Kosher vs. Kosher Style

The mitzvah of “keeping Kosher” is one that many people follow, myself included, but to varying degrees. The strictest way of keeping kosher is to only eat food that is either labeled as kosher, or if it is in a restaurant, has been overseen by a rabbi. There are others who will eat food that in theory is kosher, but may not have the OU or the K labeled on it. Some people I know will not eat a cheeseburger but will eat chicken parmesan. Some will eat both but will not eat bacon and others will eat all of that but not eat shrimps. Then (and these are my favorites) there are those who will eat everything but on Passover they will not eat anything pertaining to bread. Whatever the degree, it is safe to say that each person follows his/her own beliefs and traditions.

Israel has her own crazy rules about Kashrut. As a rule, all of the items in the supermarket are kosher (except for one new chain that has non-kosher food as well.) It is crazy to think that in America where there are one or two aisles of “Jewish food,” in Israel there are entire stores full of them. Some restaurants are kosher in Israel, but depending on where you are in the country, you would be surprised as to how many are not. Why? Mainly because of money. Like in the US, people tend to go out to eat mostly on the weekends, and one stipulation of a kosher restaurant is that it must be closed on Shabbat. In Tel Aviv it is actually difficult to find a kosher restaurant. The larger hotels that have restaurants are all kosher, but the ones right across the street may not be.

And then there are those restaurants that are “kosher style.” This heading amuses me. To me, “kosher style” is for those people who feel guilty that they are in a non kosher restaurant but not guilty enough to stay home on Saturday. A kosher style restaurant is hypothetically kosher with kosher food and no mixing of milk and meat, but it is open on Shabbat.

In the States I remember going into “Jewish style” restaurants that would serve typical Jewish food. Ironically they were not always “kosher style” with both blintzes and corn beef sandwiches on the menu.

One would think that in Israel kosher food would no longer be an issue, but there is still a divide that I see between those who keep kosher and those who don’t. With a large group the default is always to choose a kosher restaurant, but when you have only 3 or 4 people and one keeps kosher, it suddenly becomes a burden to find a “good kosher restaurant.”

The biggest difference between kosher restaurants that I see between Israel and the States is that in the US, a kosher restaurant usually serves “Jewish food,” whereas in Israel it can serve anything from meat, to Italian, to Chinese food.

While I am as big a fan as the next of chicken soup and brisket, in a restaurant I would choose my Israeli breakfasts and sabich any day- kosher or not.