Vegetable Cutlets:

Ratner’s Dairy Restaurant’s vegetable cutlets were a token recipe of the restaurant and held this reputations years after their closing in 2002. The common ingredients, spices, and methods of preparation (with exception of Matzoh meal, if in a non-Jewish home unfamiliar with the ingredient) make this recipe quite easy to reproduce, truly delivering the promise of The World-Famous Ratner’s Meatless Cookbook of providing restaurant quality meals in the comfort of one’s own kitchen. The small amount of each ingredient (2 onions, 6 mushrooms, 1 can peas, etc) with a larger outcome (6-8 servings) suggests the recipe to be financially modest but promising in abundance. This recipe encapsulates the general spirit of Ratner’s Dairy Restaurant: using meat alternatives to enjoy traditionally satisfying and fulfilling meals, such as a cutlet with gravy, in a kosher and “vegetarian-dairy” respect – and if the butter was substituted with olive oil, the recipe becomes easily vegan!

Halibut Steak with Cheese Sauce:

Ratner’s Dairy Restaurant originally did not serve any meat products, including fish, as per traditional kosher law; as rules began to modernize, fish was introduced to their menu and kosher tradition permitted the consumption of fish with dairy products. This recipe is representative of this duo and incorporates a dairy-heavy component of the recipe which Ratner’s is known for. The ingredients for the sauce are quite simple as well: butter, flour, milk, and cheese are ingredients commonly found in any pantry and refrigerator, requiring minimal grocery shopping. The simply seasoned broiled fish puts the emphasis on the cheese sauce in this recipe for the flavour, contrasting with the almost vegan recipe of Ratner’s well-known vegetable cutlets on page 39 of The World-Famous Ratner’s Meatless Cookbook. The quick preparation time of 10-15 minutes split between broiling the fish and preparing the sauce suggests this recipe could be used as a last minute but fulfilling meal for the family (up to 6 servings, of course).