Kenneth Friedman Food & Wine

04/06/2025

Our new Jalapeno Salmon Bites.

29/05/2025

Looking to complete a list: Can you name all kosher restaurants in Baltimore where you can buy a hamburger?

Accents
Mangal Grill Express
The Club Deli & Grill
Market Maven
Kosher Bite
Serengeti

any others?

29/05/2025

I will say again: Champagne Drappier offers perhaps the best value in all of kosher wine. Forget the fact that this is world class Champagne, produced by the same family since 1808, and that methode champenoise wine takes potentially the most effort on behalf of the winemaker, and that the produce in the appellation of Champagne is more prized and pricey. There is a reason Champagne commands great prices.

Now I'm not saying $50 or $60 is inexpensive for anything, let alone 750ml of fermented grape juice. But truly great wine is often expensive to produce and renown names can carry larger price tags based on prestige.

But what most stands out to me is the fact that Champagne Drappier sells for only about $10 (about 20-25%) more than its non-kosher sibling. Compare that to other famous French labels. Château Pontet-Canet sells at about a 250% premium. Lascombes almost double, etc. Added cost should be no surprise. There are more hands involved in kosher winemaking, including the cost of the supervision label itself (not to mention everyone else taking a cut on the path from winery to your table).

So it's a breath of fresh air to pay within the same stratosphere as the rest of the free world. When you consider the excellent quality, it's rare air.

Cuvée Carte d'Or is probably my favorite of the Drappier line. As with most Drappier, it's produced primarily from Pinot Noir. I don't know the blend (if there is even one) in the kosher, but I am trying to find out. The NK is 80/15/5 PN/Chard/PM. This is likely a Blanc de Noir. Nerd stuff: Grown in limestone soil and chalk, undergoes MLF, unfiltered. 5% aged in oak, 40% reserve. Low sulfur. Dosage is 6.5 g/l.

In the glass, pale vermilion gold, Wonderful, complex aromatics of white peach, lemon curd, quince, patissière, light nuttiness, brioche. The palate shows complexity, full body, small, focused, creamy mousse, bright acidity, and tart fruit. Long finish. Can't get enough of this wine. Incredibly, it's mevushal, too.

$53, 12%abv, mevushal

Royal Wine Corp.

21/05/2025

Stay tuned:
Shavuos menu coming!

21/05/2025

Best of Kosher Baltimore, 2025: Falafel

Who doesn’t love a fresh, crispy falafel ball? We’re asking your favorite falafel ball in Baltimore, judged on its merit alone. PLEASE only vote one time.

Voting closes Friday, May 30, 2025. Winners announced shortly after! Click here!

Who doesn’t love a fresh, crispy falafel ball? We’re asking your favorite falafel ball in Baltimore, judged on its merit alone. Voting closes Friday, May 30, 2025. Winners announced sho…

20/05/2025

Three Tel Aviv-Inspired Summer Dinners.

Originally printed in the Jewish Link Summer Food & Wine Guide.

This article was originally written for The Jewish Link Summer Food & Wine Guide. Come summer, the mood shifts to fresh flavors, garden produce, and outdoor cooking. As the world grows smaller …

27/04/2025

Exploring the ESSA, Blanc Fumé, 2023: A New South African Wine Delight

Josh Rynderman Royal Wine Corp.

ESSA, Blanc Fumé, Cape South Coast, Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon, 2023 After some time, I finally got my hands on a bottle of this ballyhooed, small-production Blanc Fumé after a series of false starts…

02/04/2025

My piece on kosher Georgian wines in the new Jewish Link Wine Guide Magazine

By Dr. Kenneth Friedman Sitting at the crucial crossroads between Eastern Europe and Western Asia and the vast cultural worlds separating them, Georgia has seen many centuries of war, upheaval, and turbulence, while maintaining one constant—winemaking. Some archaeologists credit Georgia with the o...

19/03/2025

Proud and honored to premiere our latest episode of the Kosher Wine Podcast with our special guest, Gabriel Geller. GG of course needs no introduction.

Video: https://youtu.be/Qcdd-S7lJa0

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2u9ndYRt5F8i7q3LrBJwcp?si=70192b6eb0a6481f

In Episode 27 of the Kosher Wine Podcast, Dr. Kenny Friedman and Rabbi Yisroel Bernath sit down for a wide-ranging discussion with Gabriel Geller, WSETIII, D...

12/03/2025

Tilapia Meuniere

Fresh thyme, parsley, and lemon.