Cheezburger, cheezburger

Oy vey.

A kosher restaraunt on New York's Upper West Side called Talia’s Steak House is making people all meshugana by offering a kosher cheeseburger. (To learn what "kosher" means, click here. One of the main tenets is you cannot combine milk and meat products in one meal, which is the very essence of a cheeseburger.) This burger skirts the K issue by using tofu cheese instead of good old Kraft Singles. So it offers some diners the chance to indulge in a cheesy, beefy treat while technically still being "good."

First of all, allow me to express my absolute shock that the Jewish community - of which I am a proud member, despite everyone thinking this 5'10" blonde is a shiksa - has found yet another way to turn food into something to obsess over.

That said, let's address the controversy. The New York Post quoted Rabbi Basil Herring, Executive Vice President of the Rabbinical Council of America, as saying “Jewish law is very concerned for appearances. Not only should you always do the right thing, but it should be seen as the right thing.” And kosher-keeping comedian Jackie Mason, who I most certainly never ever thoughtI'd be quoting on Weighting Fame, said the faux burger "makes me nauseous just thinking about it."

But others are saying if it's technically still kosher, let them eat meat.

Question: Isn't this similar to vegetarians noshing on Not Dog and Boca Burgers? Technically, you're still abiding by the dietary laws of the land. I suppose diehard veggies would be so grossed out be the concept of meat that soy nuggets are just as gross - so can the same be said of strictly Kosher Jews?

As for myself, I grew up in a culturally Jewish yet extremely non-kosher household. My dad is a freaking seafood broker, for crying out loud! Many nights, we dined on meatloaf with cheese melted inside or ordered in pepperoni pizza as a treat.

So weigh in - whether you're Jewish, Christian, vegetarian or carnivore (or any of the other bazillion religions and dietary codes out there). Is this an offensive burger? Or a fun chance to indulge, worthy of shlepping all the way to NYC? And does this mean that Dan and I can finally serve shrimp cocktail at our five-year wedding anniversary?

Oy, I'm all ver klempt.

Comments

Oy, all this tsuris over a little soy cheese?
Personally, I think it's more important to do the right thing than to be SEEN doing it. (I guess the matrons of Beverly Hills and the Upper East Side would disagree, and hate not having the photos from their benefit dinners splashed all over the society pages.)

I suppose it comes down to personal taste. If yo want it, have it. If not, feh!

Has anyone here eaten tofu cheese??? Kosher or not, it is it's own punishment. Seriously nasty overprocessed ick. Plus it doesn't melt well.

As for your question about vegetarians eating boca burgers, I don't see any problem with it (like Alyssa, I think it's more important to do whatever aligns with your personal beliefs rather than worrying about "the appearance of evil". That said, I don't like meat substitutes because they are so processed with lots of additives & gmo soy etc.

I'm extremely exposed to the Jewish community, living in a north shore Chicago suburb, and I think a lot of my friends that keep Kosher would be excited to eat a cheeseburger, and I honestly don't see why it matters, because it's still technically kosher.

As a member of the Jewish commuity as well, i too was raised jewish but never kept kosher (our idea of a perfect meal at home was some shrimp fried rice!) and i agree with charlotte about doing the right thing rather than be SEEN doing it. but i've been to Israel loads of times and in Jersusalem (not so in other less orthdox cities like Tel aviv or haifa) almost all resturants are kosher, and yep that includes Mickey D's and KFC (which beleive me, the colonel is a shock to see in the holy land). There are almost no jews in my culinary school and most dishes we learn to make are so far from being kosher that i wonder what my culinary school would do if an orthodox jew wanted to study there. Using faux cheese in a French Culinary school is sorta taboo for them. Anyhow, If anything, why dont they have something yummy like Boca burgers and use real cheese, cause i hear the fake one is a step below the soles of worn out sandals!

Not being religious myself, all the little restrictions and rules of all the various religions seem pretty arbitrary and archaic. Unless a rule is a moral or ethical one, I find them kind of perplexing, especially when people fight over them.

I gotta say, being agnostic makes eating and a lot of other things much simpler! And eating is complicated enough as it is.

