The Pasta Factory (Teaneck)

[Jason Perlow]

The Pasta Factory

1400 Palisade Ave., Teaneck, NJ 07666

TEL: 201.837.1000

(In back of the Goodman's hardware store building)

Here are a few pics of some of the dishes we sampled at the restaurant:

Tuna "Seviche" with crispy wonton skin layers

Basic marinara pasta with home made rigatoni. Mozzarella (from curds) and Pasta is made inhouse, they use brass dies to make the pastas.

Pasta Mediterraneo with Ahi Tuna, in a lemony sauce with black olives, arugula and fresh linguine.

This was a fish special with wheat berries and truffle mashed potatoes and sauteed mustard greens.

Day Boat Codfish with Roasted Beets, ginger Baby Carrots and Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

Trio of ice Creams, with heavy Cholov Yisroel cream. Chef Barry Bonser, formerly of the 21 Club and Bouley, does all desserts inhouse.

Chocolate Espresso Torte

Spice Cake

Pumpkin Creme Brulee, which was so good that we ended up fighting over spoonfuls, it got very ugly at the table.

I'd like to stress that this is one of the best Kosher restaurants I have ever been to, its prices are reasonable even for a Kosher establishment, and even if you are NOT looking for a Kosher restaurant, its probably one of the better fish restaurants in the area. All desserts, pasta, bread (amazing foccacia) and even the mozzarella are made inhouse.

The restaurant is housed in the back of the Goodman's Hardware Store building in the industrial part of town (West Englewood) next to the railroad tracks. Its a very attractive space, featuring high ceilings and a funky/industrial modern decor.

You can view the menu online at http://www.pastafactoryteaneck.com

The restaurant is BYO(K)B. Wine needs to be Kosher. If you don't have any Kosher wines, the restaurant has an arrangement with Teaneck Liquor, who has a nice Israeli/European/US Kosher wine selection and will deliver to the restaurant upon request.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Looks terrifically enticing! Jason, is this the place that inspired you to start a thread on "Is there any good quality kosher mozzarella?" ... beautiful choices on their menu as well ... all this and kosher! Omain!

[Jason Perlow]

Yes. And actually as it turned out, we did try the mozzarella a second time, and it was considerably better. Apparently on the day we first went, they had run out of the curds to make the mozzarella inhouse and had to get some pre-made mozzarella from a different supplier, so it was not the stuff they normally made.

[Rachel Perlow]

Yes, it is. They have improved the mozzarella, btw. Athough it still isn't the same as the kind we get at Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. Although they make all the pasta fresh in house, I vastly prefer their fish dishes. That tilapia special was cooked perfectly (and the truffled mashed potatoes were fabulous), I loved the cod, and the tuna tartar was wonderful. I got mad at Jason for finishing it.

And that chocolate ice cream was very very intense.

[Jason Perlow]

BTW the backers of this restaurant are also responsbile for Sushi Mitsuyan, a kosher sushi restaurant, also in Teaneck, which I havent been to but has a very good reputation. After sampling the quality of the fish at this place, I'm now inclined to try it.

[bloviatrix]

We need a dairy place like this on the UWS. I'm jealous.

[Jason Perlow]

These folks have plans to open a meat place as well on the same block. They also plan to offer takeout of certain items, like their fresh pasta, for retail sale.

I didn't mention it in the NYT Quick Bite as we were tight on space, but they had a nice Prix Fixe lunch for $20 which included a nice big salad (their field greens are very good) and a main dish.

[Randi]

Am I the only one who thinks they would benefit from a different name? When I read "The Pasta Factory" I was envisioning something like the Macaroni Grill (but even more casual).

[Jason Perlow]

Yeah, we were thinking the same thing. Its really not a good name for this place, it does sound like a mass production joint like Macaroni Grill or Cheesecake Factory. But please don't let it stop you from eating here.

I think they specifically chose that name in order to lure in casual diners (the place is not dressy at all) and they are trying to get clientele other than orthodox Jews to eat there. It does have that "Factory" type industrial look inside, with brickface walls and exposed ventilation ducts.

[bloviatrix]

Keep in mind that for the kosher clientele there won't be any association between the name Pasta Factory and chains like Macaroni Grill and Cheesecake Factory. Many of these people aren't even cognizant of those chains' existence.

Edited November 21, 2004 by bloviatrix (log)

[Jason Perlow]

Another thing which I think patrons should know is that unlike meat, which has to be "Kashered" or salted in addition to being butchered in a process with lends it to have a different flavor and texture than normal meat and fowl, fish is inherently treated as "Pareve" or a neutral food item from a Kosher perspective. Thus (dairy) restaurants that serve fish can buy from the same purveyors that a regular high end fish restaurant buys from (with the exception of shellfish like lobster, shrimp or clams of course) so there is really no limit on the qualitative aspects on a fish dish served at a Kosher restaurant. For example, the tuna that we ate at Pasta Factory is the same sashimi grade stuff used in good sushi restaurants.

[Kim WB]

Keep in mind that for the kosher clientele there won't be any association between the name Pasta Factory and chains like Macaroni Grill and Cheesecake Factory.  Many of these people aren't even cognizant of those chains' existence.

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My kosher friends in West Windsor and Highland Park NJ might not know about the DETAILS of macaroni grill and Cheesecake Factory, nor do I, having never been there..but we/they surely know of their existence!

[Rosie]

Great piece Jason. Thanks for letting us know about this place.

[Pan]

Very intriguing, and thanks for the great pictures! Just how casual is the place? Do you think it would be kid- and baby-friendly?

[Jason Perlow]

Very intriguing, and thanks for the great pictures! Just how casual is the place? Do you think it would be kid- and baby-friendly?

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Yeah, totally.

[tommy]

i guess it's time to start a thread asking for kosher wine suggestions. looks great.

are those pictures going to be added to their (sparse) website? they're almost too perfect.

[Rabbi Ribeye]

Hmmm . . . upscale kosher. Ah, a tale from the Bob Jones Umbra:

You might be interested to know that despite the consummate goyishness of the SC Upstate, I am now marketing, with a modicum of success, a line of my own "fine specialty foods" under the name "Rabbi Ribeye."

I have quite a clientele among the old-money Augusta Road crowd who apparently don't know or don't care that the pates and duck prosciutto are prepared in my strictly kosher kitchen. I am also selling my gravlax to a deli on the Eastside and will be offering rotating off-the-menu first courses at a Brick Street Cafe -- pate de foie, tuna ceviche, gravlax, pickled salmon with caviar cream, duck prosciutto. Sara at Brick Street has even invited me to do a monthly "international tapas" evening in their wine bar -- jeez, a shtickel kishke next to the tapenade . . .

You might also be interested to know that starting in January, I will be writing a biweekly column on Jewish cuisine in the Judische Allgemeine out of Berlin.

Sorry for all the insufferable grandiosity. Now off to take my meds . . .

[Jason Perlow]

i guess it's time to start a thread asking for kosher wine suggestions.  looks great.

are those pictures going to be added to their (sparse) website?  they're almost too perfect.

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Well, I took the photos under ideal conditions with a lot of light. I agree, the pics came out really good, which means I am actually getting better at using this camera.

[menton1]

...fish is inherently treated as "Pareve" or a neutral food item from a Kosher perspective. Thus (dairy) restaurants that serve fish can buy from the same purveyors that a regular high end fish restaurant buys from (with the exception of shellfish like lobster, shrimp or clams of course) so there is really no limit on the qualitative aspects on a fish dish served at a Kosher restaurant.

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I must take issue with this statement, Jason. The people I know who are "Glatt Kosher" would NEVER buy regular fish. the fish must also be labeled "Kosher" and pass muster from a rabbi or organization. Now, I can't fill you in on the whys or hows of this custom nor what is wrong with going to a regular fish market; Perhaps someone on Eg can give us all the details about "Kosher" fish.

[bloviatrix]

Where do you think kosher fish markets get their fish from? They use the same wholesalers as non-kosher markets. The same applies to restaurants -- they're going to a wholesaler. Anyone who is buying whole fishes, that have only been eviscerated, can buy them where ever they choose -- this also applies to individuals (I know people who buy whole fishes and clean/scale them at home).

Otherwise, you're going to buy your fish from a kosher market simply because it's a guarantee that kosher tools have been used in prepping the fish.

[Jason Perlow]

The proprietor of Pasta Factory told me they buy from the same purveyors other restaurants do. I assume since they are buying larger quantities of fish than your average home consumer would buy, they are buying whole fish from regular purveyors as bloviatrix says. I mean, you can't "slaughter" a fish. You CATCH fish. Maybe you need to beat a particularly aggressive Tuna or a barracuda over the head with a blunt instrument to make him stop flopping around, but still.

"Glatt" means meat, so "Glatt Kosher Fish" in and of itself is a bit of a misnomer.

[menton1]

I guess I meant to say "Orthodox" or "highly observant" instead of "Glatt";

I spoke briefly with a friend who has some contact with the Orthodox, and they indicated that even the tables where fish are handled have to be kosher, even if the fish has not been cut up or scales removed. So I don't know how you can go to a regular purveyor of fish who is also selling shellfish and even swordfish is not kosher...

N.B. I've also noticed an irony about some kosher foods-- I saw a kosher brand of yogurt from Israel, and it had about 6 unpronounceable chemicals in it; right next to it was a non-kosher, all-natural, organic yogurt with all lovely ingredients-- (it only had 4 ingredients anyway.) Which one will promote health and long life?

[Gifted Gourmet]

N.B. I've also noticed an irony about some kosher foods--  I saw a kosher brand of yogurt from Israel, and it had about 6 unpronounceable chemicals in it; right next to it was a non-kosher, all-natural, organic yogurt with all lovely ingredients-- (it only had 4 ingredients anyway.)  Which one will promote health and long life?  

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The dietary laws of kashruth have nothing to do specifically with permitting healthy versus not healthy ingredients .. rather, they are set by specific commandments, rules, laws ... animals which are permitted, are not inherently either heathy or unhealthy .... it is simply the way it is ...

for example, chicken can be kosher if properly slaughtered and salted to remove the blood but if one eats only the fat from this chicken (schmaltz), then it is not healthy, whereas a skinless breast of the very same fowl is much healthier .. see?

if it seems ironic to you, then consider my lifestyle in which I have a kosher kitchen and know all of the rules .. and still find them mystifying ... often even annoying ...

and now for some clarification of the term "glatt kosher":

Refers to the status of meat which is determined to be in accordance with the highest standards of Kashrut. Kosher animals which have been properly slaughtered, whose lungs are free of questionable lesions, and whose Kashrut status has never been doubted can be referred to as glatt. Glatt Kosher applies to meat from animals, not to poultry or any other food product.

[menton1]

Thank you, Gifted Gourmet!

Could you also please address this Kosher fish issue-- it seems that to be absolutely kosher, the tables as well as the implements where fish are handled have to be kosher. How, then, could a purveyor of all types of fish, including shellfish and swordfish be considered a source of kosher fish?

[Gifted Gourmet]

Thank you, Gifted Gourmet! 

Could you also please address this Kosher fish issue-- it seems that to be absolutely kosher, the tables as well as the implements where fish are handled have to be kosher.  How, then, could a purveyor of all types of fish, including shellfish and swordfish be considered a source of kosher fish?

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Even though I am not a rabbi, I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night ...

I would think that whenever possible, a kosher fish merchant doesn't handle any shellfish, or sell any .. but that is under optimal conditions, I presume ... the fish here in our local Kroger (Atlanta) is labeled with a sticker on a sealed package which indicates that it is supervised by the Atlanta Kashruth Commision (AKC) and has the telltale peach as its logo ... information on Atlanta Kashruth Commission

even better explanation here!