See… the Kosher gods aren’t so terrible after all. Yesterday we reported the sad sad loss of the Diamond Dairy, but today we get to tell you about Gan Eden by Jacob- a new Glatt Kosher restaurant opening in the same building as El Rincon del Sabor (on 47th btw. 5+6th). I don’t know a ton about Bukharian food, or Glatt Kosher for that matter, but the menu looks very similar to Taam Tov. Check it out, after the jump…

SALADS

1. Fresh Salad $4
2. Assorted pickled veggies platter $4
3. Cabbage Salad $4
4. Vinaigrette Salad $4
5. Potato Salad $4
6. Hummus $4
7. Taheena $4
8. Baba Ganosh $4

SOUPS

1. Shurpa $4
2. Lagman $4.50
3. Kharcho $4
4. Borsch $4
5. Pelmene $5
6. Vegetable Soup $4

SPECIAL ORDER (1 Hour Before)

1. Beshpanja $13
2. Mini-steak $13
3. Chalahach $13.99
4. Horovak $10

SHISH KEBAB WITH GARNISH

1. Lamb Shish Kebab $4.50/8.99
2. Lamb Ribs $4.50/8.99
3. Beef Shish Kebab $4.50/8.99
4. Liver (veal) $4.50/8.99
5. Chicken Wigs $4.50/8.99
6. Boneless Chicken $4.50/8.99
7. Chicken with Bones $4.50/8.99
8. Lula-Kebab $4.50/8.99
9. Salmon Shish-Kebab $4.50/10
10. Sea Bass Shish-Kebab $4.50/11
11. Turkey Shish-Kebab $4.50/$8.99

Rice $2.50
French Fries $3.50
Mashed Potatoes $2.50
Pasta $4
Kasha $2.50

HOT APPETIZERS

1. Baked Chicken Legs $6.99
2. Chicken Shneetsel $5.99
3. Fries Fish Filet $5.99
4. Beef Stroganoff $6.99
5. Kaylya $7.99
6. Fried Chicken “Tabaka” $10.99
7. Pilav $10
8. Manty $8
9. Fried pelmene $5.99
10. Jarkoe $7.99
11. Golubtsy $6.99
12. Samsa $2
13. Chicken in Pita $5.50

I poked my head in yesterday and was told that today is their grand opening. Early adopters, let us know how it is!

Gan Eden by Jacob, 74 W. 47th St. (btw. 5+6th) 3rd Floor, 212-730-6953

So the news broke on Weds, and was confirmed yesterday that Rupert Murdoch plans on moving the Wall St. Journal from their Downtown offices to the News Corp. building on 6th Ave. & 48th St., smack dab in the middle of Midtown.  Well, let me be the first to say welcome!  We’re actually neighbors (I work in the McGraw Hill Building across the street), and there are plenty of great lunch options within walking distance of our block.

According to the NY Observer, you guys are leaving behind PJ Clarke’s.  Well don’t you worry, the original one is here in Midtown- although 3rd Ave. is a pretty long walk away. 

Some much closer options, after the jump…

• 46th btw. 6+7th – Venture one block south and you’ve got some of the best that Midtown Lunch’ing has to offer.  The Biriyani Cart on 46th & 6th serves up great Chapati Rolls (Indian soft tacos), or wait in line at Minar, the steam table Indian place a little farther west.  I’m sure the people you will be interviewing will be drawn towards the clean, and suit friendly looking Havana Central, but try to resist and head to Margon across the street for some real Latin food, at half the price.
• Street Meat – I don’t know what the street meat scene is like Downtown, but if you are a fan, you just landed right in Street Meat Ground Zero.  There are plenty of options right outside your building, but if you want the good stuff I would walk a few blocks south to the Kwik Meal Cart on the SE corner of 45th & 6th, or a few blocks north to the famous chicken/lamb and rice cart on the SE corner of 53rd & 6th.  Hope they have good bathrooms in the News Corp building.
• Kosher Stuff – Our proximity to the diamond district means plenty of Kosher options.  Go old school at the hidden Diamond Dairy on 47th btw. 5+6th, or grab falafel and chicken shawarma at Kosher Deluxe on 45th btw. 5+6th.
• Good Burger - The new location on 45th btw. 5+6th is the closest fast food burger to your building worth mentioning.
• Del Frisco’s Steakhouse (6th Ave. btw. 48+49th) - I’m not exactly sure how the WSJ works, but I’m assuming people who write about Wall St. don’t make as much money as those who work on Wall St., so I’ll let you in on a little secret.  At the Del Frisco’s bar you can order a plate of steak tips and mashed potatoes for $9.95.  Hob nob with all the suits, without having to pay through the nose (or throw down a corporate card, which is clearly the only other way anybody could actually enjoy eating at Del Frisco’s.)

