The kosher downtown lunch gurus at Milk Street Café now have a ghost kitchen: Introducing KoshBurger, specializing in delivery-only burgers, chicken nuggets and shakes—again, all kosher, running through the summer (and hopefully longer, if business allows). It opened on Tuesday, July 11.
KoshBurger operates out of Milk Street’s existing downtown facilities, which are supervised by the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of Greater Boston. The restaurant has three separate kitchens: meat, dairy and parve, at least 36 feet apart. (Check out its full list of kosher FAQs here.)
Milk Street has been a Boston mainstay since 1981, but this is its first foray into the world of ghost kitchens. Milk Street chief operating officer Mitchell Baratz and executive chef Jeff Poliseno saw an opportunity to get creative with kosher delivery burgers during the quieter summer months, when more people are traveling or working from home, and Milk Street’s catering business is slower.
“It’s our first ghost brand. Depending on how this does, we have a lot of big ideas—but big ideas are only good if people want to order from us,” Baratz says.
If you’re one of those people, here are the details: KoshBurger is open Tuesday through Thursday from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m., with delivery throughout Boston and within a five-or-so-mile radius beyond the city, on third-party delivery apps. The menu is intentionally small and tightly curated, because Milk Street’s busy staff also run this side operation.
The food is fun: A signature, spicy burger (The Original Kosh Burger) has ancho chili powder, chipotle aioli, arugula, tomatoes, crispy onions and an avocado schmear. There’s also a classic beef burger and an Impossible burger, plus a crispy or Nashville hot chicken sandwich. Fries (“pretty much every order we get has fries!” Baratz says), gluten-free chicken nuggets and a smattering of all-vegan, dairy-free shakes round out the menu.
“We’re going for the stereotypical burgers and a shake on a summer night,” Baratz says—completely kosher, that is.
