Walking on Columbus Avenue in New York City toward Thyme & Tonic, I was drawn to the restaurant’s outdoor seating area outlined in lights, with a neon flower shaped logo. I wanted to sit at one of the lovely tables and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Upper West Side. But it was the night of the smoke apocalypse that drifted from Canada to choke the city, so my dining companion and I looked longingly at the tables, covered by a sukkah-like enclosure, and went inside.
It was just as inviting. The airy room is divided into a spacious bar with chairs, and tables with bench seating, and a large dining area with a section that can be curtained off for a private party with seating for up to 50 people. The neutral color palette, with pops of color from the hanging plants overhead and red chairs on the ground, is fashionably minimalist. The overall effect feels like sitting in a friend’s home furnished by West Elm. Comfortably seated at a table, my dining companion and I proceeded to choose from an eclectic menu that fills a niche with no competitors. Thyme & Tonic could be the most welcoming, inclusive restaurant in the city, where people with special dietary requirements can eat and drink with their mainstream friends in a lively environment.
Thyme & Tonic is a kosher, plant-first but fleishig by request, gluten-free gastropub. Owners Josh Borenstein and Orly Gottesman of Englewood made the decision to switch from a pareve/dairy menu after Passover. They wanted to retain their emphasis on vegan plant-based cooking but realized that many people like to eat meat when they dine out. Meat is now available as a substitute by request for some of the vegetarian items on the menu. Thyme & Tonic sources organic free-range chickens and grass-fed beef from top quality suppliers no other restaurant uses.
In switching from pareve/dairy to fleishig, the owners also changed their kosher supervision. Now under Rabbi Aaron Mehlman and National Kosher, Borenstein said the process of kashering the kitchen took over a week. Food items and syrups for mixed drinks that did not have a reliable hechsher were replaced. A mashgiach is present during all opening hours. Every vegetable is washed and checked. All the wines are mevushal but the mashgiach still insists on opening them. No whiskey aged in a sherry cask is allowed, a requirement more stringent than at many shul kiddushes, he noted.
Mehlman said in a phone interview that the kitchen was kashered with the most rigorous methods and the supervision continues under the highest standards. The kitchen is divided into two sections so there is a vegetable and fish track and a meat track, with separate ovens. “We use only mashgichim who have worked for OU or agencies with similar standards,” Mehlman said. There is a mashgiach tamidi on site during all opening hours. There are two shifts so the kitchen is supervised from 9:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. The meat lockers, freezers and walk-in boxes are locked when no one is there.
“I committed myself to this because I want people to enjoy the full range of good, kosher cuisine,” he said. “This is an unusual menu, not just typical fare, with many veggie options and delicious gluten-free baking.” Mehlman said his shul, Ohav Sholom, just had their annual dinner there, and it was phenomenal. He also noted that The West Side Kollel, headed by Rav Don Blumberg, has Thyme & Tonic on its approved restaurant list, to emphasize the impeccable standard of kashrut. “If you won’t eat here, you shouldn’t eat anywhere,” he said.
So how does everything taste? Once you sip a cocktail or bite into one of Thyme & Tonic’s meat, fish or veggie specialties, you immediately forget their painstaking approach to fulfilling dietary requirements and simply enjoy the pleasure of good eating.
The cocktails are created by the owners and mixologists and draw a large crowd of neighborhood regulars who love to post their favorites on Instagram. I ordered the Indian Summer, a mix of white wine, bourbon, peach schnapps and Prosecco, topped by fresh peach slices. The harmonious blend is a pleasant but not too sweet refreshing combination. The peach slices add a hint of fruit flavor with each sip until completion. My dining companion and designated driver had a “mocktail.” She chose the Toxic Love, a mix of strawberry, coconut, pineapple and cinnamon that is reminiscent of a piña colada but with more flavor and less cloying sweetness. Borenstein said that’s the sweet spot they aim for in their drinks: a hint of sweetness, not a heavy-handed dose of sugar. There is a small wine list that will be expanded in the future as demand is analyzed.
We ordered a mix of dishes and the restaurant graciously added a few selections. We started with chicken tenders, fried in Thyme & Tonic’s proprietary gluten-free blend of flours and spices, with that crunchy on the outside juicy on the inside texture prized in fried chicken. Three sauces accompany the tenders: BBQ, honey mustard and chipotle aioli, which the menu notes is non-vegan. Sauces are all made in house to make sure they are gluten-free. I have a soft spot for barbecue sauce and loved their sweet, but not too sweet, subtly spiced version. Popcorn chicken had a similar crunch but came in chunks glazed with the BBQ sauce and served with a ranch dip. Ranch dip is usually made with buttermilk but here it is a well-seasoned, mayo-based version. All the mayo is made without eggs to keep it vegan.
