Kosher Blog

Kosher pastured poultry now available in Boston

Starting this month, Grow and Behold Foods will be offering its pastured chicken to customers in Boston, delivering to Hebrew College in Newton and Temple Emunah in Lexington on August 31. (Order by 6pm on Friday, August 27th.)

G&B’s pastured products are two to three times more expensive than industrial kosher poultry because it is produced with exceptional attention to kashrut, animal welfare, worker treatment, and sustainable agriculture. According to CEO Naftali Hanau:

Our poultry is produced under the supervision of the OU and the USDA. These chickens are the real deal: they are raised to our exacting specifications by Amish farmers, who move them daily to ensure that they eat from a fresh salad bar of growing pasture. Their diet is supplemented by a small amount of GMO-free grain. None of our meat is ever given hormones or antibiotics. You’ve never had chicken this good before!

The fact that a properly raised and processed chicken costs this much has forced me to reflect on just how much meat my family eats. Decades of artificially lowered meat prices in America have caused consumption to reach unhealthy and unsustainable levels—and the kosher community has not been exempt. I would bet that if families calculated how much they spend annually on meat, and instead used that amount to purchase Grow and Behold products, they would be more satisfied (by the higher meat quality) and far healthier (from lower overall consumption).

It’s not an easy step to take, especially since cultural expectations for lavish Shabbat and holiday meals push people to excess. It’s not even a step I’m fully prepared to take just now. But it’s important to start thinking about what and how much we consume. Without adopting sustainable practices in our homes, we can’t expect the meat industry to follow suit.

Here are all the details about Boston delivery:

Chicken will be delivered frozen. If there is enough interest, we will make regular deliveries to the Boston area. Please let us know – info@growandbehold.com if you’d be interested in ordering fresh or frozen chicken throughout the fall! There is no minimum order. Order only the cuts and quantities you want! Orders over $75 will receive 10% off. Enter the coupon code ROSH10. A small delivery fee of $7 will be added to your order to cover the cost of getting the chicken to you.

Brookline’s new butcher: Grape Leaves

Well, “Grape Leaves – Gourmet Glatt” to be complete. The Naggars took inspiration from all the submissions and came up with a name they felt best fit their store’s offerings – Grape Leaves being related to wine, meat (dolmades), and cheese (accompaniment to wine).

Read all the details and see some photos over at Brookline’s newest source for online news, Brookline Patch.

Thank you to all the participants and voters. We will be in touch with all participants about prizes.

VOTE: Choose 5 names for Brookline’s new butcher

Our editorial team narrowed down the many submissions to several dozen with at least arguable marketing potential. (Of those who submitted more than six names, we included from only the first six.) Choose up to five names that you prefer.

Morris and Joe Naggar, butcher proprietors, will consider the top-voted names for their new shop.

(Also see our March 11 and March 12 posts about the new butcher.)

POLL EXPIRES TUESDAY, JULY 20 – Vote now!

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Rami’s 20th Anniversary Party

Haim over at Rami’s just contacted us with the news:

I wanted to let you know that on Sunday, June 6, we will be hosting our official 20-year anniversary party. We have taken over the back parking lot and will be having music and outdoor seating!

Also throughout the week (until June 7), we will be offering falafel sandwiches for only $5.99, including a medium soda!

Official Contest: “Brookline Butcher” needs a name

Our new “Brookline Butcher” needs a name, and owner Morris Naggar has authorized the Kosher Blog to officially launch the search!

To submit an entry for the contest, post a comment here and make sure you provide your real first and last name and a working e-mail address so we can contact you if you win. Winner will receive a gift certificate to the new store – amount yet to be determined (check back often).

I will close the comments to this post when the contest has concluded.

Note: See our March 11 and March 12 posts about the new butcher.

