Long Beach, New York, located on a barrier island off the southern shores of Long Island's Nassau County, is a city of roughly 40,000, a large number of whom are Jewish. To cater to the dietary requirements of observant Jews, as well as the appetites of hungry gentiles, the area has a number of kosher restaurants, most of which fall into the category of delicatessens.
Serving lunch and dinner in its Long Beach restaurant, this delicatessen also does a lively catering and mail order business, shipping its kosher meats, knishes and other deli specialties anywhere in the continental United States. The Lido takes particular pride in the quality of its kosher meats, including corned beef, pastrami, brisket and turkey. Also available here are deli standbys such as matzo balls, spinach and noodle kugel, potato salad and cole slaw, as well as rugelach for dessert.
Lido Kosher Deli
641 E. Park Ave.
Long Beach, NY 11561
516-431-4411
http://lidokosherdeli.com/
Located 18 miles from Long Beach in Rego Park, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens, this deli was founded in 1945 by Benjamin Parker and is today operated by Parker's son, Jay. The menu is loaded with classic deli fare, including chopped chicken livers, overstuffed sandwiches, stuffed cabbage, kreplach soup and stuffed derma. Ben's Best also offers catering service and ships items from its restaurant menu via air freight for those yearning for a deli fix.
Ben's Best Kosher Delicatessen
96-40 Queens Blvd.
Rego Park, NY 11374
718-897-1700
bensbest.com
This chain of kosher delicatessens has a branch in Carle Place, about 18 miles from Long Beach. There are other Long Island branches in Bayside, Greenvale and Woodbury. Owner-founder Ronnie Dragoon says he's dedicated to preserving the culinary traditions of his Eastern European heritage. Appetizers on the menu include fried kreplach, gefilte fish and stuffed derma, while high on the list of specialty entrees are beef tongue Polonaise, Hungarian goulash, potato pancakes and chicken fricassee.
Ben's Kosher Delicatessen
59 Old Country Road
Carle Place, NY 11514
516-742-3354
bensdeli.net
Only 7.5 miles from Long Beach, this kosher pizzeria serves up a wide array of pizzas made in compliance with kosher dietary laws. Since one of the primary tenets of kosher law bans the consumption of meat and dairy products together, there are no meat toppings served at this restaurant. There are, however, several interesting non-meat alternatives, including spinach, baked eggplant and portabella mushroom. If you're in the mood for something different, other menu selections include falafel, hummus, baba ganoush, stuffed peppers and tuna salad. Soups include split pea, onion, cabbage, lentil, mushroom barley and potato bean.
Sabra Kosher Pizza
560 Central Ave.
Cedarhurst, NY 11516
516-569-1563
sabrapizza.com
