"Heimishe" is a word whose meaning is the subject of much disputation. Within the context of a kosher menu and a roster of "heimishe hoagies," however, you'll manage just fine if you understand it to mean homey or homestyle. This sandwich (half is shown; $10.25) featured diced chicken grilled with tomatoes, Spanish onions, and geshmaka sauce (from the Yiddish for "tasty"), unfussily spilling from a house-baked French loaf. The sauce, fairly described by the counterman as sweet and sour, brought back old memories of takeout Chinese; the crunch of the onions suggested chop suey.
"Fleishig" signals that this restaurant serves meat; the kosher dairy counterpart is "milchig." During observances such as The Nine Days (which in 2013 begins on the evening of Sunday, July 7), observant Jews abstain from meat and poultry, and many such restaurants close up shop. Big Fleishig's Express, on the other hand, will make appropriate modifications to its kitchen and menu, and remain open — perhaps providing a rare opportunity to try the heimishe equivalent of sweet and sour fish.
Big Fleishig's Express
5508 16th Ave. (55th-56th Sts.), Borough Park, Brooklyn
718-435-2779
Closed after 2:00 p.m Friday and all day Saturday