History and Culture

Kosher Menu Collection: American Chinese Food in Brooklyn

February 10, 2024

by Melissa Silvestri

Menu from China Mehadrin: Glatt Kosher Chinese Take-Out dated October 1, 1999. *Mehadrin* refers to a very strict level of kosher supervision while *glatt kosher* means that the animal must have smooth lungs without adhesion or scar tissue.

The AJHS Cohen Kosher Menu Collection contains close to 100 menus from Kosher restaurants, mostly in Manhattan and Brooklyn but also Miami and Montreal. Here we are featuring two Kosher menus from American Chinese restaurants located in Brooklyn that are specifically catering to Jewish communities in the neighborhood. By advertising their kosher certification these businesses are reassuring customers that the restaurant is adhering to Jewish religious dietary guidelines in how the dishes are prepared. The restaurants are in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Midwood, which has a 50 percent population of Orthodox Jews, with many yeshivas and a shul on almost every block.

China Mehadrin appetizers include crispy hot dog egg roll, dim sum, bbq chicken wings, french fries, wontons, bbq spare ribs, and dumplings.

These kosher menu’s highlight the intersection of Chinese and Jewish populations working and eating(!) in Brooklyn, New York and celebrate the collaborative unions of the Chinese and Jewish communities as immigrants and American-born descendants.

The Glatt Chow menu uses the Hebrew word *simcha* meaning joy to advertise their catering services for special events. The restaurant also lists its hours in relation to Shabbat, citing that they are open starting one hour after Shabbat ends.

Glatt Chow advertised offering both Chinese and American food. Their menu features popular American Chinese dishes such as General Tsao’s Chicken, and lo-mein, along with popular American dishes such as bbq chicken wings, spare ribs and pepper steak.

AJHS wishes Xīnnián hǎo (新年好), or “New Year Goodness” this Lunar New Year, the Year of the Dragon.

Melissa Silvestri

Melissa Silvestri is a Project Archivist with the American Jewish Historical Society. Prior to joining AJHS in 2022, she was a Digital Projects Coordinator for the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, an archivist for The Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, and held other archival positions at several non-profit organizations. She is experienced in digital archives and processing and has co-authored finding aids. She graduated with a Bachelor’s in English from Baruch College in 2008, and a Master’s in Library Science from Queens College in 2015.