Thanksgiving turkey. Photo: by defak via flckr.

Kosher brasserie Le Marais will be hosting a class tomorrow on how to prepare a kosher Thanksgiving meal. Le Marais, 150 W. 46th St. 212 869 0900. (Via The Food Section)

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Five-thousand flavors of gelato?!  The mind boggles. But that’s what kosher Israeli gelato purveyor Screme is offering ice cream lovers on New York’s Upper West Side.

Ice cream is one of those universal foods. It literally melts across borders. You can find Italian gelato in India and Berlin.  You can it find it in the LI Railroad station concourse. Modern Italian gelato makers apparently made their way to the Holy Land, as well. There, one of them started Screme gelato, a popular chain throughout Israel.

Now, the Israeli concern has just set up shop at 69th Street and Broadway. Another store opened its doors last week at the Madame Toussaud’s in Time Square.

With 5 percent butter fat, Screme, like most gelato, is much lower in fat than traditional ice cream where fat content can reach 14 percent.  Prepared fresh every 20 minutes, a single scoop of Screme gelato is $5.00. More  elaborate creations made with waffles, pistachios or chocolate shavings can run you as high as $20.

Have you tried Screme?
Screme Gelato Bar

2030 Broadway at 69th Street (just opened)

Screme Gelato Bar

242 West 42 St., Madame Tussaud’s Museum, Times Square

877-972-7363 (just opened)

Screme Café

300 East 64th Street, New York  (opening Fall 2009)

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The initial reviews for the new meat-eaters emporium were mixed.  Sorry to say, the burger I sampled a couple of weeks ago apparently hasn’t improved much from the June version

As culinary historian Andy Smith, who has just penned a new tome, Hamburger: A Global History ,says, “burgers need to be juicy” to reach their level of perfection.  The one I bit into at 5 Napkin, though ordered medium rare, turned out dry and overcooked.  Needless to say, this is not OK at a join that  bills itself as a specialist in the art of preparing a great hamburger.

As for the comte that tops the burger, I’ll take mine with cheddar.  That cheese, with its tangy bite, is a better complement to meat than the unctuous comte.

Another disappointment—the rolls.  They’re soft and squishy and add nothing but tasteless bulk to the chopped meat sandwich.

Other offerings at this cheery bistro include a cheddar bacon burger, and Italian turkey burger with mozzarella and an Ahi tuna burger.  Sushi is served and there are also salads, including a chipotle beef concoction and one made with shrimp and watermelon.

What were first-rate were the fries.  Liquidy and sumptuous on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside, these were some of the best potato slivers I’ve ever chomped down on.

A slice of blackout cake for dessert was as dry as kindling.  Where’s Ebbinger’s when we need it?

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