(And charlotte's comment about tofu cheese totally cracked me up!)

So when they say you must be also "seen" doing the right thing, does that mean a patty shaped item in a bun with a cheese looking substance automatically means naughty?

I would agree that kosher would mean the content of the actual food, not it's shape or its appearance. I mean thousands of years ago who would have ever imagined Boca burgers or tofu cheese?

Huh.

Being a Texan I hadnt even heard about this and am kind of surprised that those who keep kosher would even want to eat anything which APPEARS to be non!

Although all the keeping-kosher Ive encountered in my life consists of a few wacky relatives who were so very strict about it they'd not consume the burger merely because of appearances.

In summation, Ive no tremendous insights to add :)

C.

Half my family is Jewish, but they don't follow the kosher rules. They're view is, when those laws were made up, it was a health issue. These days you don't really have to worry about eating pork or mixing foods making you ill. So they don't worry about it.

I don't know... I'm a vegetarian and have no problem eating veggie burgers and veggie sausages and soy nuggets. In terms of the veggies burgers I actually like them better than hamburgers (hence, the not eating meat part of my diet!).

My boyfriend's cheeseburger tends to make my stomach sick while the smell of my Morningstar farm burger brings smiles to my tummy.

I'd say if you want to eat a "cheese"burger go for it. I don't understand what the big deal is. It *is* a Kosher burger whether or not it looks like one. In your heart, that's all that matter is that you're keeping Kosher.

i'm not religious (heck my husband keeps our freezer stocked with pepperoni pizzas!) but grew up in an orthodox community and went to orthodox day and high schools in the chicago area. to this day i remember one of our teachers taught us that we shouldn't go into a mcdonalds for a cup of water b/c someone may see you and think mcdonalds as kosher. i remember my friends and i thought that was stupid but also understood the concept. i think this is the same issue. if someone walks by the window of the restaurant and knows it's a kosher restaurant and sees a customer eating a cheeseburger they may assume that suddenly cheeseburgers are in fact kosher and go tell all their friends. just another reason one should never "assume"...

I'm glad some of you called the Rabbi on his comment about appearances being more important than what actually is happening. Doesn't make sense to me at all. Um, not to get all dramatic but Elliot Spitzer "appeared" to be faithful to his wife and look what was happening all along. Barf. Not very kosher.

What makes this different than kosher for passover pasta and muffins? I think they're just looking for something to kvetsch about. And aren't our people so good about finding ways around the strict laws? Think of an eruv (so that you can carry stuff on shabbat inside an area), allowing a nonjewish person to drive you around on shabbat, an automatic elevator...so you can ride the elevator and not press the buttons...but still abide by the law. So this is no different.
and won't be NEARLY as tastey as a REAL cheezburger.

Hey, I just noticed your comment the other day - thanks for stopping by my blog!

Hmmm.... Not sure what to think here! As a spiritual-but-not-religious type, I'm wondering WHO exactly is opposed to this meat and dairy mixing...and WHY? And if that logic resonates with you, then sure, abide by it... if it doesn't... well, then enjoy some ACTUAL cheese (NOT kraft singles!) on that burger! Hmmm.... I could go for some crumbled Rogue River bleu on a burger with pepper bacon!

Thick Chick, to answer your question (i might as well use my 10 years of jewish private school education), its unkosher to mix milk in meat because it's written in jewish law that its is forbidden to cook a goat in its mothers milk (in a moral/ethical view, this sorta make sense). There are a lot more laws that jave more to do with the health and cleanliness that people posted about earlier, but thats why kosher includes the separationg of meat and dairy. I must say, now that passover is coming up aisles are filled with kosher for passover cookies, cereal, candies, even corndogs! I think the really orthodox people dont want to "keep up appearences", maybe they just want a good burger (albiet, soy cheese does seem a little harsh on the taste buds).

I can't present an enlightened view, as I am neither Jewish nor particularly dogmatic in any faith...but I think, if you can stomach tofu cheese, you deserve your cheeseburger. And a medal! :-)

Valerie