Topic Wiki

5 Towns / Far Rockaway Master Wiki
Generated by AI from pages 57–87 of the thread; please verify details before relying on them.


Restaurants & Eateries – FOR THE MOST UP-TO-DATE LIST SEE: https://vaadhakashrus.org/establishments/
  • 550 Restaurant / FiveFifty – Upscale meat chop-house with creative plating (Central Ave.).
  • Adams Glatt – Butcher counter plus hot Israeli grill (Peninsula Blvd., Hewlett).
  • Ahuva’s Grill Express – Shawarma, laffas and salads to-go (Rockaway Tpke.).
  • Anju – Street-food–style Asian-fusion; small-plate focus (Cedarhurst Ave.).
  • Apron Masters Kitchen – Cooking-school storefront now selling prepared Shabbos meals.
  • Bagel Boys On Central – Classic NY bagel & dairy café; early-bird breakfast specials.
  • Barbacoa Burger House – Craft smash-burgers and smoked meats (Spruce St.).
  • Bean & Berry / That Pizza Joint – Dairy café with Detroit-style pies and açai bowls.
  • Berrylicious – Frozen-yogurt & crêpe bar (590 Central Ave.).
  • Blissful Events – Boutique caterer; seasonal boutique pop-ups (Far Rockaway).
  • Bogo Pizza – Buy-one-get-one pies & family combos (Rockaway Tpke.).
  • Bravo Kosher Pizza – Slice joint in Broadway Commons, Hewlett.
  • Burnside Pizza – Neighborhood pizza and salads (Inwood).
  • Café Chocolat – Dairy crêperie & chocolate café (Central Ave.).
  • Capri – Contemporary dairy Italian (Woodmere).
  • Carlos & Gabby’s – Long-running Tex-Mex grill (Washington Ave.).
  • Carving Block – Smokehouse meats, deli platters and pastrami on rye (Cedarhurst Ave.).
  • Central Perk Café – Breakfast & brunch spot with greenhouse seating (Cedarhurst Ave.).
  • Central Pizza Co. – Thin-crust & grandma pies plus pasta (Central Ave.).
  • Chap-A-Nosh – NY deli subs, burgers & the famous sesame chicken (Central Ave.).
  • Chefah Catering – Upscale off-premises caterer; lavish Shabbos packages.
  • Chickies – Crispy chicken sandwiches, fingers and salads (opened 2021).
  • Chimichurri Charcoal Chicken – Latin rotisserie & homestyle sides.
  • Doma – Upscale meat; rave steaks but some find portions small.
  • Hibana Hibachi – Tableside teppanyaki show; mains get mixed reviews.
  • Holy Schnitzel – Long-time chicken-sandwich staple; quality noted as uneven of late.
  • Off The Diet (“Famous Pita / Tanami”) – Israeli grill & shawarma on Broadway, Hewlett.
  • Sandwich Bar – Build-your-own panini & salad bowls (Rockaway Tpke.).
  • Smash House – Smash-burgers; faux-cheese Philly hailed as best value combo.

Groceries / Supermarkets / Meat Stores
  • Bingo Wholesale – Rockaway Tpke. Opened Feb 2024; huge kosher selection, liquor outlet next door.
  • Gourmet Glatt – Flagship kosher super-store; famous but pricey and challenging parking.
  • Stop & Shop – Lawrence – New, spacious branch in former K-Mart site.
  • Seasons – Central Ave. branch; solid prepared-food counter.
  • Kol Save – Budget meats and close-dated grocery deals.
  • Keneret Fresh Market – Butcher/take-out (Mehadrin 5T).

Shuls & Minyanim
  • White Shul (Kehillas Bais Yosef, FR) – Large Ashkenazi; multiple daily minyanim & learning programs.
  • Red Shul (KBYT) – Late-night Selichos & popular shiurim.
  • Shaare Emunah – Sephardic on Peninsula Blvd.; daily minyanim.
  • Hachaim V’Hashalom – 24-hour Beis HaMidrash-style minyan factory.
  • Other busy shuls: Aish Kodesh • The Shteeble • Yeshiva Darchei Torah • YFR Beis Medrash.

