Yonah Schimmel is a disgrace
Okay, okay -- there are enough knish postings, especially on tired old Yonah Schimmel. There's no need for another.
But I need to vent.
I knew this place was mediocre, but I was in the neighborhood and it was lunchtime. It had been years since I was there, so I foolishly decided to give it another try. What a joke. Soggy potato balls with, in my case, canned friggin mushrooms. No flavor, no crispness whatsoever, just bland mush. Dousing it with salt and/or mustard would've helped, but not much.
If you defend this place, you must not know knishes. It could only mean you think canned mushrooms are okay, soggy outsides are okay, "spinach" knishes with something like 3% or less spinach are okay, etc. Go ahead, make the case for Schimmel.
How does this place survive? It's not like it's in the middle of a tourist area. Are there really enough nostalgic people to support this pathetic effort?
Let the nostalgia die. If you're new to town or otherwise find yourself on 2nd Ave and Houston, wondering if you should have a knish, don't.
I gather from the message boards there are a couple places left that do passable-to-very-good knishes, deep in the heart of Queens. Hmmm. I'm not sure if I'm up for the pilgrimage. Anyone out there with information to prove that Manhattan and northern Brooklyn (where I live) are not a totally lost cause?
Fred
Jul 18, 2005 02:44PM
I no knish maven, but do mushrooms even belong in a knish?
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Yes, especially fresh portobellas. I once had the most delicious mushroom (main ingredient) + potato knish at a restaurant in Calgary. Went well with the venison steak.
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>>>do mushrooms even belong on a knish?
-I don't know if they belong on a knish. I leave that to the food historians. I'm no purist, and I don't mind classics sitting side-by-side with updated, revisionist versions (up to a point -- no foie gras-and-fresh-thyme knishes, and no cherry jubilee bagels, please).
So put mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, kasha or cheese in your knishes. Just do it right!
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I totally agree! I just don't understand how anyone with taste buds can enjoy Yonah Schimmel--they have no taste. this is not about authenticity, it is about a basic lack of yummyness. but many chowhounds seem to disagree, sigh... Otherwise I think so highly of you all!
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I regret not having gone into Schimmels years ago when I first stumbled upon it, when it might have still been good. Will I die never having eaten a good kinish???
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not to be banished to the outer boroughs board, but for what a knish should be, head to Knish Nosh on Queens Blvd - you won't be disappointed.
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I went to Yonah Schimmels in the late Sixties to mid-Seventies, and even THEN it wasn't very good (but it was a place to sit with something warm on a cold day). Anything from a food cart was better. Now that they microwave, it's even worse. Head to Queens and stock up. Trust me- I live for knishes.
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This is good advice -- look in the outer boroughs. I was pretty disappointed with the knishes I tried in Manhattan -- at Yonah Schimmels and elsewhere.
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Maybe the problem is with knishes. I understand these remarks, but the Yonah Schimmel knishes are the only ones I have ever tried which were any good at all. I didn't get to Mrs Stahl's until it turned into a pizza joint.
Can anyone name a knish in Manhattan which is better than these?
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The knish they serve at Katz's is better than Yonah's.
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Now you tell me.
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I don't either is as good as the one at 2nd Ave Deli.
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Yonah sucks. And a knish can be made out of most anything, including liver.... my paternal grandmother made lima bean, cabbage or sweet rice knishes. Unfortunately Yonah's are just tasteless....
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Zabar's has knishes that are heads above Yonnah's.. some of the more unorthodox ones (particularly the brocolli and cheese) are extremely good, but even the potato is much better..
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I also love the Broc + Cheese from Zabar's.
A cheap tasty easy dinner.
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Oh, good. I was going to say that I loved the knishes from Zabar's, but I don't know from good knishes and totally didn't want to out myself as a novice knish-eater. Yay Zabar's!
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In the old Whole Foods on Prince st. in Soho 10 years ago they sold Love Knishes. At least thats what I think they were called. I can't find them anywhere. I especially liked the Kasha ones. Has anyone seen them anywhere?
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If you want a great knish, head to Murray's Sturgeon Shop, 90th and Broadway (or is it 88th?). They're really delicious--Zabar's knishes are good, but these take the cake in Manhattan, as far as I can tell. The skin is sufficiently distinguished from the contents by crispiness, and the filling is richly done. They'll heat one up for you if you want one there.
