In many ways, New York’s Lower East Side is a culinary time capsule. People continue to eat many of the same food staples that they consumed at the turn of the 20th Century…from some of the same places. Establishments like Katz’s Delicatessen and Russ and Daughters continue to thrive, and Kossar’s Bialys, founded by Isadore Mirsky and Morris Kossar in 1936, manages to coexist with modern ringed food proponents like the Doughnut Plant.
Kossar’s website pretty much gives everything away about the preparation, which primarily involves “old-style care and craftsmanship.”
They even divulge the ingredients: “high gluten flour, the best brewers yeast, New York tap water, fine salt, and freshly ground onions.” Really though, this bialy was more than the sum of its parts, and they clearly know that at Kossar’s.
Kossar’s Bialys was a good first stop on my most recent trip to New York, fortifying me for the burgeoning blizzard. More than that, the establishment also gave me some perspective on the past, which made it easier to look forward.
Leave a Comment