So, how can a kosher dairy kitchen inside the J Café offer real beef burgers, knockwursts, and all-beef hotdogs, and do it with the approval of the Vaad? The answer? Sean Gneuhs, GM of Food Service at the J, says the way it’s done is by moving the cooking operation outdoors, setting up a grilling station completely removed from the dairy kitchen where J Café food items are prepared.
“We do this on Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., obviously weather permitting, during the summer. It makes a nice switch-up from the dairy kitchen, and we do this (meat cooking) outside, and the Vaad gave us permission to do it,” Gneuhs stated while filling orders from patrons at the grill station.
“Everybody loves this (grilling of meat burgers, dogs, and wursts), and the months leading up to it, everybody is asking me when my first day is going to be. Generally, we start in late May, around Memorial Day (June 6 was the third week of operation this year) and we go to Labor Day. If the weather stays nice we go into September, and even to October. I think last year we did the grilling out until October. As long as the weather stays nice, this is one of the biggest hits for the people who work in the Café and for the community as well,” he said, adding that it is a hoot for him and his helpers also.
On the day Dining Out visited, there were knockwursts and hamburgers on the grill. Along with Jack Post, assistant grill-master, Gneuhs filled numerous orders as we talked. Gneuhs estimated that there were some 80 orders filled over the hour and a half of service most Thursdays, and that north of 90 sandwiches are served during that time (Post, in the background, raised eyebrows and quietly indicated more are served). The grill is set up in the courtyard of the JCC, off the dining area of the J Café. In that courtyard, there are numerous chairs and small table setups where patrons taking advantage of the picnic-style grilling may eat their burgers and knockwurst sandwiches.
Watching the interplay between Post, Gneuhs, and the patrons, it is easy to see how much the lunch crowd appreciates and enjoys the Thursday grilling station — lots of happy faces and favorable comments. One elderly couple said this was like a summer picnic, but without all the work. The guys doing the grilling take care of everything, they said, and it is so easy and convenient.
“Today, we are grilling hamburgers and knockwursts. Those (knockwursts) are a beef and chicken mix. Sometimes we serve (beef) hotdogs and burgers. And the sandwich comes with potato salad and Israeli salad, a bag of chips and some water. We try to give (patrons) a nice meal on a summer day at a grill-out,” he said. A feature of the grilling station is that the sausages and burgers are par-grilled ahead and kept ready to serve on the warming shelf of the grill. When you, the patron orders your burger or sausage, Gneuhs places the item back on the grill for a quick finish and sets the item on the bun and puts the whole lunch together in a clear plastic carton. Start to finish, the whole process takes little more than a minute. The burgers are through the garden, Gneuhs said: “We’ll give everybody lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle with it, along with potato salad and Israeli salad. Every once in a while, I’ll do some grilled onions or a burger sauce, and try to change it up a little bit.”
We tried both sandwiches, and both were just as one would expect off the grill in the back yard. The burger was delightfully juicy and tasty, and mine was piled high with lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion, all with a squirt of mustard for the piece de resistance. The knockwurst also was a delight. Not sure I’ve ever had one before, but this sausage was tasty with a nice chew. Next time I eat one of Gneuhs knockwursts, I’m going to put some horseradish and catsup on it, betting that will be a sensational flavor combo. Gneuhs is right that the potato salad and the Israeli salad make for a nice balanced meal. As the woman said, it’s a picnic without the work.
See you on Thursday at the J Café grill station!
