Farbreng With The Kosher Gang: Life, Liberty, & Lots of Beef.

 Fireworks in Our Mouths, Freedom in Our Bellies

Featuring our Special Guest: Mendel Geisinsky

“Rabbis Try Cheeseburgers for the First Time.” That’s the title of an upcoming video I’m working on; @WeWantMoshiachNow on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.

Kosher cheeseburgers. With vegan cheese. Featuring several students at Yeshiva Ohr Elchanon Chabad trying this combo for the very first time.

Needless to say, the reactions are priceless. I can hardly contain my laughter as I’m sitting here editing this video, which will probably drop later this week or early next. Definitely before the 4th of July.

Speaking of, we have a Hot Dog and Hamburger review coming up! We hit up the legendary Jeff’s Gourmet Sausage Factory and tried some things on their menu we hadn’t had before.

Also, the Farbreng Gang officially graduated… to upscale restaurants, as we chase a lead that “Next Door LA” has the best kosher burger in town.

Spoiler alert: We still say that the Sandwichim by Nagila double smash burger holds the crown — which is exactly what I brought the graduates in Shiur Beis at YOEC for my new video.

We’re joined by my friend Mendel Geisinsky again this week. Mendel was my chavrusa this year at YOEC. As he wraps up his time in LA and sets sail on his next adventure, I had to send him and the other boys in the gang off with a bang. So we’ve been doing a lot of good eating.

Starting with last week’s ice cream. Followed by these “cheeseburgers” from Sandwichim by Nagila that are perhaps the best around.

“I have never tasted a burger like this! Every flavor possible in my mouth,” exclaimed Shraga Feldman.

“What just hit me! I don’t know why we don’t eat kosher cheeseburgers more often,” Mendel screamed back.

“I think every restaurant should be doing this recipe,” replied Isaac Greenwald.

“This is fire, and the sauce made it ten times better!” added Binyamin Wolowik a.k.a. Bon.

I think my favorite line so far is when Shraga told me, “It tastes like pizza!” I LOL’d hard while watching that one back.

You have to watch the video to hear how they rated the burgers, but I will say — there was nothing under an 88, so Sandwichim’s crown should sit easy on their heads.

If you’re impatient: our fine dining marathon was only getting started. I also filmed a video, “Rabbis Try Dubai Chocolate For the First Time,” with an incredibly delicious bar from the new kosher chocolatier in La Brea — Rosemary Chocolat, located at 1010 N Fairfax Ave in West Hollywood.

“I’m a chocolate expert,” Mendel explained to the camera — but Farbreng Gang readers learned that first in our ice cream article.

“I love chocolate and this is up there,” he said affectionately, before scoring the delicacy a 94 out of 100.

Levi Goldman, who joined us in our last edition, was skeptical before he ate it. “What is in this?” he asked, before telling me the kanafeh and pistachio cream filling looked like salad. Lol. “This tastes fancy. It doesn’t seem kosher,” he concluded..before scoring it a whopping 97 out of 100!

Bon said, “This is fire! Especially that it’s pareve! It just keeps getting better and better!” before giving it a 95 out of 100.

That’s right! This chocolate isn’t dairy, and it’s that good! It’s basically the perfect Shabbos gift/dessert.

I personally loved this stuff so much, I wholeheartedly gave Rosemary Chocolat’s Dubai bar a 99 out of 100 on the chocolate scale.

And at this point, I’ve rated at least 15+ kosher chocolate brands, so I’ve been building up my bona fides in that arena

Which brings us to the main event.

Mendel and I split, then broke out on our own to discover what the best possible kosher 4th of July could be. Naturally, that means grilled beef, sandwiched between two buns.

Wait — is a hot dog a sandwich? Email Editor@thelajewishhome.com and let us know what you think, because we actually don’t know.

Now let’s get to the beef.

 Up first, we got the one, the only, the LA legend…

A Kosher Sausage Party You Can Safely Tell Your Rabbi About.

Jeff’s Gourmet Sausage Factory really needs no introduction. Located at 8930 W Pico Blvd, they’ve been serving up kosher dogs for 26 years. They’re on every list! Even the goyim know Jeff’s is where it’s at. They even have a location in Dodger Stadium. Need I say more?

