{"id":828557,"date":"2026-08-28T10:42:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T10:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/828557\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T10:42:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T10:42:31","slug":"new-kosher-american-bistro-picnic-by-the-black-parrot-opens-in-nyc-yeahthatskosher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/828557\/","title":{"rendered":"New Kosher American Bistro \u2018Picnic by the Black Parrot\u2019 Opens in NYC \u2022 YeahThatsKosher"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Upper West Side just got a serious upgrade for kosher diners earlier this summer. The stretch north of West 100th Street has been thin on sit-down kosher options for a while, and this new arrival \u2013 Picnic by the Black Parrot \u2013 fills that gap with a menu that goes well beyond the usual pizza-or-shawarma rotation.<\/p>\n

A Chef\u2019s First Solo Project<\/p>\n

Picnic by the Black Parrot is the first solo project from chef-owner Meir Levy, who has spent more than a decade in restaurants across New York. Levy\u2019s path into cooking started almost by accident during his senior year at TABC, when a work-study placement landed him at the longtime Teaneck staple etc. Steakhouse. A graduate of Johnson & Wales University, he has since worked nearly every position in the industry, from food runner and bartender to line cook and executive chef, with stints at kosher kitchens like etc., Boru Boru, and NY Brat Factory, plus non-kosher New York spots including The Elgin and Super Nice Pizza.<\/p>\n

The restaurant\u2019s name predates the concept by years. Levy landed on it during a visit to the New York Botanical Garden, where a nearly black tulip called the Black Parrot caught his eye, its ruffled, burgundy-black petals striking enough that the name stuck. He sees it as a fit for his food: familiar at the core, but pushed somewhere less expected. Picnic is meant to stay casual and down to earth even as the kitchen gets more ambitious, and Levy hopes to eventually open an upscale sister restaurant called The Black Parrot.<\/p>\n

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The Menu Highlights<\/p>\n

The menu changes frequently and leans into seasonality. Current standouts include the sweet and spicy cauliflower with cashew cream, the chicken marsala pot pie, and the signature \u201cGrown Up Chicken Nuggets\u201d with pickled vegetables, chicken chicharron, and pickle juice caviar, a vegan caviar made from pickle brine. Recent additions include a fried green tomato and eggplant dish over arrabiata sauce, and sous vide beets with caraway vinaigrette, rye shortbread, and whipped dijon.<\/p>\n

The starters also include a Harukei turnip ceviche with leafy greens, miso, honey, and lime, a black sea bass crudo with poblano caviar and avocado mousse, and a blackfish taco with salsa roja and salsa negra. The signature wings come in bbq, buffalo, or blueberry habanero, and the hot dog is topped with chicken chicharrons and crispy maitake mushroom. On the mains side, the Herb Crusted Ribeye Sandwich and the Picnic Burger anchor the sandwich board, alongside a lamb shank with fresh peas and white wine sauce. The crispy chicken sandwich also comes with a vegan maitake mushroom option.<\/p>\n

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The Bar <\/p>\n

Drinks are a central part of the experience. Beverage director Alejandro Echeverria, who has more than 20 years of experience including time at Michelin-starred restaurants, runs a cocktail program built around experimentation. He met Levy while working at the kosher restaurant Boru Boru. The list ranges from classics to drinks like the Luz Verde, made with habanero pineapple-infused tequila, lime, orange liqueur, agave, and cucumber foam, and the namesake Black Parrot, made with butterfly pea tea-infused gin, elderflower, lemon, and simple syrup. There\u2019s also a full wine and beer list.<\/p>\n

The Space<\/p>\n

The restaurant took over a space that was previously home to Makana, a non-kosher Hawaiian restaurant, on the corner of West 106th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. It\u2019s walk-in seating only. Levy describes the goal as building a true neighborhood spot in an area of mostly mom-and-pop shops, the kind of place people stop into on their way home or to unwind after work, and he says the restaurant already has regulars just a couple months in.<\/p>\n

Restaurant Info<\/p>\n

Picnic by the Black Parrot is located at 161 W 106th St, New York, NY 10025. <\/p>\n

Hours are Monday through Thursday, 5 to 10:30 p.m. <\/p>\n

The restaurant is walk-in only and is Kosher Mehadrin certified by Rabbi Avroham Marmorstein. More information, including the current menu, is at picnicbytheblackparrot.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Looking for kosher restaurants near you? Download the KosherNearMe app at YeahThatsKosher.com\/app<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Upper West Side just got a serious upgrade for kosher diners earlier this summer. The stretch north…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":828558,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[350962,350963,350964,350965,350966,350967,350968,97,350969,350970,350971,350972,270565,350973,350974,350975,350976,266443,194418,11062,153026,34917,350977,208789,350978,350979,350980,143422,153033,9912,350981,350982,350983,151746,350984,318189,265095,350985,350986,350987,350988,139853,350989,350990,350991,350992,350993,350994,350995,350996,9937,2005,3,269,350997,350998,350999,351000,351001,351002,351003],"class_list":["post-828557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-alejandro-echeverria-mixologist","tag-boru-boru-alum","tag-chicken-chicharron","tag-dairy-free-kosher-restaurant","tag-elevated-kosher-food","tag-etc-steakhouse-alum","tag-grown-up-chicken-nuggets","tag-health","tag-johnson-wales-chef","tag-kosher-american-bistro","tag-kosher-american-cuisine","tag-kosher-american-restaurant","tag-kosher-amsterdam-avenue","tag-kosher-bistro-nyc","tag-kosher-burger-nyc","tag-kosher-cauliflower-dish","tag-kosher-ceviche","tag-kosher-chicken-nuggets","tag-kosher-chicken-sandwich","tag-kosher-cocktail-bar","tag-kosher-cocktails-nyc","tag-kosher-comfort-food","tag-kosher-crudo","tag-kosher-dining-upper-west-side","tag-kosher-food-nyc-2026","tag-kosher-gastropub","tag-kosher-hot-dog-nyc","tag-kosher-lamb-shank","tag-kosher-manhattan","tag-kosher-meat-restaurant","tag-kosher-mehadrin","tag-kosher-mixology","tag-kosher-neighborhood-restaurant","tag-kosher-nyc","tag-kosher-pot-pie","tag-kosher-restaurant-manhattan","tag-kosher-restaurant-near-me","tag-kosher-restaurant-upper-west-side","tag-kosher-restaurant-west-side","tag-kosher-ribeye-sandwich","tag-kosher-tacos-nyc","tag-kosher-upper-west-side","tag-kosher-walk-in-restaurant","tag-kosher-west-106th-street","tag-kosher-wine-bar-nyc","tag-kosher-wings-nyc","tag-meat-restaurant-nyc-kosher","tag-mehadrin-certified-restaurant","tag-meir-levy-chef","tag-new-kosher-restaurant-2026","tag-new-kosher-restaurant-nyc","tag-new-york","tag-news","tag-nutrition","tag-pickle-juice-caviar","tag-picnic-by-the-black-parrot-nyc","tag-picnic-by-the-black-parrot-upper-west-side","tag-pre-shabbat-hot-dog-time","tag-pshdt","tag-rabbi-avroham-marmorstein","tag-shabbat-friendly-restaurant"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=828557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/828557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/828558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=828557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=828557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=828557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}