A Restaurant Review for Foodies

By Levana Kirschenbaum

I congratulate myself for my choice of a restaurant when it came to celebrating my daughter Bella’s birthday en tete-a-tete a couple days ago: Pardes. What a feast!

Chef Moshe Wendel is easily one of the most uninhibited chefs I have ever met. What heavenly flavor and texture matches he dreams up. Just as Bella was asking: Hey, where are all those restaurant critiques when it comes to Kosher Restaurants, why aren’t they reviewing Pardes, or Nobo Teaneck etc? G-d knows everyone can eat Kosher, so if not for the Kosher public’s sake, then for their own sake, check it out, will you? Don’t think I don’t bring in my non-observant friends and my non-Jewish foodie friends to my favorite Kosher restaurants! And you know what they say? Some fancy shmancy restaurants have nothing on us! Gee thanks for telling us we’re not missing anything, and for busting the myth that Upscale Kosher Restaurants are more expensive than their non-Kosher counterparts; they are not, simple as that!

Chef Moshe has recently changed his menu for small plates, all the way. You are in for a treat; this way of dining is so much fun, and only possible with an exceptional chef who has much to showcase (in other words, not in a regular steakhouse for example, where food might well be delicious but much more predictable).

Every single dish was fabulous, every choice a safe choice. I think we ended with an extravagant number of dishes, and packed away a good third of our dinner. An average of two plates plus dessert will do you very nicely. Those dishes he modestly and playfully calls snacks are nothing but trouble: would that snacks tasted and looked like that! This guy knows his mushrooms too, a man after my own heart. He also uses less salt in many dishes, a most welcome update.

I am including the menu that we selected our dishes from, but the Chef is always tinkering with new dishes, so you will never tied to the same old same old menu. Please read it, I guarantee that just reading it is not enough to get you in trouble, but enough to send you to heaven and back, and make reservations. All dishes are extensively described in this menu, another thing I like, and the waiters are quite knowledgeable. Likewise, I greatly welcome the change in the presentation: No more small amounts of food arranged in a corner of a gigantic plate, the tiresome Nouvelle way. New Look: More Food Less Plate: YES!!! Now you’re talking!

Here’s what we had (I still can’t believe the sheer volume! Just including a couple keywords for each dish, but you’ll find them all fully described on the menu): pickles; saute of Chanterelles with corn; Bouillabaisse; smoked duck breast; lamb meatballs; Ribeye Tartare; lamb shoulder; smoked cornish hen and waffle; oxtail; muscat gelee;

My Favorites? All good. I hope you get some of the white sangria: Fabulous. Just one tiny reservation: So sorry I am severely biased about my own desserts, so I am hardest to please in the dessert area. The desserts are good, to be sure, but not in the same major league as his savory dishes.

Also, I think they should be serving decaf coffee and tea (they don’t). Wine list: You will forget how limited it is when you are seated with your dinner, with a good beer, the chef’s white sangria, or a decent-but-not-great glass of wine. The chef would rather spend his costs on his food genius, and who could blame him? See you next week IYH, Chef Moshe!

Hey Dear Foodie Friends: How about forming a group of us, and going out to eat at Pardes? Let’s coordinate this!

Pardes Restaurant
497 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Tel: 718.797.3880

Kashrus: OU Glatt Kosher
Hours: Sunday – Thursday: 5:00 pm – 11:00 pm