We’ve all had Jeff’s. We all love Jeff’s. Their Wild Western burger is the stuff of legends. Still, there were some menu items that Mendel and I were excited to be trying for the first time.

I’ve said in past issues, as a Baal Teshuva, I never miss treif — but sometimes I do miss my grandparents’ recipes.

Especially my grandma and grandpa’s tomato sauce, aka “gravy,” where I grew up.

When I first had the idea to try and recreate the recipe in a completely kosher way, I went straight to Jeff’s to pick up a pack of their Italian sausages. I was shocked at how closely they matched the authentic Italian sausage flavor I once knew! You can find that video up now on TikTok as well.

This time, we started with something new to both Mendel and me: the spicy lamb merguez sausage. Topped with harissa and red onions, it was love at first bite for me.

Fun fact about me: when I was 4 years old, my parents took me to Disney World in Orlando — and as the story goes, I refused to eat anything but hot dogs for an entire week. From the second I got home from that trip, I’ve refused to eat another hot dog for the past 26 years. I do NOT like hot dogs. Literally scarred myself for life, lol.

On the other hand, I love a good sausage — and the spicy merguez was really hitting the spot. Mendel, what did you think of the Merguez?

“Come to Jeff’s and get one of these, bruh. I also don’t like hot dogs, but I like this. Are we rating each of these?”

We can. Should we rate them each independently or just do Jeff’s as a whole?

“Let’s do it independently. The onions on top glazed this up from what might’ve been an 87 all the way to a 91.”

Wow! You know what — I’ma have to agree with you. The spicy lamb merguez is very good.

Next up, my favorite: the beef Italian sausage. Mendel, you try this one first!

“No, no, no! This is NOT... supposed to be made by a human. This is another level, boys. This is not just better. It’s wayyy better.”

Wow!! That’s high praise. I love to hear you say that about a flavor profile so close to my heart. This sausage is smoky and delicious.

“Sidebar: Jeff’s Western sauce is the best thing on earth, in case you don’t know. I don’t eat sausages. When I come to Jeff’s, I always get my Wild Western burger, bro. Wow! This is fire! It’s up there. I might have to go to the factory to see how they make this.”

I agree! This is next-level good. This actually might be where we diverge though, Mendel. I think the merguez might be better.

“You got your own thing going on. After this, I might become a sausage guy. This is a straight up 99 out of 100. No question. That was one of the best sausages ever.”

Wow, that’s a massive score for Jeff's Italian sausage!

It was really, really good but.. I have to give it a 90. I actually did like the merguez slightly more. It was just something new and different for me.

“That’s nonsense! That deserves a 99. Full send, straight up.”

It’s hard to disagree, but I gotta give it a 90.

 Should we try the chicken bratwurst? What even is a bratwurst? It comes with Jeff’s aioli and a generous serving of grilled onions on it.

“You see, this is one for older gentlemen. I can see, like, a businessman in his 70s walking into Jeff’s and ordering this.”

Okay, so it’s for OLDER men. Like — much older. Let me see what the old men like.

“See what I’m saying? It’s like a fluffier bun...”

I do see what you’re saying. It has a flavor profile reminiscent of a French onion soup, and I can see how an older gentleman might have an affinity for that. The flavor is very soft — not pungent, but instead rather delicate.

“It’s up there.”

It can’t compete with the other two.

“No way. Not even close. For me, I’m going to give this an 82. But if I was a 70-year-old man? Probably an 87. For now, I’m giving it an 82 though.”

At least it can grow on you over time!

“Yeah, for sure. But that beef Italian? That thing is gonna be with me my entire life.”

I gotta agree with you. This needs to be in the 80s. It’s very nice — a kind of soft and delicate flavor. The others had a bigger flavor punch. For that reason, I gotta give the chicken bratwurst an 84.

Ironically, we — along with so many others — often opt for the burger at the “Gourmet Sausage Factory.” So I’m glad we got to try all these. What are you thinking for Jeff’s overall score, Mendel?