Good luck and welcome to the hood!  Feel free to bookmark the site for future use (and beware of the commenters).

Actually the same goes for every place within walking distance of the tree in Rockefeller Center.  Is there any worse place in the world to be in December then Midtown?  I’m pretty sure the answer is no.  So, to avoid the hoards of tourists, I decided to try and find this hidden Kosher place on 47th St. btw. 5th & 6th called the Diamond Dairy that I’ve read about a few times.  A Kosher luncheonette, hidden away in some Jewelry shop, with the best blintzes in town…  but this week it’s not about the blintz.  It’s about the latke.

More pics and the +/- after the jump…

The address is the best way to find the Diamond Dairy.  Walk down 47th between 5th & 6th looking for a restaurant sign, and you’re guaranteed not to find the place.  Instead, look for the National Jewelers Exchange at 4 West 47t St. and you’re halfway there.  The exchange is one of those gigantic Jewelry stores with different Jewelers selling stuff at individual kiosks.  Look up in the “Mezzanine” in the back of the store- and you’ll have found the Diamond Dairy Luncheonette.  Make your way to the back left or right hand corner of the store, and there are stairwells on either side to take you up to the diner.

I asked one of the waitresses if they had latkes, and she less than enthusiastically told me yes.  I believe that’s what is known as “no-nonsense” waitress’ing.  Either that, or she just hated me.  Maybe she saw into my soul and knew I’d rather be eating pork… or a fried shrimp po’boy (Is soft shelled crab considered shellfish?).  You see,  I was born Jewish, but I’m not really a good Jew… and it’s not just the pork and shellfish thing either.  It’s also hard for me to practice a religion where the most holy day of the year involves not eating.  I just can’t do it… it’s against my religion.  Anyway, at least I was semi-celebrating Chanukah by getting some delicious Latkes.  I ordered 2 for $5.40 (an order of 3 is $7.40), and took in the awesome surroundings.

They came out bare bones, two on an oval shaped plate, with apple sauce.  I heard two guys behind me order latkes and they were given the choice between sour cream and applesauce.  I guess their waitress liked them… they must have been good Jews.  I asked my waitress for some sour cream in addition to my apple sauce, which cost 50 cents extra.  I like the mix of sweet and sour (why do I feel like everything I say sounds like I’m talking about Chinese food?).  The latkes were nicely browned on the outside, and hot and moist on the inside.  No onions either, which could be a plus or minus depending on how you like your potato pancakes.  They were also the thinner variety, which I like.  Some places make these gigantic thick monstrosities that have no possible way of staying moist when fried. 

All in all it was a great first day of the first night of Chanukah lunch.  Delicious latkes, in an amazing hidden setting.  Next time I’ll try the blintzes… if I can hold back from ordering the Lo Mein!  (That’s right… they serve Lo Mein.)

THE +

• It’s Chanukah… so if you want your Latkes, there’s no line at this jem
• The locale is sweet if you like your places hidden
• The latkes come out freshly made, and fried thin so they stay moist
• They don’t make them with onions (if you don’t like onions)

THE -

• Everything is ala carte… so even though it’s cheap at $5.50 you don’t get anything with it.
• They don’t give you enough apple sauce (the little cup isn’t enough) and extra costs 50 cents
• The latkes don’t have onions (if you like onions)

Diamond Dairy, 4 W. 47th St. (Mezzanine), 212-719-2694

This doesn’t really have anything to do with today’s review except for the fact that a) it’s a Kosher restaurant, b) I’m pretty sure it used to be home to Kosher Chinese restaurant, and c) what I ordered seemed strikingly similar to Chicken fried rice. 

