The New Appetite

No Meer Restaurateur

City Hall’s chef proprietor Henry Meer may be a dinosaur in the city’s changing restaurant landscape, but he’s still serving up his classic chicken soup and a socially conscious ethic.

Sandee Brawarsky
Special To The Jewish Week
06/21/2011
Restaurateur Henry Meer says his classic cheesecake, served at his downtown eatery City Hall, is “the best in New York.”

Growing up, Henry Meer didn’t eat at home
very often. His mother didn’t cook much, so his family would eat out in its Yorkville neighborhood or travel to the Lower East Side to eat at Ratner’s or pick up appetizing at Russ & Daughters. On Sundays, his grandfather would shuttle from the West Side with glass juice jars filled with homemade soup — mushroom barley or split pea — and sealed with waxed paper and rubber bands. From an early age, Meer loved to eat and realized that he’d better learn to cook.

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In The Eye of The Beholder

Sustainable kosher poultry firm marks successful first year.

Amy Spiro
Editorial Assistant
06/21/2011
Naftali Hanau's backyard chickens are just for eggs - but the ones raised by Grow and Behold are humanely slaughtered for sale.

It has been almost a year since Naftali Hanau, backyard chicken-raiser and shochet, launched his own kosher, sustainable and ethical meat distribution company, Grow and Behold. He joined an ever-expanding field of kosher and conscientious meat suppliers, including Mitzvah Meat, KOL Foods and Red Heifer Farm, many of which appeared in the fallout of the 2008 Agriprocessors scandal, according to Judith Belasco, director of food programs at Hazon.

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Nourishing Children, Nourishing Families

Hazon outreach effort to expecting parents who are unaffiliated addresses cooking, healthy eating and Judaism.

Julie Wiener
Associate Editor
06/21/2011
Rachel Gross, right, joined the class to meet other new parents. PHOTOS BY michael datikash

It’s a Monday night in Brooklyn, and Ritaly Rapaport is waxing nostalgic about his childhood experiences in Ukraine climbing cherry trees and eating the fruit straight from the branches.

“I have a longstanding affection for eating fruit and vegetables right off the plant,” says Rapaport, an IT specialist who lives in Ditmas Park with his business consultant wife, Veronica, who is also a Ukrainian émigré.

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Upmarket Kosher

Gourmet is here to stay, from magazines to restaurants to products for the home. Welcome to the kosher foodie movement.

Amy Spiro
Editorial Assistant
06/21/2011
New gourmet kosher food magazines are really starting to pile up: with three new publications launching just this year.

When Shifra Klein’s son was flipping through a copy of Bon Appétit magazine, his eye caught on a turkey and cheese sandwich that looked particularly good. “We could just make it without the cheese,” he said to her.

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The New Appetite June 2011

A look at the latest trends in Jews and food today.

06/21/2011
The New Appetite June 2011
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A Woman’s Place Is In The (Kosher) Kitchen

As training for female kashrut supervisors grows, the small number of mashgichot will likely increase.

Amy Spiro
Editorial Assistant
06/21/2011
Louise Powers dishes up food and bonds with students as a mashgicha at the Dickinson College dining hall in Carlisle, Pa.

Donyel Meese had to check with her rabbi before accepting a job at a major Midwestern university — one she wasn’t sure women were allowed to hold. “I had never even heard of a woman mashgiach before,” said Meese, 19.

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