Looking for a Kosher Chinese in NW suburbs...

First of all thanks for all of you guys for building a great forum like this..I'd like to say that even being here makes me hungry lol..I have been reading your posts for a while, this is my first post though..
Well I'm looking for a Kosher Chinese place around Schaumburg.. Any suggestions would be appreciated..

Thanks..

doesn't exist. the only game in town is Mi Tsu Yun.

Mi Tsu Yun
3010 W. Devon Ave.
Chicago, IL 60659

that said, rumor is that the Jewel on howard will be opening a Kosher Chinese carryout. 2485 Howard, in chicago, i believe.

I don't believe there are any kosher restaurants of any sort in the northwest 'burbs. Would you settle for international vegetarian?

Chowpatti
847/640-9554
1035 S. Arlington Heights Road
Arlington Heights

LAZ wrote:I don't believe there are any kosher restaurants of any sort in the northwest 'burbs. Would you settle for international vegetarian?

Chowpatti
847/640-9554
1035 S. Arlington Heights Road
Arlington Heights

Chowpatti is a decent enough place I think, but it is ridiculously expensive - so
much so that Iam hardly ever going to go there again. You can get similar
food at Devon, not *that* much different - and you'd pay maybe 3 bucks at
Devon, and maybe 8/9 bucks at Chowpatti. Quite ridiculous IMHO. (Also, its
good for Indian vegetarian food - but I dont know how good they are with
Chinese etc).

As for no kosher restaurants at all in the NW burbs - surely that isnt true?
A couple of the Jewish delis surely must be, at the very least? Iam
blanking on the name, but there are a couple in Arlington Heights IIRC -
Ive picked up from a couple in the past.

And then there is "halal" - not exactly the same as kosher, obviously, but
quite close. In the sense that many Muslims, who will never eat meat at,
say, Mcdonald's, will quite happily eat at a kosher restaurant (and at least
a few Jews will eat at Halal restaurants), because the way the animals
are slaughtered is basically the same and no pork is ever permitted.

If youre thus willing to take "Halal" as a sort of equivalent or close... a lot of
the Indian restaurants in the NW burbs are halal. Certainly places like
"Pepper and Salt" are definitely halal. And even Chinese - I wouldnt swear
to it, but Iam almost certain that "Hot Wok" in Schaumburg (near the
intersection of Golf Road and Barrington Road IIRC) is "halal chinese".
There are a couple spots near Devon which are Halal Chinese too of
course - and Iam almost positive that Hot Wok also falls in that category
(but if youre "strict", its best to call them and check).


c8w

I'm talking out of my butt here, but so far as I've been able to determine,
there's a big difference between Kosher and Halal: Halal is more of a set of health standards, while Kosher requires blessing and rabbinic approval. So Kosher restaurants meet Halal standards, but Halal restaurants haven't been blessed, and just aren't acceptable.

The best reference I've found in my brief search is http://www.jewishchicago.com/directories/kosher3.html, but they don't list much in the 'burbs -- maybe there isn't much.

JoelF wrote:I'm talking out of my butt here, but so far as I've been able to determine,
there's a big difference between Kosher and Halal: Halal is more of a set of health standards, while Kosher requires blessing and rabbinic approval. So Kosher restaurants meet Halal standards, but Halal restaurants haven't been blessed, and just aren't acceptable.
.

I dont disagree - but it sort of depends on how strict the interpretation is
IMHO. For example, halal is not *merely* health standards either - the blood is
drained (just like it is in kosher), but there is also a religoius verse to be
recited at the time the animal is being slaughtered. The orthodox Muslims will,
usually, thus not buy the "kosher = halal" argument.

But there are degrees, I suppose. I know some quite religious Muslims who
will *definitely* not eat meat in most restaurants - because it isnt halal. But
I know some of them who *are* willing to eat in "kosher" restaurants,
unlike their even more orthodox brethren.

I was merely making a suggestion of Halal in the assumption (maybe wrong)
of there, maybe, being similar groupings among the more religious Jews
as well. There are some Jews, for example, who do eat at say "Pita Inn"
in Skokie - because it stays away from pork, and has "Zabiha" meat,
which is basically "halal" (ie with blood drained etc). It obviously isnt
kosher in the true sense of the word, but still.

BTW, *arent* there a couple of Jewish delis in Arlington Heights etc?
Surely they must at least be trying to fulfill all the requirements for
kosher?

c8w

erdal wrote:Well I'm looking for a Kosher Chinese place around Schaumburg.. Any suggestions would be appreciated..

Thanks..

Erdal,

I did a bit of poking around and it seems as if Foo d's suggestion of Mi Tsu Yun is the only game in town for kosher Chinese. If I come across another option I will be sure to post.

Very glad to see you posting, thanks again for all your help. (Erdal is one of the technical geniuses at Asena, which hosts LTHFourm)

Enjoy,
Gary

Mi Tsu Yun
Opening Hours : Sun-Thurs 12-9pm. Closed Fri and Shabbat
3010 West Devon Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
USA
Tel : 773-262-4630
Cuisine: Meat. Chinese
Supervision: Chicago Rabbinical Council

c8w wrote:The orthodox Muslims will, usually, thus not buy the "kosher = halal" argument.

But there are degrees, I suppose. I know some quite religious Muslims who will *definitely* not eat meat in most restaurants - because it isnt halal. But I know some of them who *are* willing to eat in "kosher" restaurants, unlike their even more orthodox brethren.

I was merely making a suggestion of Halal in the assumption (maybe wrong) of there, maybe, being similar groupings among the more religious Jews as well. There are some Jews, for example, who do eat at say "Pita Inn" in Skokie - because it stays away from pork, and has "Zabiha" meat, which is basically "halal" (ie with blood drained etc). It obviously isnt kosher in the true sense of the word, but still.

