Yonah Schimmel's Knishes Bkry: Knishful Thinking

Another one of the stops during our food tour of the East Village in Manhattan was Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery. This is a historic, iconic shop in New York that is known for serving one of the classic New York City foods, the knish. According to Wikipedia, a knish is an Eastern European and Jewish snack food. It consists of a potato filling covered with dough that is either fried, baked, or grilled. Apparently, Yonah Schimmel's is known as the premiere place to try a knish in New York.

After a disappointing visit to Russ & Daughters, we were hoping our luck would improve by having a spinach knish from Yonah Schimmel's. Unfortunately, our knish wasn't any better than our New York bagel. Actually – it was much worse. To be honest, it could be that Yonah Schimmel's makes the best knish in the world. According to reviews, many people seem to think they do. Maybe it's the fact that I just don't like knishes. I didn't find anything about it appealing.

To me, it was nothing more than a giant ball of potato with some spinach mixed in. The crispy outside wasn't bad, but I'm guessing that was the fried portion of the potato, and it reminded me of a hash brown. I felt like the potato filling of the knish was mushy and lacked any flavor or seasoning. Even when trying to add salt and pepper before each bite, it still wasn't doing anything for me. I think my wife and I ended up picking at the outside of the knish but threw most of it away.

I can understand why the knish would have such a unique history. It's obvious that it would have been a popular food for immigrants because it seems relatively easy to make, would be dirt cheap, and very filling. For many, it's probably still a great way to enjoy a cheap meal that can fill you up. And I'm all for cheap and filling meals – I just want them to taste good too.

For more reviews, check out my blog: From Ballparks to BBQ.