March 21, 2007, - 10:42 am
Small Favors: No Way Hooters in Israel (or Anywhere) Will Be Kosher
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For the record, I think Hooters is a sleazy place. People who “go there for the great Buffalo wings” are the same as those who read Playboy “for the articles”: lascivious liars, who use the facade of food for the obvious reason they’re there–whatever is missing in their private (usually marital) life. (And the “waitstaff” is equally sleazy–if you’re not a swimsuit model for Sports Illustrated or lifeguard on South Beach, don’t wear a bikini to work.)
I’m not prude, but you don’t have to be Einstein to recognize that Hooter’s is the kind of place you expect at which you expect Bill Clinton to be a regular, after a hard day’s work as chief judge of the Hawaiian Tropic Bikini Contest. And you need not be an elitist to note that if you eat there, you’re very common, not classy.
That said, I find all the press coverage of yesterday’s announcement that Hooters will open in Tel Aviv, Israel to be interesting and filled with more of the “I go there for the wings” dishonesty.
Yesterday, Hooters spokesman Mike McNeil speculated about whether Hooters Tel Aviv would offer kosher food. Here’s a clue from someone who knows just a tad about kosher and Hooters: never the two shall meet.
For a restaurant to be kosher, it not only has to serve only kosher food, it has to be manned at all times by a kosher inspector, usually an Orthodox rabbi. There is no way any legitimate kosher certification operation will either certify as kosher or allow its inspectors to operate in an establishment where women are wearing almost nothing. In general, that, too, ain’t “kosher.”
Bottom line: Hooters isn’t kosher. And never will be. And that’s a good thing.
Also interesting to here Hooters spokesman McNeil speak about how Hooters menus are based on local “tastes.” Funny to hear the words “taste” and “Hooters” in the same sentence. Reminds me of last year, when .
Class, indeed. But he forgot the essential adjective: “low.”
Tags: Bill Clinton, Buffalo, CEO, chief judge, Debbie Schlussel, Dennis Riese, food, Hooters, Hooters spokesman, Israel, kosher food, lifeguard, Mike McNeil, South Beach, spokesman, Sports Illustrated, Tel Aviv
This reminds me of all of the time I literally cringed with humiliation in the Carnegie Deli when my mother tried to order a corned beef on white with mayonaisse.
MarySJ on March 21, 2007 at 11:35 am