Now we don’t normally just reprint “press releases” all willy-nilly (what “self-respecting newspaper” would?), but this one from Councilman David Greenfield (D–Midwood) calling out “restaurant guide” Zagat for not including any Brooklyn kosher joints was “too delicious to pass up!” (And don’t worry, it’s “parve”). Here it is in all it’s glory:
“Councilman David G. Greenfield is calling on the ‘well-known’ Zagat Guide to make ‘greater efforts’ to incorporate ‘a wide range of New York cuisines’ into its ‘famous’ guidebook in light of the fact that the ‘latest edition’ features ‘none’ of the many ‘delicious kosher dining options’ in Brooklyn.
Zagat’s updated 2017 edition was released recently, and while some readers say they ‘already have Yelp for this,’ others claim that Zagat offers a ‘more consistent’ and ‘reliable’ guide to New York dining. For that reason, Greenfield said, ‘it’s really a shame’ that the new Zagat guide offers ‘zero kosher options in Brooklyn,’ which is historically ‘home’ to much of New York’s ‘vibrant’ Jewish community, including several of the best kosher restaurants in the world.
In fact, the new guide lists ‘just three restaurants’ in Bensonhurst, ‘only two’ in Midwood, and when it comes to Boro Park, Zagat lays ‘a big goose egg.’ The guide includes only eight kosher restaurants, only one of which — Mexikosher, on Manhattan’s ‘happening’ Upper West Side — is ‘new this year.’ It includes no kosher restaurants in Brooklyn.
‘I urge the editors of Zagat to seek out a more diverse array of dining options in New York, and particularly in Brooklyn,’ Greenfield said. ‘We have some of the finest restaurants in the world in Brooklyn, and many happen to be kosher. But you wouldn’t know that from reading the Zagat Guide. Update your Guide! Your customers — and your stomachs — will be glad that you did.’ ”
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