Hotels & Lodging
  • Five Towns Inn – Lawrence – Basic but walkable to many shuls.
  • Rockaway Hotel & Spa – Boutique option near beach; confirm eruv routes.
  • Hyatt Place Long Island/East End – About 1-hour east; bundles Aquarium tickets.
  • Standard JFK airport hotels (Hilton, Courtyard, TWA, etc.) are 10–15 min drive if you have post-Shabbos transport.

Things To Do / Attractions
  • Atlantic Beach Boardwalk – Closest ocean access; bridge toll $2 (Long Beach bridge free).
  • Long Island Aquarium – Riverhead – Full-day family outing; Hyatt guest discount available.
  • Woodmere / Hewlett Shopping Stroll – Boutiques & cafés; Target mini-store at Bay Harbour Mall.
  • Seasonal: Kapparos drive-through (Caffrey Ave.), Purim carnivals, local food festivals, etc.

Trip Reports (“TR”)

Restaurant Reviews / Ratings (from forum members)
  • Smash House – “Best value in the bunch… fake cheese outshines every other” – shiframeir
  • Hibana Hibachi – Fun show but mains “too salty” for some diners – Agoldsc1
  • Crave – Good food yet concept “made no sense”; closed Jan 2025 – Dan
  • Ondas – “Some of the best steaks I’ve ever had” – mochjas
  • Capri (Woodmere) – “Amazing and always empty – hope they stay open!” – Bookish
  • Early takes on Crave vs. Smash vs. Graze burgers – multiple mini-reviews in the main thread.



Services & Misc.
  • Precision Auto Body – Inwood – Frequently recommended for honest, quality work.
  • Cedar Plumbing – Reliable local plumber for small leak & boiler jobs.
  • Gas deals – Conoco (Peninsula & Rockaway) often cheapest with app discounts.


Help keep this wiki current! Edit this wiki in addition to replying below.


« Last edited by mevinyavin on May 23, 2025, 01:30:26 AM »

Author Topic: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread  (Read 1024164 times)

Offline beeweegee

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1380 on: April 02, 2017, 02:54:23 PM »
definitely felt he was honest and good service. I didnt price out to see about that
+1 Priced well IIRC.

Offline stooges44

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1381 on: April 03, 2017, 12:37:32 PM »
If it's not free shipping it's not worth it.

Offline sammyp

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1382 on: April 03, 2017, 10:38:33 PM »
Any place locally that sells those counter covers for a reasonable price? Did anybody recently go to Bingo and notice if they sell them? Missing Brach's now...

Offline snapit

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5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1383 on: April 03, 2017, 10:46:46 PM »
Any place locally that sells those counter covers for a reasonable price? Did anybody recently go to Bingo and notice if they sell them? Missing Brach's now...
Check Home Depot, I bought some there for work today


ETA:

Offline JS69

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1384 on: April 04, 2017, 09:02:11 AM »
Lawrence supply in the stop and shop parking lot has them. Velvie is a nice guy,

Offline sammyp

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1385 on: April 06, 2017, 07:35:19 AM »
Any place where I can order a good chometz cholent for this Shabbos for family (9x13)?

Offline damaxer91

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1386 on: April 06, 2017, 11:18:24 AM »
Any place where I can order a good chometz cholent for this Shabbos for family (9x13)?

Heimish

Offline Yankee123

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1387 on: April 06, 2017, 01:38:23 PM »
Whats happening with gourmet glatt and lettuce?

Offline JS69

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1388 on: April 06, 2017, 05:14:37 PM »
Whats happening with gourmet glatt and lettuce?

People are accusing them of buying all the romaine in Costco to keep prices high...... ::)

People are insane.

Offline sammyp

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1389 on: April 06, 2017, 05:58:11 PM »
Whats happening with gourmet glatt and lettuce?

Not sure what you are referring to. Was not there in a few days....

