After a Facebook message from Chopped winner, Top Chef contestant and MexiKosher Owner/Chef Katsuji Tanabi to Great Kosher Restaurants Magazine Publisher Elan Kornblum about coming to NY next week, things quickly went into motion about doing a pop-up in New York City.  After discussing the options with Tanabe, Kornblum got on the phone with Pitopia owner Kevin Cohnen, who was in Israel, where he lives 2 weeks out of the month.

After a 10 minute conference call, the deal was done for the 1st Ever "Great Kosher Restaurant West Coast- East Coast Pop Up." So MexiKosher will be making their NY restaurant debut next Tuesday night (March 10th) at 6pm in the location of Pitopia at 1369 Broadway (off 37th Street). Katsuji's famous and signature burritos and tacos will be on the menu.

Tanabe tells GreatKosherRestaurants.com "I'm excited about bringing Mexikosher to New York City for the first time ever.
It's time for the people over there to taste real authentic Mexico City style food (plus some burritos)."

Their menu will consist of:
* Birria, lamb braised in banana leaves with guajillo sauce for 10 hours.

* Carnitas- brisket confit in duck fat.
(They were selected as one of the best carnitas in Los Angeles
www.laweekly.com/restaurants/10-best-places-to-eat-carnitas-in-los-angeles-2897618)

* Pollo a la pibil (mayan style chicken) with a mix of aromatic and sweet flavors from the region

Everything will be served with fried black beans and rice with a choice of different garnish from guacamole, pico de gallo , cilantro, pickled red onions, escabeche de carrots with jalapenos, and grilled cactus and more.  All with choices of salsas - Mango habanero, chipotle, salsa verde and salsa rojo. Much more information to follow but could this be the beginning of something? Stay tuned....

 

About Katsuji Tanabe:
Born and raised in the heart of Mexico, the son of a Japanese father and a Mexican mother, Katsuji has worked inside LA’s most acclaimed kitchens, from the four-star Bastide Restaurant to Beverly Hills’ Mastro’s Steakhouse. Tanabe recently celebrated the first anniversary of his own MexiKosher Restaurant, the first authentic Kosher Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles and arguably the first of its kind in the entire United States.  Katsuji is proud to serve his community as a personal mentor and celebrity representative for Jewish Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Los Angeles, where he happily offers his time and expertise for fundraising and volunteer drives for the group, as well as regularly working alongside the children that the group supports, teaching healthy eating and cooking alternatives.

 

About Pitopia:
Falafel is taking over New York, one menu at a time. Pitopia’s co-owner, Kevin Cohnen says his hummus bar came about after a visit to Netanya, Israel where a friend had him try his falafel ball recipe and as they say "the rest is history." The restaurant's original location is easy to miss at first but as you come across 37th and Broadway the bright colorful sign jumps out at you. After two successful years, they opened a second location in Midtown’s West Side in March 2014, which is the best proof of the New Yorkers’ love for a good falafel-and-hummus bite. In fact, competing with non-kosher joints in the category, they earned the title of the Best Falafel 2013 in Midtown Manhattan based on readers' voting on MidtownLunch.com. Pitopia has opened a second location at 369 West 34th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenue.

While the restaurant is small and perfect for takeaway, its food is huge in flavor. The house specialty is the Israeli-style falafel, which comes with fried eggplant, Israeli salad and pickles. Connoisseurs say their falafel is “the real thing”- crunchy on the outside with a flavorful soft center, everything one would want from a falafel ball.  The salad bar is clean and colorful featuring a wide variety of expected Middle Eastern salads and sides. It includes fresh Israeli salad, fried and steamed cauliflower, chickpeas, beets, cabbage and an assortment of others that need to be refilled every half hour due to the hustle and bustle of this falafel oasis. The hummus bar is a smorgasbord of toppings to mix into the house-made hummus. You have everything from sautéed onions and peppers to hardboiled egg which is a big hit. Another customers’ favorite is the crispy non-oily Sabich, otherwise known as tempura egg- battered eggplant that is fried up and served either in a sandwich or part of a salad/hummus bowl.The meat menu features the quintessential Israeli food –shawarma and schnitzels, the latter coming in a variety of flavors, such as Wasabi, General Tso’s or Spicy Buffalo. When visiting this hot spot, make sure to take full advantage of the array of sauces at the end of the salad bar when completing your assembly line to create the perfect falafel or shawarma bowl. The takeout is made easy with their signature colorful carton boxes perfect for housing a pita sandwich without making a mess. When ordering keep an eye open for lunch and dinner specials and combo offers.

www.PitopiaUSA.com
1369 Broadway
New York, NY 10018
(212) 792-6765

369 West 34th Street
New York, New York 10001
(212) 244-6700