{"id":153697,"date":"2021-02-19T14:27:13","date_gmt":"2021-02-19T19:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/?p=153697"},"modified":"2021-02-22T16:12:18","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T21:12:18","slug":"middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/","title":{"rendered":"Middle Eastern Eatery to Open in Queen Village"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Sharon Shvarzman, executive chef at Keshet Kitchen | Courtesy of Sharon Shvarzman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Everything about Keshet Kitchen, a Middle Eastern comfort food restaurant set to open in March in South Philadelphia, is a burst of exuberant color.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s the name, for starters: \u201cKeshet\u201d is Hebrew for rainbow. There are the eye-poppingly bright dishes, the kind of yellows and purples and oranges that come with the territory of good food from Israel and the region. And then there\u2019s the executive chef and owner, Sharon Shvarzman, the son of Israeli immigrants to Brighton Beach, New York, who raised their son in the restaurant business.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shvarzman was deemed sufficiently colorful to appear on two Food Network television programs in the past, and now he\u2019ll bring that same sensibility to Keshet Kitchen in Queen Village.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to completely change what people\u2019s idea is of Middle Eastern food,\u201d Shvarzman said. \u201cSo yes, you can have mac and cheese and have it Middle Eastern-style.\u201d The key: harissa.<\/p>\n

Shvarzman and his partner, Abraham Bloom \u2014 also of Brooklyn, also of Israeli ancestry, also the son of food industry professionals \u2014 moved to Philadelphia from New York last summer so that Bloom could pursue a doctorate in physical therapy. Though they quickly came to love their adopted home, and especially Queen Village, moving during the pandemic made it difficult for them to meet other Jewish people. <\/span><\/p>\n

Shvarzman dreamed of opening his own restaurant for some time, inspired by his parents\u2019 long-gone Mediterranean spot and his grandparents \u2014 a baker and a chef. Underwhelmed by Philadelphia\u2019s Middle Eastern offerings, and determined to create a little haimish<\/i> feeling in a time that can seem devoid of such comforts, Shvarzman and Bloom decided to give the dream a shot. Thus, Keshet Kitchen was born.<\/p>\n

The pair teamed up with New Jersey-based public relations representative and consultant Morissa Schwartz, a longtime friend of Shvarzman\u2019s, who he\u2019ll rely on heavily in the opening months. At a time when foot traffic is low, a strong social media presence will be key for the new restaurant. <\/span><\/p>\n

The trio wants Keshet Kitchen to become a social magnet when indoor gatherings become a part of life again, a fragrant way to bring friends and family together over Shvarzman\u2019s take on Middle Eastern food. There will be staples like falafel and shawarma, but there will also be pine nut and olive meatloaf and Shvarzman\u2019s Israeli grandmother\u2019s spin on borscht. <\/span><\/p>\n

Shvarzman first made a name for himself as a cook when he appeared on the Food Network\u2019s \u201cWorst Cooks in America.\u201d He swears that his appearance on the show was not a reflection of his skills as a chef, but rather the result of a friendship with one of the show\u2019s producers, who saw his obvious talents for the screen. He later competed in another Food Network show, \u201cThe Great Food Truck Race.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe show has done me right,\u201d Shvarzman said. \u201cI graduated Food Network university.\u201d<\/p>\n

The grand opening at 705 E. Passyunk Ave. will be in mid-March, and though it can\u2019t be the proper indoor dining experience that the trio wants to provide just yet, their collective excitement for Keshet Kitchen will be hearty enough to subsist on for the cold months to come. In Shvarzman\u2019s telling, it\u2019ll be the place Jews of all stripes to forget about their differences for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re a Cohen or a Liebowitz or a Schwartzman or a Schwartz,\u201d Shvarzman declared. \u201cWe are a family that all came from the same Jews, our ancestors dealt with the same hell that we are all dealing with today.\u201d<\/p>\n

jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everything about Keshet Kitchen, a Middle Eastern comfort food restaurant set to open in March in South Philadelphia, is a burst of exuberant color. There\u2019s the name, for starters: \u201cKeshet\u201d is Hebrew for rainbow. There are the eye-poppingly bright dishes, the kind of yellows and purples and oranges that come with the territory of good […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13253,"featured_media":153698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8],"tags":[12714,10310],"section":[],"coauthors":[10895],"yoast_head":"\nMiddle Eastern Eatery to Open in Queen Village - Jewish Exponent<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Everything about Keshet Kitchen, a Middle Eastern comfort food restaurant set to open in March in South Philadelphia, is a burst of exuberant color.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Middle Eastern Eatery to Open in Queen Village - Jewish Exponent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Everything about Keshet Kitchen, a Middle Eastern comfort food restaurant set to open in March in South Philadelphia, is a burst of exuberant color.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jewish Exponent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jewishexponent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-19T19:27:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-22T21:12:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/145976497_788176901800826_6827681002428916563_n-e1614028310762.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"478\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"415\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jesse Bernstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/145976497_788176901800826_6827681002428916563_n-e1614028310762.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jewishexponent\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@jewishexponent\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jesse Bernstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jesse Bernstein\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b5a310d62ad8669446f1f854fdaac46\"},\"headline\":\"Middle Eastern Eatery to Open in Queen Village\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-19T19:27:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-22T21:12:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/\"},\"wordCount\":631,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/145976497_788176901800826_6827681002428916563_n-e1614028310762.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Food Network\",\"Queen Village\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Headlines\",\"Local\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/\",\"name\":\"Middle Eastern Eatery to Open in Queen Village - Jewish Exponent\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/145976497_788176901800826_6827681002428916563_n-e1614028310762.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-19T19:27:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-22T21:12:18+00:00\",\"description\":\"Everything about Keshet Kitchen, a Middle Eastern comfort food restaurant set to open in March in South Philadelphia, is a burst of exuberant color.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/145976497_788176901800826_6827681002428916563_n-e1614028310762.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/145976497_788176901800826_6827681002428916563_n-e1614028310762.jpg\",\"width\":478,\"height\":415,\"caption\":\"Sharon Shvarzman, executive chef at Keshet Kitchen | Courtesy of Sharon Shvarzman\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Middle Eastern Eatery to Open in Queen Village\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/\",\"name\":\"Jewish Exponent\",\"description\":\"What It Means To Be Jewish In Philadelphia\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Jewish Exponent\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/JE-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/JE-Logo.png\",\"width\":700,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Jewish Exponent\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jewishexponent\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/jewishexponent\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jewishexponent\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b5a310d62ad8669446f1f854fdaac46\",\"name\":\"Jesse Bernstein\",\"description\":\"Jesse Bernstein's writing has appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Tablet, The Forward, and the Jewish Review of Books. He has worked for the Jewish Exponent since 2018.\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Middle Eastern Eatery to Open in Queen Village - Jewish Exponent","description":"Everything about Keshet Kitchen, a Middle Eastern comfort food restaurant set to open in March in South Philadelphia, is a burst of exuberant color.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Middle Eastern Eatery to Open in Queen Village - Jewish Exponent","og_description":"Everything about Keshet Kitchen, a Middle Eastern comfort food restaurant set to open in March in South Philadelphia, is a burst of exuberant color.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/","og_site_name":"Jewish Exponent","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jewishexponent","article_published_time":"2021-02-19T19:27:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-02-22T21:12:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":478,"height":415,"url":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/145976497_788176901800826_6827681002428916563_n-e1614028310762.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jesse Bernstein","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/145976497_788176901800826_6827681002428916563_n-e1614028310762.jpg","twitter_creator":"@jewishexponent","twitter_site":"@jewishexponent","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jesse Bernstein","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/"},"author":{"name":"Jesse Bernstein","@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b5a310d62ad8669446f1f854fdaac46"},"headline":"Middle Eastern Eatery to Open in Queen Village","datePublished":"2021-02-19T19:27:13+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-22T21:12:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/"},"wordCount":631,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/145976497_788176901800826_6827681002428916563_n-e1614028310762.jpg","keywords":["Food Network","Queen Village"],"articleSection":["Headlines","Local"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/","url":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/","name":"Middle Eastern Eatery to Open in Queen Village - Jewish Exponent","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/145976497_788176901800826_6827681002428916563_n-e1614028310762.jpg","datePublished":"2021-02-19T19:27:13+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-22T21:12:18+00:00","description":"Everything about Keshet Kitchen, a Middle Eastern comfort food restaurant set to open in March in South Philadelphia, is a burst of exuberant color.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/145976497_788176901800826_6827681002428916563_n-e1614028310762.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/145976497_788176901800826_6827681002428916563_n-e1614028310762.jpg","width":478,"height":415,"caption":"Sharon Shvarzman, executive chef at Keshet Kitchen | Courtesy of Sharon Shvarzman"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/middle-eastern-eatery-to-open-in-queen-village\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Middle Eastern Eatery to Open in Queen Village"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/","name":"Jewish Exponent","description":"What It Means To Be Jewish In Philadelphia","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#organization","name":"Jewish Exponent","url":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/JE-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/JE-Logo.png","width":700,"height":86,"caption":"Jewish Exponent"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jewishexponent","https:\/\/x.com\/jewishexponent","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jewishexponent\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b5a310d62ad8669446f1f854fdaac46","name":"Jesse Bernstein","description":"Jesse Bernstein's writing has appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Tablet, The Forward, and the Jewish Review of Books. He has worked for the Jewish Exponent since 2018."}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153697"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13253"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153697"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=153697"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=153697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}