Vegetable dumplings with a mushroom duxelles-style filling rest in a base of tamari sauce and are served topped with garlic chili oil. Tamari is like soy sauce but made without wheat. The combo of the base and topping add two assertive but well blended flavors that balance the more mellow vegetable filling.
The Colonel sandwich, which we ordered with fried chicken instead of the plant-based version, is served with southern slaw, crunchy dill pickle and herb aioli on a gluten-free, vegan brioche- styled bun. The multi-layer sandwich is a delicious explosion of flavors. It may not be a good choice on a first date but great to share with someone you are very comfortable with. The aioli is redolent of fresh herbs; the brioche bun is crispy around the edges and soft inside. It almost tasted buttered.
One Night in Bangkok is the name for spicy, tamarind flavored Pad Thai with rice noodles, mushrooms, and a beautiful red chili pod that looked good enough to eat but I wouldn’t dare. The chewy noodles were seasoned and sauteed to perfection, complemented by the assorted vegetables. Tamarind is a spicy, citrus flavored paste that adds depth to sauce.
Thyme & Tonic lists its Signature Fish Tacos (non-vegan) prominently on the menu so I had to try them. Three tacos with a rich, authentically Mexican corn flavor were the bed for grilled, spiced mahi mahi, salsa verde, pickled cabbage, and avocado sauce, served with a bowl of brown rice and black beans. Borenstein said they are still working on the flavors according to the feedback they get. I couldn’t deconstruct where the intense spicy flavor was coming from but Borenstein later told me it was in the spice rub on the fish.
We ordered the Old School Burger with beef instead of the black bean and beet combo which came with avocado slices, arugula, cucumber and smoky aioli. I didn’t think to ask for the beef to be cooked medium rare and it was served on the well-done side, probably since it is usually made in a vegetarian version. Still delicious, the generous portion of avocado slices gives the burger a creamy layer on top of the sauce, burger and peppery arugula. As we finished our meal, I mentioned to my friend that we had to bentch before leaving. She reminded me that despite the wonderful sandwich buns we consumed, we had not eaten bread.
After we left, I realized we hadn’t thought about dessert, which is on a separate menu. Borenstein said their special dinner-only desserts are skillet based and made with their proprietary gluten- free blends. I hope to go back and try the Cinnamon Sugar Churros, Warm Apple Galette with Caramel and Chocolate Dipping Sauces, or the Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet with Chocolate Sauce and Vanilla Gelato. Vegan options are marked with a (V).
For Borenstein, Thyme & Tonic is the restaurant he always wanted to eat in but never could. He has celiac disease, which means he can’t have wheat products. He met his wife Orly when they were students at New York University. Shortly after graduating, they moved to Paris where he started an e-commerce business. She interned at a pastry shop and began experimenting with making gluten-free flours so he could enjoy French style pastry. His business took them to Sydney, Australia where Orly became a student at the Cordon Bleu cooking school and embarked on an intense study of gluten-free cooking. She created Blends by Orly, her own line of gluten -free flour blends now carried in almost all kosher and large supermarkets.
When the couple returned to the states, they opened Modern Bread & Bagel with gluten-free baked goods. Borenstein had some familiarity with the restaurant business, having grown up in Arizona where his family owns the Chompies restaurant group. Modern Bread & Bagel also has locations in Chelsea and Los Angeles.
Still in the early stages, Modern Bread & Bagel is planning to open in Englewood at 45 East Palisade Ave., formerly Baumgart’s. Permits are still being acquired and an opening date is probably six months to a year away. The current plan, which is still in formation, is to use part of the space for a bakery from which products can be shipped for both retail and wholesale markets, and part for a sit-down restaurant.
Thyme & Tonic is located at 474 Columbus Ave. Hours are: Monday and Tuesday: Lunch from 11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.. Bar opens at 4 p.m.. Dinner from 5 p.m.. Kitchen closes at 10 p.m.. Wednesday and Thursday: Lunch from 11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.. Bar opens at 4 p.m.. Dinner from 5 p.m.. Kitchen closes at 10 p.m.. Friday lunch from 11 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.. Saturday, Motzei Shabbos from 10 p.m. – 2 a.m.. Sunday: Brunch from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.. Dinner from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.. For more information, menus and reservations, visit thymeandtonic.com and follow at www.instagram.com/thyme_and_tonic
Bracha Schwartz is the special sections editor at The Jewish Link.
