The Artisan at Work

I have recently come to fall in love with a fabulous site, mykosherla.com. It's a really great place with lists of kosher restaurants, grocery stores, caterers and more all around Los Angeles -- with coupons starting next week! It is a young, broke and kosher girl's ultimate hook up.

But the most interesting thing was that there was a poll of five different kosher "fast-food" joints on the website. I voted for my favorite, and it won by 62 percent. My favorite, of course, is Jeff's Gourmet Sausage Factory. There are plenty of local favorites in Los Angeles, but it seems like that among the YBK set, Jeff's resonates with its delicious burgers, sausages and French fries.

But the main reason I love Jeff's is that I think there is something very special about this place. There is a reason why, for our Jewish community bonfires in Huntington Beach, that I hauled myself up to LA and purchased $50 worth of sausages from them. It's the fact that they make their sausages fresh, and from scratch. Along with being a good place to eat, they are also craftsmen.

If there's one thing that I appreciate in the cooking world, it's people who put their hearts and souls into what they make. We may look up to the chefs of the world for bringing us good food, but we really should be looking to the people who make them look so good: the pasta makers, the bread bakers, even the people who pickle the olives. They have a special craft that no one can touch.

I didn't realize, until I took a good look at their website, that they also do more than just sausages. I didn't realize they also make all their own deli meats from scratch. This may not sound like much, but it is a long process. Making corned beef can take days, as the process for making the delicious pastrami that goes on top of their pastrami burgers can also be as long.

People probably don't go to Jeff's because of the work they put into their meats. They go because it's delicious and it won't make them bankrupt, as eating out at a kosher restaurant can be a difficult task to do if you don't have a lot of cash in your pocket. There are a lot of nice kosher restaurants out there in the world with delicious food -- and don't get me wrong, I love them too, and they have their own people who craft tasty treats -- but they do cost a pretty penny if you want to go. But not everyone puts the love that Jeff's puts into their food.

In the meantime, I tip my hat to Jeff's for being a beacon to the kosher world. If you know of any other special restaurants that you want to feature, make sure to put them in our comments section. In the meantime, here is my favorite recipe with sausages, courtesy of the sausage factory's deliciousness.

SAUSAGE WITH PEPPERS AND ONIONS PASTA

8 Turkey Italian sausages
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
1 red pepper
1 onion
1 green pepper (optional)
3 cloves garlic
1 box linguine or your favorite pasta

Make pasta according to package directions, making sure to season the water before putting in the linguine. Meanwhile, heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet. Cut the sausages into 1/4-inch pieces on the diagonal. Put them in to cook until they are golden brown. Remove.

Heat the remaining olive oil. Chop the peppers and onion into 1-inch pieces, and mince garlic. Put in skillet and saute for two minutes. Add cooked sausage and mix together. Serve on top of hot pasta and serve.