A message from YBK to kosher restaurants

Dear Kosher Restaurants and those that will come to be,

I am addressing this letter to you as a patron of many years. I love the fact that you exist. I love the fact that when I am up in LA, I am able to come to your restaurants and eat your food.

But as much as I love many of you and think that you have a lot to offer, you also need to know that we are watching you. You shouldn't just be good enough. You should be great.

I speak of this as I was having a discussion with several women at a women's event tonight about food. One of the women, who was from Irvine, spoke about the need for this city, with it's ever-growing population, to have a kosher restaurant to call their own (other than the deli counter at O.C. Kosher -- which I am not dissing. I happen to love them). Of course, when you talk about kosher restaurants, the subject comes to Jeff's Gourmet, it seems.

"Everyone loves Jeff's," she said to me. "It's not just that it's great kosher food. It's great food that happens to be kosher. Everyone goes there."

This woman points out something that has been lacking in many communities outside of Los Angeles. This weekend, I spoke with my Ima (read: mother-in-law) about how in San Diego, there have been many kosher restaurants that have opened, and then almost immediately closed. Today, there is currently not a kosher restaurant in San Diego. They have opened up a brand-new amazing kosher section at Ralph's in La Jolla, but that's as close as they're coming for now. The secret, it seems, is to have something that everybody wants to go to.

There are many road blocks to the secret of success for kosher restaurants. The meat is more expensive. You have to pay to have a mashgiach (or rabbi trained in kashrut) to come in regularly to make sure the place is up to standards. The prices will be higher already, and on top of that, you need people to want to purchase the food, so it has to be in a location that is accessible to people who want it. Not to mention you are closed a day and a half out of the week, and those days are the more popular days to eat out for people who may not be shomer Shabbat.

It's not like it's impossible. Quite a few restaurants have mastered the formula. Jeff's, obviously, is one of them. The other that I am thinking of is the lovely Tierra del Sur in Oxnard, right next to the Baron Herzog Winery. And special note to Long Beach, Orange County and San Diego: The only place you're probably going to find Jews in Oxnard is at their Chabad. But they aren't going anywhere, because they're popular both among the locals and the kosher set. It's mainly because the food is damn good (special shout-out/note: I am biased on this one. I had my wedding there, and it was the best food. People still talk about it).

Currently, I have heard rumors about a kosher delicatessen looking to open in the Bixby Knolls section of Long Beach -- not just kosher style. Long Beach could use a bit of deli, and if it opens, I look forward to supporting it. I know for a fact that this place is going to have a fight to stay open, but if the owners know that it's the food that sells your place -- that it should be great food that happens to be kosher, not just good for kosher food -- then they have a good opportunity for success. Same goes for anyone who thinks about opening a restaurant in Irvine and/or San Diego.

But before I go, I want to praise you, the restaurants, for the courage to go forth into a volatile market and open your doors. Do you think I would have the guts to do it? Hell no!

Love,

YBK

P.S. I know I haven't posted recipes in a while. But I promise to have one for tomorrow!