But, if you mean the quality is not as like it used to be, than I know what happened...

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1390 on: April 06, 2017, 06:14:48 PM »
People are accusing them of buying all the romaine in Costco to keep prices high...... ::)

People are insane.

I heard that as well, apparently there was some sirt of shortage this year. I actually believe the rumor bc my mother went to costco early this morning and she said they had basically no lettuce left already and someone in the store told her someone bought tons of lettuce right when they opened.

Offline Agoldsc1

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1391 on: April 06, 2017, 06:16:36 PM »
I heard that as well, apparently there was some sirt of shortage this year. I actually believe the rumor bc my mother went to costco early this morning and she said they had basically no lettuce left already and someone in the store told her someone bought tons of lettuce right when they opened.

GG just addressed this rumor in their Facebook page. Obviously, they denied it.

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1392 on: April 06, 2017, 06:30:35 PM »
What happened is that Ari Green left. He ran that department like a beast. This new guy doesn't know what he is doing. He knows bugs somewhat, but doesn't know how to run the department. Recently, most of the pre-checked Romaine is just repacked Postive. That is why it is not as fresh. Ari Green knew where to order which produce from so thee would not be infestation issues. This guy has to buy from Costco, I guess..

Offline JS69

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1393 on: April 06, 2017, 07:13:17 PM »
I heard that as well, apparently there was some sirt of shortage this year. I actually believe the rumor bc my mother went to costco early this morning and she said they had basically no lettuce left already and someone in the store told her someone bought tons of lettuce right when they opened.
???

I was there at 12:30 or so and they still had a fair amount left.

I am no fan of GG but this rumor is flat out ridiculous. Maybe Seasons actually bought it and blamed it on GG ;D :o :'(

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1394 on: April 06, 2017, 07:17:56 PM »
???

I was there at 12:30 or so and they still had a fair amount left.

I am no fan of GG but this rumor is flat out ridiculous. Maybe Seasons actually bought it and blamed it on GG ;D :o :'(.

Hahaha thats the spirit blame Seasons.

It doesn't sound like such a crazy rumor if in fact there was a shortage and they needed more lettuce

Offline JS69

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1395 on: April 06, 2017, 09:27:48 PM »
Hahaha thats the spirit blame Seasons.

It doesn't sound like such a crazy rumor if in fact there was a shortage and they needed more lettuce

I get the rumor but it's not as if GG is a small bodega who buys supplies at Costco. They have distributors and wholesalers to handle this.

Offline sammyp

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1396 on: April 06, 2017, 10:57:44 PM »
I get the rumor but it's not as if GG is a small bodega who buys supplies at Costco. They have distributors and wholesalers to handle this.

Well, I happen to know as a fact that they do sometimes get Romain from Costco.

Sometimes their supplier sends them lettuce which is too infested to clean. They return the shipment and try a different supplier or batch. When Rabbi Green was there, he expertise was where to get the best product from. Rarely, he had to go to Costco. Sometimes it was good enough. Sometimes it was not. When it wasn't, he ordered from Postive and repackaged. This was a rare occasion.

Rabbi Green is not there anymore. This new guy has been more often than not using Postive. But it would not surprise me that he does not no how to order from which suppliers, and he therefore went to Costco.

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1397 on: April 07, 2017, 10:12:58 AM »
Not sure what you are referring to. Was not there in a few days....

But, if you mean the quality is not as like it used to be, than I know what happened...

You referring to Ari Green leaving?

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1398 on: April 07, 2017, 12:04:20 PM »
You referring to Ari Green leaving?

Yes, As I explained in post above. I was there today and their Romaine pre-checked was horrible. They have a new fancy label, but quality is wirse than Frankels pre-packaged Kosher Gardens stuff, which is a lot cheaper too.

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Re: 5 Towns/Rockaway Master Thread
« Reply #1399 on: April 09, 2017, 07:31:14 PM »
Any volunteer to create a 5t wiki??

Restaurants
Hotels
Shuls

TIA