I believe it was our global moderator Takebackourtemple who posted about so-called kosher "style" restaurants, and how misleading they are.
Well now, the upscale Manhattan Mexican restaurant Rosa Mexicano is getting in on the act the act as well. This is despite the fact that Rosa Mexicano is NOT a kosher restaurant, and that it serves shrimp dishes, along side dairy and meat dishes.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_dnainfo/adios-gefilte-fish-hola-mexican-passover#mwpphu-container---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MANHATTAN — An average Passover meal might include matzoh ball soup, gelfite fish with horseradish and brisket chased down with some sweet Manischewitz wine.
But during a holiday where eating out can be tricky, New York Jews looking to spice up their bread-free week can find a twist on the Passover meal at several of the city's top Mexican restaurants.
Barbecued brisket is wrapped in a banana leaf and haroset, a traditional dish typically made with apples and nuts, includes tropical fruits at Rosa Mexicano, whose Manhattan outposts — in Union Square, Lincoln Center and the Upper East Side — are offering "Mexican Passover" throughout the holiday, from Apr. 18 — 25.
Manischewitz is added to poached pears that are layered in a toasted hazelnut and matzoh cake with piloncillo-crème fraiche frosting.
Visit DNAinfo.com for more food photos>
Mexican Passover has become one of Rosa Mexicano's most popular offerings in its lineup of festivals throughout the year. A growing number of families have been booking tables to have their own seders there, with the restaurant making the seder plate, said chef Joe Quinatana, the restaurant's executive regional chef of New York, who is based in the Union Square outpost.
"The second night is becoming more popular," Quintana said. "It's becoming the international night."
Dos Caminos, which has restaurants in SoHo, the Meatpacking District, Gramercy and the Upper East Side, will be offering "Passover-inspired" specials during the week. Toloache in Midtown will be offering Passover dishes during the week, as it has been doing since opening in 2007.
Tolache chef Julian Medina's matzoh ball soup is made with zucchini, carrots and an epazote and jalepeno-scented chicken consommé. His brisket is braised with chipotle and served in a taco made of matzoh tortilla. There's also a dulce de leche matzoh pudding.
The Mexican-born Medina (who is currently traveling in Mexico) converted to Judaism when he married a Jewish woman, Annie Sigal, who was born and raised on the Upper East Side, the restaurant's publicist said.
Visit DNAinfo.com for a sampling of Mexican Passover recipes>
"When their daughter Olivia was born, they found a way to reinterpret Passover dinner to reflect their new family," she explained. "Once they tasted the new dishes, they knew they had to offer this menu at the restaurants."
The food at these restaurants is Kosher-style rather than strictly Kosher, meaning the dishes respect the general tenets, avoiding mixing milk and meat (which is always forbidden) and nixing leavened bread. But they do not use special Kosher dishes, cook on counters specifically cleaned and prepped for the holiday or have rabbinical supervision.
Rosa Mexicano follows the rules for Sephardic Jews, who unlike Askenazi Jews eat corn and rice during the holiday.
The popular upscale Mexican restaurant began adding Passover dishes to its menu nine years ago, after CEO Howard Greenstone was talking to investors from Mexico about the tradition of Jewish culture in Mexico.
"I think there are more Mexican Jews out there that you hear about," Quintana said, recalling a group of Mexican Jews who ate in the Union Square branch this week.
Although Quintana is not Jewish, he has learned a lot about the traditions of Passover, he said, and he enjoys how the menu fuses cultures together. He especially likes the tacos de lengua in which paper-thin slices of seared beef tongue in handmade corn tortillas are topped with salsa and a hard-boiled egg.
"I'm not religious, but I enjoy doing this every year," he said. "You get a different crowd that wants to try something new."
Topic: "Kosher" Style Mexican Food For Passover (Read 2536 times)