Hava NaGrilla Kosher BBQ Contest & Family Fun Day

The Golden Slipper Club, a charitable organization servicing the Greater Philadelphia Region will be hosting their 2nd annual Hava NaGrilla Kosher BBQ Contest & Family Fun Day on Sunday, June 6th, 2010. This strictly-Kosher event will be under the supervision of Rabbi Elisar Admon, a member of the Orthodox Vaad of Philadelphia. Last year’s event drew 17 BBQ competitors and 1,000 attendees this year’s event is shaping up to be even bigger and better with 40 teams expected to compete and 2,000 attendees.

Half-price kosher sushi platters

Today’s Boston deal at BuyWithMe includes a 108-piece kosher “VIP” sushi platter — normally $200, available for $100.

It contains: Rainbow Roll (24 pieces), Tempura Veggie Roll (20 pieces), Hamachi Roll (8 pieces), Raw Spicy Tuna Roll (24 pieces), Tuna Nigiri (8 pieces), Salmon Nigiri (8 pieces), Tuna Sashimi (8 pieces), Salmon Sashimi (8 pieces)

Serving eight people, that’s $12.50/person — quite competitive.

Pick up at Cafe Eilat, Brookline. (Thanks, Howard!)

Seeds of Change Products

During a recent visit to Barzini’s, an Upper Westside grocery with a large selection of kosher and Israeli products, I noticed jars of Seeds of Change certified-organic Indian simmering sauces and was delighted to find an OU on them. I picked up the Madras (pareve) and Korma (dairy) sauces. This evening I took the opportunity to try the Madras sauce with some Indian-spiced chicken meatballs (Kosher Valley ground chicken, corn flake crumbs, one egg, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric; baked at 425 for ~20 minutes). After cooking the meatballs in the oven, I took them out and emptied the jar of sauce into the pan. I covered it and simmered it on low for about 15 minutes. The flavors of the sauce, described as “A Red Hot Curry Sauce From the Tip of India’s Tongue,” were very nice: tomato-based, with some other vegetables, and well-spiced. It tasted exactly like a curry you might find at an Indian restaurant. I’ll definitely be trying it again and look forward to using the Korma sauce.

Some more on Seeds of Change: “Seeds of Change® was founded in 1989 with a revolutionary mission: To make organically grown seeds available to gardeners and farmers, while preserving countless heirloom seed varieties in danger of being lost to the ‘advances’ of modern industrial agriculture.” Its mission, according to its website, is “To preserve biodiversity and promote the use of sustainable organic agricultural protects.” Please not that not all Seeds of Change products are certified kosher, so check the label.

Update on Brookline Butcher

EXCLUSIVE TO THE KOSHER BLOG

After yesterday’s post about a hearing scheduled for a new butcher shop on Harvard Street, Brookline Butcher owner Morris Naggar (a lifelong Brookline resident) contacted the Kosher Blog with details.

He hopes to open in a month or two as strictly glatt-kosher gourmet shop, offering fine wines, exotic beers, and an old-fashioned butcher.

It sounds like aesthetics will also be a priority: they are restoring the space’s original hardwood floors and tin ceiling.

Says Naggar, “We are fulfilling a real need in Brookline and Brighton. The next goal would be a kosher steakhouse for Boston (a la Le Marais).”

Sounds delicious to us.

New “Brookline Butcher” on its way?

This public notice appeared in a recent issue of the Brookline Tab:

Notice is hereby given under Chapter 138 of the General Laws that Brookline Butcher, Inc., d/b/a/ Brookline Butcher, Morris Naggar, Manager, Owner, has applied for a license to Expose, Keep For Sale and Sell Wine and Malt Beverages as a Retail Package Goods Store at 414 Harvard Street. Premises consisting of approximately 58′6″ x 17′10″ sq. ft., first floor retail store. Exits in front and rear of store.

Hearing to be held in the Selectmen’s Hearing Room, 6th floor, Town Hall 333 Washington Street, Brookline, Massachusetts on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 8:40 P.M.

The location formerly housed the Audio Studio, adjacent to Israel Book Shop and steps from the Butcherie.