Frequently asked questions
Q: Do you smoke your own fish?
A: No, we do not. As much as we would love to smoke our own fish, the regulations make it such that in order to smoke and vacuum seal the quantities of fish that we sell, we would need to have a factory that, because we ship nationwide, would have to be USDA inspected. The costs are simply to high for such an operation
Q: From where do you source your fish?
A: We purchase our smoked fish from several smokehouses. Acme Smoked Fish in Greenpoint, Samaki in Port Jervis, NY, The Smoke House is Mamaroneck, NY, and Door County Whitefish, in Door County, Wisconsin. We have sourced what we believe to be the finest smoked fish from each of these smoke houses. If there are any other smokehouses whose fish you think we absolutely must try, please do let us know!
Q: Where do you get your bagels and bialys?
A: We are so proud to sell Mill Basin Bagel Cafe Bagels. I scoured the city for the best bagel, and I found it in Mill Basin. Dense, chewy, not too soft, not too hard, crusty and perfectly sized. Our Bialys are from Bell Bialys. We sell traditional bialys as well as garlic bialy rolls and pletzles (onion boards)
Q: Do you make anything from scratch?
A: Yes! Our salads are all homemade! In addition, we make our own latkes, chopped liver, pickled lox, house-pickled herring, and curried herring. We also cure our own gravlax and Mexican achiote salmon. In addition, we bake all of our rugelach, babka, and honey cake in house!
Q: Is Shelsky's Smoked Fish Kosher?
A: No, we are not a Kosher facility. Much of the fish we sell comes to us in vacuum sealed package that are indeed certified kosher, but once we open them to slice them, they no longer are.
Q: Why isn't Shelsky's Kosher?
A: There are several reasons we are not kosher. Firstly, many of NYC's appetizing shops are not kosher. Like those, we consider our food to be traditional Jewish cuisine, we are kosher-style. Secondly, we sell chopped liver and sturgeon, and we fry our latkes in schmaltz. We also are open on Shabbat because Saturday is one of our busiest days, and it would be bad business to sell food that is largely enjoyed on Saturdays and Sundays and close on Saturday.
Q: How can you call yourselves a Jewish food store, and not be Kosher.
A: Simple. We are because I say we are. We get this question from time to time, and it always bothers me a bit. Appetizing is Jewish food. Along with Delicatessen, it is the wonderful food brought to New York during the eastern European Jewish immigrant wave of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Eastern European Jews brought this food to New York, and it is Jewish food. Also, there are many many Jews who consider ourselves as such, but do not keep Kosher. If you keep Kosher, and choose not to shop in my store, I am sorry to lose you as a customer, but please do not tell me that our food cannot be considered Jewish food.
A: No, we do not. As much as we would love to smoke our own fish, the regulations make it such that in order to smoke and vacuum seal the quantities of fish that we sell, we would need to have a factory that, because we ship nationwide, would have to be USDA inspected. The costs are simply to high for such an operation
Q: From where do you source your fish?
A: We purchase our smoked fish from several smokehouses. Acme Smoked Fish in Greenpoint, Samaki in Port Jervis, NY, The Smoke House is Mamaroneck, NY, and Door County Whitefish, in Door County, Wisconsin. We have sourced what we believe to be the finest smoked fish from each of these smoke houses. If there are any other smokehouses whose fish you think we absolutely must try, please do let us know!
Q: Where do you get your bagels and bialys?
A: We are so proud to sell Mill Basin Bagel Cafe Bagels. I scoured the city for the best bagel, and I found it in Mill Basin. Dense, chewy, not too soft, not too hard, crusty and perfectly sized. Our Bialys are from Bell Bialys. We sell traditional bialys as well as garlic bialy rolls and pletzles (onion boards)
Q: Do you make anything from scratch?
A: Yes! Our salads are all homemade! In addition, we make our own latkes, chopped liver, pickled lox, house-pickled herring, and curried herring. We also cure our own gravlax and Mexican achiote salmon. In addition, we bake all of our rugelach, babka, and honey cake in house!
Q: Is Shelsky's Smoked Fish Kosher?
A: No, we are not a Kosher facility. Much of the fish we sell comes to us in vacuum sealed package that are indeed certified kosher, but once we open them to slice them, they no longer are.
Q: Why isn't Shelsky's Kosher?
A: There are several reasons we are not kosher. Firstly, many of NYC's appetizing shops are not kosher. Like those, we consider our food to be traditional Jewish cuisine, we are kosher-style. Secondly, we sell chopped liver and sturgeon, and we fry our latkes in schmaltz. We also are open on Shabbat because Saturday is one of our busiest days, and it would be bad business to sell food that is largely enjoyed on Saturdays and Sundays and close on Saturday.
Q: How can you call yourselves a Jewish food store, and not be Kosher.
A: Simple. We are because I say we are. We get this question from time to time, and it always bothers me a bit. Appetizing is Jewish food. Along with Delicatessen, it is the wonderful food brought to New York during the eastern European Jewish immigrant wave of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Eastern European Jews brought this food to New York, and it is Jewish food. Also, there are many many Jews who consider ourselves as such, but do not keep Kosher. If you keep Kosher, and choose not to shop in my store, I am sorry to lose you as a customer, but please do not tell me that our food cannot be considered Jewish food.
