There is a synergy taking place at the Mayerson Jewish Community Center on Ridge Road, and diners-out are helping make the interaction a success, according to Sean Gneuhs, GM of Food Service. At the heart of it all is the J Café, which initiated what is called the Mission Meal of the Month. The “mission” is to help support various worthy programs at the J, linking a meal purchase with a donation to selected programs within the J.
The specialty mushroom and spinach pizza with a white-sauce base
The meal is set for the month, in that the main item is either a sandwich, a pizza, or a salad. The item category changes month to month. For January the main item is a personal pizza featuring a garlic and olive oil base, with spinach, mushrooms, grilled onions, and mozzarella cheese. Coupled with that pizza, the patron may choose a bagged snack of chips or pretzels or the like, along with a beverage, such as coffee, tea, or a soft drink.
When you buy the meal, which is attractively priced, a dollar of the proceeds goes toward a chosen program at the J. For instance, the Drama Program is for youngsters ages five to early teens. This month, that dollar from each Mission Meal purchased is going to support the J Theater group and the play they will put on next month. Gneuhs stated: “Last month, it was the Early Childhood School (that received the donation). Next month it will be the Film Fest receiving Mission Meal dollars.”
Gneuhs said that the Mission Meal is part of a wider effort to broaden the involvement of the J Café within the Jewish community specifically and the Greater Cincinnati community more generally. Before his foodservice operation could achieve that goal, he had to get the food program back to offering a full menu at the café and be open for business on a regular, repeatable schedule. The J Café now is offering a diverse menu, and is open Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Sundays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., he said. The café is closed on Saturdays.
The day we were there (a Thursday afternoon) the place was jumping. All but one of the low-top tables were occupied, and several of the high-toppers were as well. We were there to check out the pizza and the special sunshine burger. We tried one of the J Café’s specialty pizzas — the mushroom and spinach with a white sauce base. The J Café serves a classic thin-crust pizza that is fashioned in the style of true Italian pizzas. The crust is crunchy and tasty on its own. For me, there is nothing that compares to a “foldable” slice of hot pizza, especially when it is topped with some of my favorite veggies—mushrooms and spinach. I found the personal size — approximately an 8-incher — to be more than enough for me. A family may want the 18-inch size pizza, however.
On the newly completed full menu, Gneuhs said that he now offers three base sauces for pizzas, having added garlic and olive oil to the marinara and white sauce bases. Also, the café serves three specialty pizzas, the aforementioned mushroom and spinach, the classic cheese, and a roasted red peppers and caramelized onion, on the garlic and oil base. There are 12 different toppings diners-out may add to a specialty pizza, or with which they can build their own pizzas.
Gneuhs said his kitchen has committed to a higher kosher standard. In doing so the café now is sourcing its dairy from Cholov Yisroel, and its bread and pizza-shell products from Pas Yisroel, both preferred as better kosher choices by the orthodox Jewish community.
The Impossible “sunshine” burger with mushrooms and a fried egg on top, on a brioche bun
Another selection Dining Out tried was the café’s Impossible™ sunshine burger, the patty a plant-based meat substitute that is impossible to tell from the real McCoy, at least by my palate. Yours truly has used those same burgers on the home grill, and the texture, taste and chew of this meat substitute is indistinguishable from an actual beef burger. If you have not tried an Impossible burger, I’m betting that when you do, you too will find it to be just like its on-the-hoof cousin. Hard to believe, but true. Simply delicious — and you can make it a cheeseburger, and still be kosher. Really good! Ours was the mushroom burger that featured a fried egg on top, served piping hot.
Gneuhs looks at his kitchen and the kosher food it produces as an entre to broader community involvement. “We work with the Council on Aging, offering the Super Senior Meal Deal for a $4 donation. A nutritionist watches over the program to make sure the meals (seniors receive) are balanced. We have a congregate meal in the Amberly Room, and also, we are doing Meals on Wheels from our kitchen. Last year, we did 65,000 nutritionally balanced meals. All this (effort) is to make the J Café and our kitchen more central to the community.”
See you at the J Cafe!
