Wolfgang Puck: Happy veggie chopperKosher Chicagoans will soon be able to go out for lunch downtown like everyone else. Wolfgang Puck, a big fan of Jewish cooking, is opening a new kosher cafe and catering company at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.

Puck's company already provides kosher catering in L.A. and Atlanta, and this is his first venture in Chicago.

The Spertus Cafe will serve sushi and hot aged beef alongside sandwiches and salads, and will be grab-and-go style.

Executive Chef Laura Frankel says:

There’s no sacrificing anything. I think people have a stereotype of kosher food that it’s all matzo ball soup. If you keep kosher 365 days a year, you’re not going to eat matzo ball soup every day.

Hell, I would certainly hope not. Can you imagine? That would be like living with bricks in your stomach. Then again, you'd probably never catch a cold.

She also says:

The kind of food we're doing is very modern and edgy. The kosher part is important, but it's almost the last thing. Unless someone tells you it's kosher, you're not going to know.

Ahh, the goal of all kosher food: to not taste like kosher food. It must be hard trying to constantly pretend to be something you're not. Having to disguise your true self with a trendy exterior in order to fit in...

Well, I wish the Spertus Cafe the best of luck. Apparently, it is going to be the only kosher cafe in downtown Chicago, so it won't have much competition. It's scheduled to open on Nov. 30 at 610 S. Michigan Ave.