Such locations must be closed during Shabbat and Jewish holidays if under Jewish ownership. In most cases, a kosher establishment is limited to serving exclusively either dairy (milchig) or meat (fleishig) foods.
Some types of businesses, such as delicatessens, frequently serve both, kept in separate areas. Vegetarian (pareve) kosher restaurants serve only vegetarian fare.
In the United States, New York City has the highest number of kosher restaurants, and in Canada, Toronto has the most.[citation needed] As of 2017, there were over 500 kosher restaurants in the New York area.[4] Locations such as Philadelphia also have relatively small numbers of certified kosher restaurants.[5]
In cities with smaller Jewish populations, kosher dining is often limited to just a single establishment. Some cities do not have any kosher dine-in facilities, but small communities have other arrangements for Jewish residents to obtain ready-made kosher meals and other types of food that may be hard to obtain otherwise.[citation needed]
Rules and holidays
A kosher restaurant serves food that complies with Jewish dietary laws (kashrut). These businesses operate under rabbinical supervision, which requires that the laws of kashrut, as well as certain other Jewish laws, must be observed.[citation needed] Among those laws, the meat and dairy cannot be mixed, and grape products made by non-Jews cannot be consumed.
Pork and shellfish cannot be served, and animals must be slaughtered by a certified shochet, frequently a rabbi.[2] In most cases, the location is limited to serving exclusively either dairy or meat foods. But some types of establishments, such as delicatessens, frequently serve both, kept in separate areas.[citation needed]
Such locations must be closed during Jewish holidays if under Jewish ownership.[citation needed] For example, kosher restaurants close on Saturdays for Shabbat.[6][7] In the New York area, many kosher restaurants close over the eight days of Passover as "a matter of practicality," as staying open requires that no yeast-related products be used. The restaurants must also be thoroughly cleaned of yeast residue to be opened for Passover.
According to the Wall Street Journal, more New York kosher restaurants in recent years have remained open on Passover, including both casual and fine-dining locations.[4]
Unlike in the general population, where many restaurants and fast food businesses specialize in a particular type of food, many kosher establishments have a variety of different types of popular food.
Many kosher delicatessens exist that serve both milchig (dairy) and fleishig (meat) foods that are kept separate.
Dairy items include sliced cheeses and cream cheese, and meats include cold cuts and meat spreads. Many pareve items and fish items are also served, such as smoked whitefish salad and herring.
Pizza is a popular food served at kosher restaurants, but kosher pizza shops typically also serve Middle Eastern cuisine, such as falafel, and other foods that can be served with dairy, such as fish and pasta. Some locations also have the menus common at pizza shops.
Kosher fleishig (meat) establishments often serve meat dishes popular within Middle Eastern cuisine, such as shawarma, along with common American fast-food staples like hot dogs and hamburgers. Fish may also be served at fleishig restaurants, though it cannot be served on the same plate as meat.[citation needed]
Kosher Chinese restaurants are also common. These are mostly either fleishig or vegetarian (serving only pareve food).
While most kosher restaurants are small businesses operating only a single location, some operate multiple locations within a city (often in New York City).[citation needed] Some corporate restaurants and fast food chains operate kosher locations in places with Jewish populations.
Corporate supermarket chains also sometimes have "kosher" sections inside their locations in Jewish areas that specialize in food that is popular among religiously observant Jews.
Kosher cafeterias and food stands can sometimes be found at college and university campuses, Jewish community centers, hospitals, professional sports stadiums, and some tourist attractions. In some of these locations where special stands do not exist, prepackaged kosher sandwiches and other meals are offered, or can be pre-ordered. Some airlines also offer kosher meals when ordered in advance.
Controversies
With kashrut being a very sensitive issue, there have been many controversies surrounding the kosher-dining industry.
Errors
In 1990, a planned kosher fundraising meal aboard a ship on the Baltimore Inner Harbor contained non-kosher food due to lack of business planning.[14] The mix-up was caused by a kosher and a non-kosher caterer under the same ownership.
Dropping of certification
Occasionally, an establishment operating as kosher will make the choice to drop its certification and become non-kosher.
One such instance was a Dunkin in Rockville, Maryland (a suburb of Washington, D.C.), which made the decision to be non-kosher in 2007 in order to offer menu items sold at non-kosher Dunkin' Donuts locations (such as ham). This led to a protest.[10] Dunkin' Donuts still has several other kosher locations in the Greater Washington and Baltimore area.
Governmental enforcement in the United States of Kosher laws
In some U.S. states and other jurisdictions, laws have been passed that mandate establishments that claim to be kosher to actually comply with Jewish dietary laws. These jurisdictions sometimes employ rabbis to aid in enforcing these laws. Some of these laws, including one in New York State, have been overturned by courts on constitutional grounds.[15]
The more recent trend for these laws is simply to allow the establishment to disclose its own kashrut standards, with the governmental authority then scrutinizing whether the establishment in fact lives by the kashrut standards it discloses. This approach appears to overcome the Establishment Clause issue successfully.
