake, chocolate brioche, or chocolate fondant.
Kosher confections
A number of patisseries and bakeries around Paris offer a kosher selection of France's renowned confections. The most popular of these are Damyel Chocolatier, Diamantine, and Murciano bakery.
Budapest
Hungary's abundance of quality vegetables, fruits, and grains and Budapest's active and long-standing Jewish community make the Hungarian capital an ideal place to sample fine kosher culinary specialties.
Kinor David
One of the newest Kosher restaurants in Budapest, its Israeli and Ashkenazic dishes are quickly gaining a following. For authenticity and quality-assurance, two Israeli Orthodox Jews were brought in to help in establishing the restaurant. Menu items range in price from inexpensive gefilte fish to a pricey salmon steak, and beer is available on tap.
King's Hotel
This strictly kosher hotel is housed in a nineteenth-century building which, although renovated, retains its classical atmosphere. Enjoy a selection of meat-based specialties among the simple, refined decor of the hotel's two restaurants.
Hanna
Hungarian specialties made kosher. Cold cherry soup and hearty casseroles are served in this eatery housed in a former school building in the heart of the Orthodox neighborhood. Its familial atmosphere draws locals, yeshiva students, and tourists alike.
Kosher wine cellar
On Klauzál Square, center of the former ghetto, lies this wine cellar offering locally-produced Orthodox kosher wines.
Kosher Tour Companies
If you're looking to simplify your travels with an all-inclusive tour package that provides kosher cuisine, several companies in the U.S. offer solutions. Kesher Tours invites travelers to experience the individual personalities of local Jewish communities, including Shabbat services in local synagogues. Package tours cover U.S. National Parks, the Canadian Rockies, and Iberia. A Central Europe Jewish Heritage tour of Budapest, Vienna, and Prague is also available. For a more adventurous trip, try Kosher Treks, which takes groups to Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Everest, Yam L'yam, and the Dolomites, among other destinations. Those who prefer the leisure of a journey by sea can go with Kosherica for cruises around the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and Alaska.
With so many choices available, no traveler should feel constrained by a kosher diet. The kosher restaurants, delis, patisseries, and other eateries in Jewish communities around the world let visitors turn a seemingly ordinary necessity into a kosher culinary expedition.
