Jewish dairy restaurant

A Jewish dairy restaurant, Kosher dairy restaurant,^[1][2] dairy lunchroom, dairy deli, milkhik or milchig restaurant is a type of generally lacto-ovo vegetarian/pescatarian kosher restaurant, luncheonette or eat-in diner in Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, particularly American Jewish cuisine and the cuisine of New York City.

Due to the strict rules for separating milk and meat in Jewish law, dairy or milchig (Yiddish: מילכיק) restaurants evolved as an alternative to Jewish delicatessens which specialized in meat (fleischig).^[3] They are generally ovo-lacto-pescatarian even though they may be referred to as "vegetarian" or "vegetarian and dairy restaurants".^[4] Descended from the milchhallen or "milk pavilions" of Europe, they began appearing in the Jewish immigrant community of the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, where there were at one time hundreds of dairy restaurants.^[5][6][7] Dairy kosher places were also found in Chicago and Toronto,^[8][9] as well as the East End of London.^[10][11] Dairy restaurant menus include items such as potato latkes, gefilte fish, matzo brei, vegetarian (milkhiker) borscht, kugel, protose (a synthetic vegetable meat substitute), pierogies, milk toast, poppy seed cakes, buttermilk, cheese blintzes and kreplach, as well as American dishes such as scrambled eggs or tuna salad.^[4][12][13]

The rise of New York's dairy restaurants was aided significantly by the emergence of commercial refrigeration and the community complaints about expensive retail kosher butchers, which culminated in "meat strikes", such as the 1902 kosher meat boycott. The butchers blamed the Beef Trust, shippers, inspectors, and the kosher slaughter industry for raising the prices of kosher beef, causing New York housewives to riot on the Lower East Side and in Williamsburg proclaiming that they would live on fish. It led to citywide kosher meat shortages, and refrigeration made fresh milk and cream affordable. The growth in vegetarian diets, as promoted by progressive Jewish thinkers, also inspired a turn to dairy meals.^[13]

Notable examples frequented by Jewish immigrants and American Jews, among others, include B&H Dairy and Ratner's.^[14] As of 2024, B&H is still operating as one of the few, last remaining Jewish dairy restaurants in New York's former Yiddish theater district, and is run by an Egyptian Muslim and Polish Catholic couple.^[15] Gangster Meyer Lansky frequented Ratner's, which named a bar after him.^[16][17] According to one story, Leon Trotsky was said to have been particularly fond of a Jewish dairy restaurant called Triangle Dairy in the Bronx, whose waiters were Russian emigrés. Trotsky refused to tip after eating as a matter of principle, insisting that "tipping was demeaning to the dignity of a workingman, and that a person should get a regular salary, enough to live on, and not have to depend on tips". He also tried to persuade other customers to refuse to tip for the same reason. This in turn led to verbal abuse, poor service, and one incident where waiters intentionally spilled hot soup on him.^[18] A restaurant known as Steinberg's on the Upper West Side was beloved by writers and theater people and a refuge for Zero Mostel when he was blacklisted.^[19] Isaac Bashevis Singer, a noted Jewish vegetarian, was said to favor the Famous Dairy Restaurant on West 72nd St.^[20][21]

More recently, in Los Angeles, Steven Spielberg's mother opened an aptly named restaurant, The Milky Way.^[23] In Boro Park, New York City, a 2007 write-up highlighted pizza and donuts among the dairy restaurants.^[24] In 2022, New York's B&H Dairy received a grant (from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express) to redo its landmark facade.^[25] Israel has more than a dozen major kosher agencies to certify restaurants; for example the US-based Orthodox Union supervises two milchig restaurants.^[26] In Jerusalem, several major hotels have dairy kosher restaurants, including Inbal, Leonardo Plaza, and Ramada.^[27] Israeli chef Meir Adoni opened a kosher restaurant in Singapore, choosing dairy due to the difficulty in obtaining kosher meat.^[28] Adoni stated that, in Singapore, "Our target market is everyone. The kosher certificate is just a bonus. It doesn't affect the food quality. Quite the opposite."^[29]

Particularly in more observant denominations of Judaism, dairy restaurants are usually deemed kosher by virtue of supervision by a kosher certification agency. Some Orthodox Jewish authorities apparently treat strictly vegan restaurants as kosher, absent a certificate.^[31] In 2023, vegetarian restaurants gained a vote of approval by Conservative Judaism's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, which incorporates the movement's leniency for cheese made with animal rennet.^[32]

• Appetizing store – Type of retail establishment
• Bar mleczny – A Polish cafeteria providing government-subsidized meals
• Greasy spoon – Small and affordable restaurant