Yonah Schimmel's are disgusting. They taste like they were sitting around in a pile of wet paper towels before being warmed up in a microwave. Katz's does a good, if somewhat unorthdox (compared with what I'm used to), take on the knish.
The only good meat knish I ever had was at a friend's house in Boston on Erev Rosh Hashanah a few years back; his grandmother picked it up somewhere in the outskirts of Boston. But that's a post for another board.
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The best knishes are to be had at Knish Nosh in Rego Park. One knish can feed a battalion.
I'm also partial to the fried Gabillah knishes you can find in any supermarket.
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"The best knishes are to be had at Knish Nosh in Rego Park. One knish can feed a battalion."
That's exactly why I don't like them that much. Too much filling to pastry ratio for my taste.
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Back in my younger days (in my early 20s), I once ate a dozen in one sitting. Now, 20 years later, I can't do that any more...
Just think, if they paid "competitive eaters" back then the way they get paid now...
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I got to know a few of the top American competitive eaters a couple of years ago and I'll put it this way: If you are interested in $$$, don't quit your day job!
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I lost my appetite when the waitress at YS put my knish in the microwave. Never put a knish in a microwave unless you want a soggy mess.
I also object to food that has been standing out that long. It is unhealthy.
I like Knish Knosh, but they aren't quite as good as they used to be I've lived in that neighborhood for a long time and remember them being more flavorful.
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Years ago Yonah's was great. Personally, I always like going there for a blintz and a cup of coffee.
I grew up on Stahl's. My dad would leave me in the car under the el when he ran in for a box.
It's a shame that there are no good knishes around.
I get kasha knishes from Mendy's in Grand Central that are not bad.
And I too love Gabilla's with a ton of mustard.
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PS-There used to be a great place in Long Beach on the boardwalk called Royal Knishes that was great.
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I'd second Mendy's being tolerable--there is a branch right by my office for that occasional knish craving.
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Once in a while I find a plain potato or kasha knish from YS satisfying. But they're not good enough to muster a defense for.
They're hammentashen, however, are excellent.
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the owners have run this place to the ground. its a shame- my grandfather patroned the place in the thirties. def a nyc landmarc.
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YS has sucked for at least 20 years. Every now + then I'd stop by to try one, but they always sucked. This has been since at least 1982. Now, Mrs Stahls was a great knish. When they had an outpost on 72 St in the early 90's I was a happy boy. Zabar's knishs are ok by default. Their Kasha knish uses the fine grain Kasha which looses 1/2 the value of the kasha. As a Boro-Boy who still works in in the ancient homeland (Queens)I wouldn't go out of my way for Knish Nosh. As Spock once said "oh the horror of it all", please apply this to the state of the Knish world wide.
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YS is still ok when they're fresh and hot. Knish knosh is good too. As far as the square hard crusted knishes (Gabila's?) there used to be a deli around the corner from my high school on 1st avenue and 15-16th street, alas neither the deli nor the high school are still there, which would split 'em in half, stuff it with pastrami or corned beef and about a gallon of mustard and make a sandwich with them. MMMMMMMMMM!
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You can get that type of sandwich at Press 195 in Bayside or Park Slope. They offer one with pastrami though it's been modernized with a roasted pepper dressing.
http://www.press195.com/press/
I think YS has gone way downhill from what it once was. My dad grew up on the LES and won't even set foot in there now. KK is still good (haven't tried any of their food items since they expanded.) And I've always been a fan of their pigs in blankets that come on that little foil tray.
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That sandwich sounds amazing, and I can't wait to try it - thanks for the tip.
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Wow! I can't believe how many Chow hounds are dissing on Yonah! Maybe I really DON'T know knishes but I thought they were pretty good. I mean I get the issue about the microwave being lame - which it undoubtedly is - but as far as flavor, the red cabbage knish I thought was delish - definitely the best of the bunch. Well, maybe they were better back in the day, but when I go to the Sunshine Theater I'll always stop in for a red cabbage knish . . . better, healthier and cheaper than popcorn!