Thanks to the Diamond District, people who keep Kosher are probably psyched to work in Midtown.  The pickings are probably slim for those who work in other areas of NYC like Tribeca, the Village, or god forbid Chinatown.  (I’m pretty sure the hanging slabs of roast pork alone, make Chinatown a house of horrors for someone who keeps kosher.)  Midtown, on the other hand, has tons of Kosher options- and one of the best is Taam Tov… and you don’t even have to keep kosher to enjoy it!

Pictures, what I ate, and the +/- after the jump…

Like most Kosher restaurants in the Diamond District, Taam Tov is on one of the upper floors of a building that houses numerous Jewelry stores.  In fact, if you aren’t looking up, most of these places are pretty easy to miss it.  Even if you are looking up, Taam Tov is still easy to miss, because the awning that covers it’s patio has the name of the old restaurant- I think it says something like ”Diamond Garden”, which I guess was a Kosher Chinese Restaurant.  Once you find it, climb the three flights of stairs and you’ll find one of the best Kosher restaurants in the area.  There is a take out window at the top of the stairs, or you can go sit in the dining area.  They also have an outdoor patio (beneath the Diamond Garden sign) that is great on a nice day.

Everything I have read about Taam Tov talks about how delicious the lamb kebab is, but I don’t think that is the best part about this place.  Quickly, I’ll just say- for $4.50 you get a small kebab, and nothing else.  While the meat is tasty, and of better quality then the stuff you would get from a cart on the street- it was a little tough, and could have come with some side dishes!  I’d rather spend a little more, and get a full meal… not sure why everything is ala carte.

But that’s ok, because the real jem of the place is the Bakhsh- or as I like to call it “Kosher Green Chicken Fried Rice”.  Not the most appetizing name… but is more descriptive than Bakhsh (which I think just means “Green”).  Taam Tov features the food of Uzbekistan, and Bakhsh is a Bukharian rice pilaf dish that is sauteed with a ton of herbs- so much, that the dish actually turns sort of green.    

I’m not sure what the herb is, but it makes the rice delicious… almost like a forest exploding in your mouth (that’s the best I can do… I’m not a food writer- go try it and you’ll see what I mean).  I read somewhere that the herb was cilantro, but I’m not a big fan of cilantro, and I loved this dish- so don’t let the cilantro thing scare you off if you’re not into it.  I’m also not positive it’s chicken… it could be a lamb.

Don’t let the old awning, or the Chinese paper lanterns in the hallway fool you, there is no Chinese food in this Glatt Kosher Uzbekistan restaurant (they flirted with the idea of serving Kosher Sushi, but they got rid of it, despite it still being on the menu).  But my confusing the Bakhsh with chicken fried rice is no coincidence…  It turns out the cuisine of Bukhara (a border town of Uzbekistan) is heavily influenced by Persian food, Indian food (try the samsas), and CHINESE FOOD!  You learn something new every day…

THE +

• The Bakhsh.  It’s Rice.  It’s green.  It’s good.
• If you’re looking for a sit down Kosher meal, this place is one of the best.  It’s also got free delivery for order over $6, and take out window.
• You don’t have to keep Kosher to enjoy it.
• Small Patio to eat outside if it’s a nice day.
• The more people you go with, the more dishes you can sample

THE -

• It can be a little expensive.  Everything is ala carte, and there are no “meals”, so you have to order everything separately.
• The lamb was not the best the day I had it… the taste was delicious, but it was a little chewy (and it doesn’t come with any side dishes!).  Most people rave, so it may have been an off day…
• On the third story, and it’s hard to find.  Don’t be fooled by the Diamond Garden Chinese food awning over the third floor patio.

Taam Tov, 41 W. 47th St., 3rd Floor (btw. 5+6th), 212-768-8001