Kosher Food and Drink

Everything Jewish seems to originate from New York.

This is, of course, an exaggeration. The holy land has, to some large extent, claimed its rightful place as the center of the Jewish world. But for large segments of the Jewish world, especially the Orthodox Jewish world, New York City and its surrounding communities are the center of the world, financially, culturally, spiritually, religiously, and perhaps most of all, gastronomically.

I am one of the growing numbers of Jews, however, who has never thought of New York as a central life presence. It’s a place where my father, and my wife’s father, grew up. I remember many holidays spent in my grandfather’s dying synagogue in Queens. It’s where some of my friends went to university, at YU and Touro. But I’ve never lived there, and I’ve never really felt any close connection to it. To me, it’s a place that was, not a place that is, not a place that will be.

A spur of the moment decision by my wife and I to go to Kosherpalooza, a kosher food consumer show, reignited my interest, mostly from a food perspective. New York might be terra incognita for me, but I know there’s some good eats to be found.

We had done an extensive survey of the nearby restaurants in the nearby part of New York to where we were staying in New Jersey, and a French steakhouse sounded up our alley. My wife and I were excited to go to Le Marais (150 W 46th St, New York, NY 10036; (212) 869-0900; lemarais.net; under OU supervision), a restaurant with a reputation in the kosher world that I think most establishments would be quite jealous of. The convenience factor that Le Marais has to Times Square is pretty substantial; you can walk around Times Square as we did (for the first time!), and be at Le Marais in time for your reservation with minimal anxiety.

Le Marais is named after the Parisian district of Le Marais, historically with a Jewish population. I haven’t been to France, let alone Paris; but I went in hoping that perhaps this would let me experience it vicariously, a sort of window into one Jewish community through another.

The first thing I noticed walking in was the ambience. French posters were on the walls, with hardwood floors giving an old-world flavor to the establishment. Le Marais is a place that really feels like it’s combining the French and New York City styles into something that “feels” French, but never lets you forget you’re in New York. The brick walls and multi-story nature of the restaurant were unusual for us, but charming. It was also very loud! Fortunately, we had a reservation, and our waiter gave us a great table in a corner of the upstairs dining room. It was still loud, but we could hear each other. Perhaps this is part of the charm of New York dining.

The service was impeccable. The wait staff was friendly and attentive, but not overbearing. Our appetizers came quickly, and the entrees came reasonably soon after those were eaten. Water glasses stayed full – a small thing, but an important one to me. I also appreciated the French bread and olive oil being right on the table as we got there. Plating was also uniformly excellent, as you can see in the pictures.

For appetizers, we ordered the Tartare de Saumon (salmon tartare), and the Les Rillettes de Boucher (a duck/veal spread with some bread). The Tartare de Saumon was simply phenomenal, and I say this as someone who generally thinks of himself as a salmon afficianado. Taste, texture, they nailed it all. The Les Rillettes de Boucher was also very good, and had a surprising pickled note. It took me a few bites to realize that the greens on the plate really complemented the taste of the spread; they deserved a bit more space in the menu description. I would have preferred a couple more pieces of toast to be included, but the bread at the table was more than sufficient.

For entrees, we enjoyed the Médallions de Boeuf (beef medallions) and Confit de Poulet, Succotash de Maïs (chicken confeit with sweet corn succotash). My wife opined that the beef medallions were excellent, and the French fries I snuck off her plate were cooked perfectly. I thought the chicken was simply top-notch. The sear on the skin to make it crispy was perfect, while the chicken itself was as soft, tender, and flavorful as you could expect. The corn succotash was also outstanding, albeit, I must admit I didn’t have much room to eat it. I’m not very good at getting chicken crispy, so it was certainly a treat.

Perhaps the most surprising part of the evening was the check: the pricing ($115, without drinks or dessert) was very much on par with the steakhouse back home, despite a much more impressive ambience and a more expansive menu and wine selection.

If you’re in Times Square and want a great meal with surprising value, Le Marais seems like an excellent choice. My own estrangement from New York remains, but perhaps it’s a little less than it was after this wonderful dining experience. Certainly, my desire to experience genuine Parisian cooking has only increased!