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I'm with agalligani on this one -- and I do know from knishes, as they were one of the major food groups of my childhood. The red cabbage is great, as is the kasha (my favorite.) But you'll do well to get whatever has recently emerged from the oven.
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Yonah Schimmel's, like Katz's (sorry folks!) has not been good for a long time. At least since the early 90's. They're cool experiences, and a great bit of history I'm glad still exist, but if you want good food, that's not it. Yonah's are selling a mushed ball of instant potato and a bit of dough wrapped around it. Luckily you know that's not how amazing a knish is supposed to taste.
I count myself lucky enough to catch the last gasp of Stahl's... and now there's Zabar's left. Cintorella markets used to have pretty decent ones too. The best indication you're getting one that's at least partially edible is if they're fairly small, and the crust covers almost the entire filling. It's also a good sign if they make a knish with rice in them. Not sure how old world putting rice in a knish is, but who cares if they taste good.
Now hold on...there is one thing to go to Yonah's for. Struddle. The cherry cheese stands out for me. It's not as good as Andrea's Hungarian, or the Greek bakery on 44th and 9th's version (hope they're still there) or dozens of other places, but hey it's pretty good...and honestly, I think the people who buy from Yonah's really just want it to be good.
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Okay, I completely understand your low opinion of Yonah Schimmels, that's fine. but........
You are incorrect about them using instant potatoes for their knishes. Recently, I had to wait for the store to open to make my purchase and there was a truck making a delivery of product and off-loading into the basement.......all fresh potatoes by the sack in 50 pound bags.
How would you explain the delivery?
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That they perhaps are cutting the ingredients in their product?
Either way, if you take a real potato, and turn it into a product which has the texture of a boxed mix product (which can fool people, btw.) then who cares that you saw a produce delivery? They used to put potato skin in their filling, so I don't doubt there's a real potato in that mix...just like Mcdonald's has some real beef somewhere in their burger.
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My paternal grandmother made rice knishes!
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if you're in that 'hood and want a knish walk a block further east and go to katz's. get some pastrami while you're there.
and as long as you're there stop in at russ and daughters... yummmmm
As to those who wished they had gone to shimmels years ago- they sucked then too.
Im nearly 5o yrs old.. lived in NYC my whole life... and shimmel's never had a good knish ever.
but for some people i guess that is what a knish is supposed to taste like
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Are you sure Katz's makes their own Knishes?
I'm skeptical of any knish that is square in shape, and resemble the generic ones sold on hot dog carts.
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I've never had a knish at Katz's, but if theirs are, indeed, the kind that are square and have that hard crust -- Blech!
My experience with Yonah's potato knishes, at least in recent years, reminds me of the little girl with the curl -- when the knish is good, it's very, very good, but when it's bad, it's horrid!
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To me Yonah Schimmel's is a part of the Lower East Side's vanishing Jewish history. It serves kosher knishes that are baked not fried. New York Landmarks should consider listing Yonah's as a NYC landmark. I do not want to see it vanish like Ratner's, Grand Street Dairy, and other relics of the real Lower East Side. There are enough mediocre pizza places and nail parlors in Manhattan already.
To go inside Yonah Schimmel's is to experience what it must have been like almost 100 years ago when poor immigrants needed a cheap nourishing snack and who wanted a kosher knish. No one else offers such a variety of flavors.
Yes they do lots of mail order now but one has the choice of heating the knishes in the oven. You don't have to microwave the flavor out of it. Stop dissing Yonah's - it seems the same people who carry on about the taste of pizza, knishes and hot dogs are the same ones who love greasy mass-produced food from pushcarts.
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no doubt yonah shimmel is historic. but, to my taste - with hopeful trying over the last 40 years, the knishes sucked then and they suck now
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I agree whole-heartedly with Beau. Yonah is amongst the last of a vanishing breed. But I don't patronize them because they're an institution; I do so because their knishes taste exactly like they're suppposed to taste. I'm a native New Yorker, have been eating knishes for most of my 50 years, and have even spent quite a lot of time in the northern Slavic lands, where the knish traces its roots. I mourn the passing of Mrs Stahl's, but for me Yonah's is it.
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Stahl's and Yonah's had entirely different tastes though. Different styles of Knish.
Didn't you think Mrs. Stahl's was superior, and wouldn't you prefer something closer to it, though?