There are degrees, but they tend to follow different lines. Orthodox Jews who are concerned about kashruth will not eat meat outside of kosher homes or restaurants. I do not believe that halal meat would be any more acceptable than any other meat not ritually slaughtered by a Sabbath-observant Jew. For many, vegetarian or vegan food is acceptable (there are issues about cheese). Some will eat fish in restaurants, as long as it is a species with fins and scales.

The really frum will eat nothing not certified as kosher; moreover, they won't even eat a kosher product if they can't be certain it was prepared in a kosher manner (so, for example, they won't eat a kosher brand of salami in a nonkosher restaurant, because the knife used to slice it may have been used on trayfe foods).

Less observant Jews may keep kosher in their homes but adopt a freer view outside -- they'll eat nonkosher meat, but not pork or shellfish, and they won't mix dairyand meat in the same meal. It can get pretty idiosyncratic; I've known people whose idea of kashruth was not to have a milkshake with their cheeseburger.

c8w wrote:BTW, *arent* there a couple of Jewish delis in Arlington Heights etc? Surely they must at least be trying to fulfill all the requirements for kosher?

Most "Jewish" delis are not remotely kosher. Just serving kosher corned beef isn't enough. To be certified as kosher you must not only use all-kosher products, and decide whether you are going to serve meat or dairy (the same kitchen can't serve both), but also hire someone who's qualified to be on hand to oversee the kitchen's kashruth at all times, and pay for the Chicago Rabbinical Council or some other such body to make the certification.

The nearest kosher place to Arlington Heights I can think of is in Highland Park. It's possible there's something in Buffalo Grove I'm not aware of.

Your Northwest kosher establishments are severely limited to one deli restaurant with dine-in tables, and one take-out bakery:

Brooklyn Market
1016 Weiland
Buffalo Grove
847-229-1818

Shalom Kosher Bakery
1165 N. Arlington Heights Rd.
Buffalo Grove
847-808-9300

Highland Park has a Jewel with an extensive kosher food section and an on-site mashgiach; it's at 1600 Deerfield Road. But the actual kosher restaurant selection is limited to:

Now We're Cook'n Grill
710 Central
Highland Park
847-432-7310
(next door to Shaevitz Kosher Meat Market and Deli)

Your best bet is to make the drive to Skokie, where Shallots is relocating from Lincoln Park to the former Karizma (ugh!) quarters on Main. Slice of Life (dairy), Hy Life Bistro (meat), Da Nali's Brick Oven Pizza (dairy) and Ken's Diner (meat) are some of the better places; the much-touted white-tablecloth Ronnie's restaurant in the old Leona's Dempster location came and closed quickly.

Mi-Tsu-Yun is consistent -- bland and expensive food -- but at least it's perservered over the years unlike the kosher Thai restaurant that quickly came and went (in the same shopping strip as Marakkesh on Dempster, that has also opened and closed in a matter of months.) We no longer keep kosher, but some in our family do, and while I'd like to support the kosher community there's no excuse for charging well above market for what is often poorly prepared food. (Three cheers for the kosher CRC-certified Dunkin Donuts on Dempster, which holds its prices to what ever other DD charges.)

>>Brent

Hi,

My friend the Rabbi's wife keeps strict Kosher. When I had guests, she emphatically did not recommend Now We're Cook'n Grill in Highland Park. She did endorse Jewel's Kosher department recommending I have the Rabbi on the premises walk me through my selections.

Other than that, her recommendations were go to Skokie where there was a variety of Kosher restaurants to choose from.

&&&

Recently learned from George R, the Best Co Outlet Store in Highland Park, not only sells their products, is a Kosher hot dog stand.

Best Kosher Outlet Store
1630 Deerfield Road
Highland Park, IL 60035
847-831-9435

Isn't Bugsy,next door to Ken's,owned by the same people?Are they kosher?

HI,

Since you have to walk through Ken's to enter Bugsy's, they certainly feel like the same owner. Both places are fleish Kosher.

I went to dinner at Bugsy's in May, 2003.

Recently, we entertained two guests from Israel of which one observes Kosher. Highland Park has one Kosher restaurant/carry-out which my friend The-Rabbi

Cathy2

"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
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I don't think Marrakesh still exists.

There used to be a kosher deli, Selig's, at 209 Skokie Valley Road in Highland Park (the same mall as Max's). I don't know if it's still there.

The trouble that kosher restaurants have is 1) they are of necessity more expensive than similar nonkosher establishments (due to having to pay for more expensive raw ingredients, plus the mashgiach, plus the certification), so people who don't keep kosher have no particular reason to go to them; and 2) the people who are their primary audience, Orthodox Jews, are not only a tiny minority, they don't have much tradition of eating out, partly because their options are so limited, and also because of the expense, especially since they often have large families.

erdal wrote:Well I'm looking for a Kosher Chinese place around Schaumburg.. Any suggestions would be appreciated..

Thanks..

An update there is now Kosher Chinese in Evanston it is take out only - Tein Li Chow it is located inside the Jewel on Howard in Evanston - IMHO it is some of the best Kosher Chinese I have ever had -

http://www.teinlichow.com/]

weinstein5 wrote:An update there is now Kosher Chinese in Evanston it is take out only - Tein Li Chow it is located inside the Jewel on Howard in Evanston - IMHO it is some of the best Kosher Chinese I have ever had -

http://www.teinlichow.com/]

I have not eaten food from this restaurant, but my friend from the China Judaic Studies Association attended an event catered by them and said it was the worst Chinese food she'd ever eaten. My friend is not remotely foodie and doesn't keep kosher, but she is Jewish and has been to China many times, and thus has a reasonable idea of what both kosher food and Chinese food ought to taste like.

Perhaps they do better with individual orders.