“For me, I’ma burger guy. The consistency on the dogs is insane. I never joined the sausage game to begin with — but I’m going to start going to Jeff’s and getting those dogs! Overall, Jeff’s earned themselves a 93 out of 100.”

Jeff’s for sure lives up to their name. They definitely have the gourmet vibe going for them. I think I’m going to give a near-aggregate of all my scores.

I’m giving Jeff’s Gourmet Sausage Factory an 87 out of 100 overall. I think it’s a staple in LA’s kosher scene. A must-frequent spot. On a semi-regular basis at the least..

Jeff’s Gourmet Sausage Factory

 @MendelGeisinsky Overall Score: 93 out of 100 

@WeWantMoshiachNow Official Score: 87 out of 100

This Burger Has Class — But Can It Take the Crown?

Several people have told me I should review Next Door: The elevated Mediterranean restaurant “next door” to Dr. Sandwich. It’s one of the fancier spots in town, so I need to preface this by saying: today we are exclusively reviewing their burger. We plan to do an overall review of the restaurant later this summer. Stay tuned for that.

I just figured that when we come back to rate the full experience, we probably won’t be ordering the burger. And since I’ve been told by many people that it might be the best in LA, I figured it was worthy of its own moment. This way it doesn’t get overlooked when we do the full review.

And I’m so happy I made that decision because I will say: this feels like one of the more complete and satisfying meal experiences we’ve ever reviewed.

Mendel, I know you were excited about this one. What were your thoughts on the burger?

“I agree with that. With these flavors, all together, I see how this is coming from an upscale restaurant. You can’t really find this at any of the other burger spots. A Mediterranean restaurant making burgers? That could be hard. But these flavors are going into my mouth… they succeeded.”

Yeah! This can’t be compared with the other burgers in town. This is a luxury burger, a restaurant burger. Sometimes known as a steakhouse burger. It’s thick. It’s so fancy you can’t compare it to the other places we’ve listed. It’s not a smash burger, which is quick and casual. It’s a meal. Which you can see in the fact that it came with some incredibly well-seasoned fries.

This is the best restaurant burger I’ve had in town. It’s a Top G burger. It’s just hard to say this is the best burger in LA because it really depends on what you’re going for.

“You’re right. It is hard to say that.”

Yeah, and you know we’ve given a lot of high scores recently. I still think this is top-notch. I just gotta be honest — I’m giving this a 91 out of 100. It’s a very solid burger. I think a 91 is well-earned and completely fair for what it is as a restaurant burger.

And if that’s what you like, you’ll love the burger at Next Door.

“To be honest? For the price, it’s a great burger. I’ll give it an 84 out of 100. I think I could find this… in my freezer.”

I don’t know about that… this is prepared expertly.

“David, I’m an expert.”

Okay. Tomorrow I’m buying you ground beef to grill up and we’re gonna see if you can put your money where your mouth is. All the readers: stay tuned for the next edition to find out if Mendel can make a burger on par with LA’s best.

As for Next Door, the Farbreng Gang will be back this summer to review the rest of their menu when we go hunt for the best of LA’s fine dining experiences.

Next Door Burger

 @MendelGeisinsky Burger Score: 84 out of 100 

@WeWantMoshiachNow Burger Score: 91 out of 100

One last time, I want to wish Mendel and all the boys of Shiur Beis at YOEC bracha v'hatzlacha in their next adventures. It was an honor and a pleasure to learn, farbreng, film TikToks, and eat good food with them this year! We will miss them, emphasis on me, but IYH, we’ll be seeing them again soon!. Farbreng with Kosher Gang Summer is just kicking off! We’ve got new guests, new restaurants, and something really exciting coming up: an opportunity for YOU, the readers, to come get involved in the best part of these reviews… the eating! More on that soon. Next edition we’re hitting the road! Pack your bag because the Fabreng Gang is doing some summer traveling and we’re taking you guys along for the ride! Until then…I think that’s a review!

David Greenberg is a music industry professional, songwriter, and content creator. You can follow him @WeWantMoshiachNow on TikTok, IG, and YouTube. Hear his kosher pop music at soundcloud.com/WeWantMoshiachNow. For all inquiries: WeWantMoshiachNow@thelajewishhome.com