Food Fight On 41st Street

Since he had no intention of going kosher, Benrube now regrets his decision to open his business on 41st Street. "I think that coming here was a mistake," he says. "I thought that there would be a lot of young families who would be supportive and were looking for a place for a cheap meal. I didn't know I'd be facing so much resentment." Benrube says he has considered moving to South Beach "to be away from the problems."

While he stays, though, i's unlikely Benrube will go out of his way to patch up his relationship with Markevitz or his Orthodox neighbors. He recently began hiring rock and blues musicians to play outside his restaurant on weekend evenings, knowing full well that he would be disturbing the relative peace of the Jewish Sabbath. And he's promoting a new addition to his menu with another prominent sign in his window: