Friday, March 7, 2014

At Kossar's Bialys



Photos and story by EVG contributor Stacie Joy

I had my first bialy at age 17 when I moved to New York City. And I was hooked. Immediately.

Through the years, I’d had bialys from many locations, but my go-to was Kossar’s Bialys at 367 Grand Street. It’s a straight line downtown from my Avenue B apartment. There were seemingly always open and had delicious oniony bialys (as well as bagels).



I quickly developed a breakfast habit: bialy, sliced across, toasted with butter, smattering of sea salt. And a strong cup of coffee.

So when I heard that Kossar’s was being sold, like many regulars, I panicked.

When Marc Halprin (president), Evan Giniger (co-owner), and David Zablocki (director of operations) took over last September, they managed to improve the quality of the bialy without losing any of the things that made Kossar’s so famous and reliable. Bialys were fresh-baked every day, and end-of-day leftovers given to Food Bank for NYC as well as local houses of worship.


[David Zablocki]

David and Marc were kind enough to grant me a tour of the bakery (which, by the way, is available if you call ahead and request one!) and allow me to shoot some photos and pester them with bialy based questions. (Hey! Being a bialy ambassador is about bringing bialy knowledge to the people.)



Bialys are made up of only four ingredients (not including the onion or garlic findings that go in the center dent): Water, flour, yeast and salt. Skimp on the quality of any of them and the final product suffers. Bakers start at midnight mixing the ingredients, shaping, resting and proofing the dough (called kuchen). It’s a 3-hour process from start to finish, not including the eating portion. A small piece of every batch is set aside to be blessed by Rabbi Fishelis, and so the bakery can continue to receive its Parve rating.



And no, you do not have to be Jewish or Polish to enjoy a bialy. “All humans can enjoy bialys,” David says.

According to Marc, the best way to eat a bialy is to toast first, then slice. If you must. David admits to putting a pat of butter in the center of a hot bialy and just chowing down. Since Kossar’s is a bakery, not a restaurant, they cannot add a schmear but you can buy a tub of cream cheese at the shop’s fridge and do it yourself at the counter.



One hundred years ago there were bialys everywhere on the Lower East Side. It’s nice to see tradition being carried into the modern day. David told me that old-world food is his heritage and passion and that the bialy hasn’t changed much since Kossar’s started selling it in 1936. In fact, it hasn’t changed much from its Bialystok, Poland, origins.

Anyone who wants to can head down to the bakery early (really early) in the morning to watch the bialys, pletzels, and bagels being baked. The goods will last about three days if kept wrapped in plastic, or will keep if frozen.


25 comments:

xootrman said...

Thank you so much for reminding me how great their bialys are. I used to be in that neighborhood often and frequently came away with their "baker's dozen" of 13 bialys. They are the best bialys around bar none. It's right up there Yonah Schimmel's.

xootrman said...

I meant to say that Kossar's is right up there with Yonah Schimmel's Knishes.

Anonymous said...

The ONLY good thing about my son going to pre-K @ Shuang Wen was that I daily passed Kossar's. (Otherwise, I was so happy when he got a K slot at another school.) He is now in middle school and I only manage to get myself to that end of Grand Street once every six months. They are the best. I was told (back in the day) that they provided H&H's bialys.

marjorie said...

i'd argue that yonah schimmel is a shadow of its former self (and actually kinda gross) while kossar's is as great as it ever was. thanks for this piece!

Anonymous said...

Not too loud or a line of hipsters will form each day making a purchase will take hours.

Kelly said...

bialys are really enjoyed by all humans, my mom used to bring me here when i was young, she was non english speaking korean lady, but she knew where to find a good hot bialy,

Gojira said...

PLEASE tell me that those loaf-shaped items in the forefront of the photo are bulkas; you can't get them anywhere anymore, and if Kossar's no longer makes them I throw myself off a bridge!

Crazy Eddie said...

Great article, EV Grieve. But you also need to have mentioned Bulkas, the hero bread of the gods.

Sean S. said...

@marjorie: You got that right!

Yonah Schimmel sold ownership around 1979. I had been going there for over a decade at that time.
The old owners' knishes were delicious and deserved their fame.

Immediately the new owners changed the recipe, noticeably cutting down on the amount of fruit filling.
I thought it might have been a beginner's error.
However, I went back a few times, but the change was permanent. The new knishes were a shadow, no, an abomination, of their former self.

I haven't been back in 35 years. Why pay money for crap?

It is sad that some folk get conned into thinking that just because a place is old and funky and once had a good reputation that the current product it good.

(And Kossar's is still very good.)

DrBOP said...

What an absolutely wonderful post.Thanks very much for this look-in at how a real bakery operates, and thanks to them for keeping that spirit of community alive in the neighborhood.

Let's hope that others follow their lead.

Sean S. said...

@Gojira They look like bulkas to me, and I bought bulkas there when Judah and his wife owned it. Presumably the new owner still makes them.

Anonymous said...

they also sell real bagels!

I-)

Anonymous said...

Love this! Please do more posts like this to help small businesses with local owners!

xootrman said...

I confess that I haven't had a Yonah Schimmel knish in a very long time. Too heavy for me, but their shop has maintained their patina of the old LES.

Anonymous said...

I agree about the quality of Yonah Schimmel plummeting. The food just doesn't taste as good and they no longer make blintzes (the guy behind the counter seemed annoyed that I even asked and dismissed me with a shake of the head while turning away from me - nice). I'm glad the place hasn't been remodeled because I love the look, but listen up Yonah Schimmel owners and employees: ease up on the rude attitude. We're not all dumbass hipsters; some of us have been patronizing your shop for years. Going to Kossar's immediately.

Gojira said...

Thanks, Sean! Love the bialys, but oh boy, the bulkas - as Crazy Eddie said, the hero bread of the gods!

Anonymous said...

I bought bulkas at Moishe's just the other day, but had gotten there on the early side. Had the impression that it was my lucky day...

Laura Goggin Photography said...

Two of my dinners this week came from Kossar's. Mmmm!

Anonymous said...

"A small piece of every batch is set aside to be blessed by Rabbi Fishelis, and so the bakery can continue to receive its Parve rating."

The piece from every batch that is set aside (the piece itself is known as "challah" although it has little to do with the type of bread you might make french toast with) is not blessed, and the restaurant is certified kosher, with "parve" being a sub-category of "kosher". Other than that, thanks for a great report EV on a truly great part of our community!

crashandcarry said...

The onion bialys there are my absolute favorite! They are so generous with the onion! I just had 2 on Sunday. This place really is the best!

Anonymous said...

When I moved to the neighborhood in the early 1980s, Kossar's also had a shop on east 14th Street between Avenues A and B, I guess a relict of the former community there. It was part of the magic of being in New York.

Anonymous said...

I hope this post gets high ratings. *thumbs up*

Moshe said...

Although I no longer live within walking distance, my family has been shopping at Kossar's since it was new.

I hadn't been aware of the sale, but I'm pleased to read that it appears to be in good hands.

I plan to stop by soon.

Shirrrl said...

There was a bialy bakery on 14th between 1st and A in the 80's. Could that have been Kossars? Delish!

Lady of Grand said...

A timelapse shot at Kossar's Bialys. https://vimeo.com/89351037