Walk through the streets of Crown Heights in Brooklyn on an average weeknight and you’ll find a street party of sorts on one particular corner.
The recent opening of Boeuf & Bun, an artisanal burger lab, and Basil Pizza & Wine Bar across the road, have brought people from around New York and even as far as New Jersey to the celebrated Brooklyn neighborhood.
These developments are quite fascinating for a Jewish neighborhood that in the 1950’s and 1960’s numbered nearly 100,000 and is known worldwide for the Eastern Parkway headquarters of the international Chabad movement and home of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
“It’s unbelievable how many people come through our doors each night. We’re turning tables about five times a night, and peak times can see people lining up in the streets to get a table,” said Chany Turner, manager at Boeuf & Bun.
“Customers love our artisanal twist on the classic burger, they can’t get enough. Our most popular burger is the Morning Scramble, which features a fried egg and cured beef ‘bacon’, in addition to the meat.”
Another modern kosher restaurant will soon be added to mix – Texan style eatery, Izzy’s Brooklyn Smokehouse, will be opening a few blocks away.
Although it seems that Crown Heights only boasts trendy eateries, it is also home to the traditional pizza, sushi and bagel stores, as well as several fast-food outlets and an ice-cream store. It has become less necessary for Crown Heights residents to leave the neighborhood in order to satisfy their food cravings.
Kosher supermarkets are also found every few blocks, from the little corner store to luxury grocery stores. One stand out store is The Market Place, a beautifully designed store that provides an easy shopping experience with its impressive bakery, takeout food station, sushi bar, fresh produce, and dry good displays. The store attracts not only Crown Heights residents, but those living in nearby neighborhoods such as Park Slope and Brooklyn Heights.
Benz’s Gourmet is also a store to visit if you find yourself in the Brooklyn neighborhood. The store which opened 11 years ago is the retail face for the kosher grocer. Seeing a gap in the kosher market, Benz’s offers the best in kosher gourmet foods, catering to both Jewish and non-Jewish residents alike. Those looking for gourmet imported kosher cheeses, olives, or beers make their way to the small shop front, where they can also purchase Benz’s famous fish.
They also didn’t have airbags in the fifties…
Your point exactly?
Nice number 19 & 25.
to common 25 you said it all job well done all restaurants of Crown Heights is the best there’s no questions asked
I love their food, their prices. It’s quiet and you can almost always find a table. AND the service is with a smile.
Still waiting to try Boeuf & Bun, but I’m not ready to stand on line for a table.
Hope all these places are under the original CHK.
cuz…CON SIVA HASHEM ES HABROCHA!
What are the hechsherim? Are all the meats Chabad shechita?
but only fast food places. we can use a place one can take his wife out to eat once a while.
recently left NY after living there 10 years and surprised how much I miss it! more reasons to come visit!
i remember when….
Why the negative comments.
CH is full of good things, stress our positive, the light..
Don’t waste energy of the opposite.
I love Basil and Boeuf and Bun and the Chocolate coffee bar.
The odd Pizza on Kingston is good too.
To #7 That’s all fine that’s if we’re not forgetting what our whole purposes in life
Wonder what The Rebbe meant by
kan zevoah hashem ess habrocha?
Vedal
It’s a good sign, though there’s lots to do in Cwn Hghts. There is no bad with boosting the area begashmius, they will always be strength, in it’s place, in spiritual focus. When mashiach is revealed, good gashmius and good ruchniot can run togethor
You have described the state of the current social-economic-political climate to a ‘T’.
that is the new trend affordable housing gone forever restaurants like boeff & bun the food may be good but extremely overpriced $35 for a pastrami burger fries & coke! combine that with houses routinely now selling for over a million for a basic hole in the wall I say its time to relocate build a new community in a place that has parks affordable houses that are half the price etc!
why not view crown heights like a big chabad house, and it could be seen as a place visitors can come to, and not be too extreme. a chabad rabbi can bring a group from wherever he is from, and they have some diversions, instead of being a dangerous ghetto purely, or whatever you think the past was. and why not be an inviting place for flat-bushers to come to for their shidduchim, or whatever. why can’t you see some positive in having ok gashmius?? does not chassidus teach to elevate gashmius, not to run away from it? surely there… Read more »
Nothing to celebrate – Crown heights has lost the plot.
agree with # 2 crown heights is not what it used to be now we have stores offering a few items for a high cost and we need to pay for the name rather for the food
at least we still have mermelstien
Slight correction to your assertion: #thebuzzkill is in fact the moronic left-wing, liberal legislature in NYS and NYC that have created a demon of a city where the evil are viewed as righteous, the guilty as just, and criminals as saints – which further emboldens them to continue their reign of crime and terror against the innocent law abiding public. Not to mention that the law abiding have no legal recourse to protect themselves as the above mentioned powers that be have smothered any attempt to legally own any type of firearm for personal protection……and you want to know why… Read more »
And what exactly is the “obvious reason” you cite?
Oy, do I miss Benz’s & Market Place!! Especially in Shmittah. Haven’t EVER had a decent banana here – right now, avocados are a fortune because they are out of season – hard to find lettuce & when you do, it’s disgusting. Buggy cauliflower, I saw broccoli ONE TIME, no mangoes yet…. I still picture MP & drool over the beautiful selections.
every community has a few of those unfortunately
wow what a mess you are!
Can tell just by the few words you meekly posted.
Probably moved out yrs ago and feeling sorry for yourself.
Well guess what?
Ye, sure we have machlokos and crime and whatever else you say just like any other State or neighborhood.
But if it makes you feel better than so be it.
Those that stayed know the pros and the cons – but most make the best of the cons for the obvious reason.
this neighbourhood was once a mokoim kodesh,
andeateries in theneighbourhood is not a sign of kedusha , but a sign of having too much time money and extra time to waste in eateries.
a little aidelkeit
Just a reminder that we are in sefirah and there is room for improvement. It certainly is not worthwhile to fool oneself.
Nothing to celebrate – Crown heights has lost the plot.
The food is good in the new Boeuf & Bun, and you can order everything form Market Place Supermarket on KosherFamily.com
You sound very bitter! You are most likely a former crown heights resident.. As a young person living in Ch I can say our community is getting a lot better and nicer and these establishments help that a lot!
Would be nice to provide addresses and times of business.
It is definitely the mind-set of today’s generation that gives us this profusion of restaurants, not only in Crown Heights, but in all Jewish neighborhoods. Back in the fifties and sixties, when Crown Heights had a Jewish population many times greater than today’s, there were only a handful of choices. Kingston Ave. had one fleishig place ( Shmiel Rosenbaum-Kingston & President ) , one dairy place ( Spritzer & Cohen-KIngston-President & Union. Albany & Eastern Pkwy. had another fleishig restaurant . What I believe was the first Kosher Pizza shop in New York -late fifties ( Chaim’s-Nostrand-Montgomery & Crown ),… Read more »
I miss esse en bench
chan you da best
Even with these resteraunts, Crown Heights is still a crazy place with lots of crime, dirt, nasty attitudes, and of course machlokes.
Don’t fool yourself to think it is the least bit normal.
Who misses ess-n-bench?