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True, yes, and yes. And Mrs. S's were much closer to Ur-knishes back in the old country. I can take a nice long walk or a very short subway ride to Yonah's, though, while Mrs. S's was a l-o-o-o-o-ng subway ride away. And now you all know how lazy I am!
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the sweet potato knish never fails
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in Brooklyn on Flatbush Ave. an appetizing store used to sell a cherry cheese knish that was the best--gone are those days/store
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Cherry Cheese is the one thing Yonah Schimmel does that's passable. Sometimes it's even good. They usually sell it in long strips like a strudeel that they cut a chunk off of though. So you might not feel like you're getting a knish. For a while they were making the flavor knish style though.
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I agree that Yonah Schimmel's knishes are too watery and was very disappointed in them. I won't go back. Too bad, I love knishes (and not the greasysquare fried ones - yuk).
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It breaks my heart, but I agree. I remember having good knishes at YS, but that was ages and ages ago, and yes, only when they were fresh. Zabars is better, but it's scary that it's gotten so hard to find a good knish in New York, whether you agree with me about YS or not.
There is, however, one thing I'm really proud of. Look how many people care about it enough to post!
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Want good Knishes? Good Luck. Everywhere is a disgrace. There are no more immigrant Jews around who know what they taste like, let alone know how to make them. Yonah Schimmel's is a joke. Maybe the best Kinish in New York is at Zabar's... but don't expect to be overwhelmed.
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> How does this place survive? It's not like it's in the middle of a tourist area. Are there really enough nostalgic people to support this pathetic effort?
I walked by Yonah Schimmel, not long after reading this post. It seemed pretty busy inside. My guess is that they either own the real estate or have a long time landlord who has failed to inflate the rents to market standards.
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"How does this place survive? It's not like it's in the middle of a tourist area. Are there really enough nostalgic people to support this pathetic effort?"
Yonah's remains part of what I think of as the Houston St. "trinity" -- the others being Katz's and Russ & Daughters -- all patronized regularly by locals. And as you can tell by the posts here, there are many locals who feel it still puts out a decent knish. Also, the LES does draw tourists, and when discussing that neighborhood, Frommer's makes specific mention of Yonah's ( http://www.frommers.com/destinations/... ):
"The Lower East Side boasts the best of both old and new New York: Witness the stretch of Houston between Forsyth and Allen streets, where Yoneh Shimmel's [sic] Knish Shop sits shoulder-to-shoulder with the city's newest art-house cinema -- and both are thriving, thank you very much."
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i am not a knish expert but i went to YS as a tourist and found that there sweet potato knish was very good. I had no idea that they microwaved anything? I can say that I took a dozen of them home to Florida on the plane and gained 5 pounds as a result :) The thing that I noticed about the plain type was that the onions were crunchy and uncooked which I thought texture-wise they were gross !!! And while submerged in spicy mustard bareable!!!! And here I am in Florida and missing crazy NY and now trying to perfect a sweet potato knish. I was happy to have a crappy YS experience because it still beats what us Floridians have to deal with :)
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Carnegie Deli's knishes are round and pretty good. I remember when I was a kid, my mom used to sneak the vendor knish in the movies and it was good to me. Being out of NY for so long. I did go to YS twice and had to thow it out, burned and tasted terrible. I eat a knish now at Arties Deli and Carnegie when I am in town. My daughter was only 7 when we left, but her knish craving is huge. She can eat the street vendor one with the dirty water frank. I can't anymore. wow12 knishes. I bow to you news joke. I will try Zabars or Mendys' which I never heard of. what about Barney Greengrass do they sell knishes?
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Skip Mendy's. No better than YS. I feel sorry for children now, who apparently will never experience the taste of a real knish (absent an inconvenient trip to Queens) as street food.
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My gosh, some of these comments are harsh! It's not like their prices are rip-off-high or the service abhorrent. I find the knishes tasty and I like the borscht, and I like the people who work there. Given the ongoing gentrification of the LES, I think YS is an important reminder of the area's roots. Just my opinion.
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I think most all of us would agree with the last sentiment, and want them to survive. If you've had a proper knish though, it's hard not to get passionate as to just how bad theirs really are.
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