And the kosher
survey says?!

By Lauren Fritsky
For the Times

Residents seeking ratings of local restaurants can turn to a variety of sources.
There are reviews in local papers and on Internet Web sites, or you can always rely on simple word-of-mouth approval.
But finding information on establishments that conform to Kashruth — Jewish dietary laws — is a little tougher.
That’s why Neil Rosenbaum, a resident of Silver Spring, Md., created Kosher Community Surveys LLC, whose second annual Philadelphia Area Kosher Community survey recently got underway. Other surveys to identify top kosher eateries and food retailers have taken place in Baltimore, New York, Boston and Chicago.
The surveys serve two purposes — to recognize the establishments that are doing well and to give feedback.
"Even if you’re doing well, you can improve," said Rosenbaum, who has a background in marketing and business development for professional service firms and observes Jewish dietary laws.
More than two-dozen area restaurants, stores and bakeries are on this year’s survey, and many of them, such as Glendale Kosher Meats & Poultry Market Inc. and the Espresso Cafe & Sushi Bar, are in the Northeast. It asks consumers to rate places on a poor-to-excellent scale on service, quality, environment, selection of merchandise, quality of fresh and prepared foods, and price.
Last year, the ShopRite on Roosevelt Boulevard near Haldeman Avenue received top honors for its food, service, quality, selection and store environment on the survey, which was completed by about 150 people.
Supermarket owner Richard McMenamin considers the survey a valuable guide to help shape the store’s kosher offerings.
"This kind of feedback always helps us better understand our customers," McMenamin said after the recognition bestowed on his store last year. "And from a competitive standpoint, the results are encouraging us to look at ways we can take our kosher program to the next level."
There are three categories of kosher food — meat, dairy and parve, which are foods that contain neither meat nor dairy ingredients. There are several supervisory groups in the Philadelphia area, but perhaps the most prominent is Community Kashrus of Greater Philadelphia (Keystone-K). Rabbis comprise the volunteer organization.
"For the Orthodox community, we are it," said Rabbi Aaron Felder, who serves at congregation B’nai Israel-Ohev Zedek in Rhawnhurst.
The group inspects, kasherizes, or kosherizes, and also performs spot checks of establishments, though Rosenbaum says he doesn’t work directly with these organizations when conducting his surveys.
There are some stringent guidelines for keeping an establishment kosher. Not only must meat and dairy products be separated, but the utensils used for storing, preparing and serving these foods must be separated as well.
Kosher food produced on machinery that has been used for non-kosher food may be considered non-kosher. So, bakeries like the one at ShopRite must contain two ovens — one for kosher and one for non-kosher products. The kosher oven is locked each night to prevent a non-Jew from using it, and only a Jewish person can light the pilot on the stove, Felder explained.
The Philadelphia-area survey is currently available online and takes about 30 minutes to complete. When it closes, results and a resource guide will be made available to participants. ••
To take the Philadelphia Area Kosher Community Survey, visit www.kosher-community-surveys.com