Neighborhood News: Attention, Satmar Shoppers

At Williamsburg's W Mall, a milchig food court and refuge for weary mothers.

- Talia Lavin

"IT'LL BE NICE in winter," Zissi tells me, her sheitel-and-headband combo sparkling. "And it's nice not worrying about the food being kosher or the clothes being modest." We're in the food court of the W Mall, a brand-new glassy box on Flushing Avenue built expressly for the Satmar Hasidim of Brooklyn. Nearly every shopper I see is a woman in a long skirt, a head wrap or sheitel (the traditional wig worn by married women), and flats pushing a baby carriage. The food court is not a mishmash but rather one W-branded restaurant hydra of meatless dairy offerings, including the signature Orthodox combo of pizza and sushi.