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Summary of kosher food options in the bay area:

Restaurants:
(all under hashgacha of the Sunrise Kosher / Vaad Hakashrus of Northern California unless otherwise stated)

San Francisco
Sabra Grill (Chinatown)
L'chaim Foods (not a restaurant, take out / delivery only) currently "Under Orthodox Certification of Rabbi Joel Landau."
Frena BakeryDairy and pareve sambusak, burekas, shakshuka, savory and sweet baked goods
Limonnana Middle Eastern dishes, principally Falafel, Shawarma, and Hummus, and of course, delicious limonnanas.
Hummus Bodega Hummus, Falafel, Middle Eastern in the Richmond district

East Bay
Amba Falafel (Oakland) (Fleishig as of 4/28/14). Pas Yisroel available by request CLOSED
Oakland Kosher (Oakland) Fleishigs. Check for certs on www.restaurant.com.
Cafe 3 at UC Berkeley
Touro Kitchen in Vallejo, CA - http://dining.tu.edu/menu.html

South Bay
Izzy's Bagels (Palo Alto) Pas Yisroel. Some Items Cholov Yisroel, Check the kashrus certificate, Open on Shabbos
Kosher Food Oasis at the OFJCC (Palo Alto) Holy Sushi requires ordering in advance. Walk-in orders are accepted for Caffe Mediterraneum and for many items at Malawach Bar. Please check vendor sites for individual holiday hours. All under the Vaad.
Jerusalem Grill (Palo Alto area)  not Kosher, no Kashrus certification, not Jewish owned (as of Nov.22, 2015)
Pars Kosher Market in San Jose, certified by the Vaad, now has a small eat in section (4 tables, first come first serve) with a short meat menu and ready made hot food. Also lots of kosher groceries.
Stanford University Cafeteria weekday lunches five days a week and dinners Monday - Thurs. General public can pay at Florence Moore Dorm and enjoy the Kosher section. Fleishig (meat) for both meals each day. Flo-Mo, as it is called, is on Mayfield Ave., across from the parking lot of Tressidor.  Finding the dining hall can be a challenge for outsiders but any student will direct you.




Groceries (etc):

San Francisco
CHOUX Bakery - French cream puffs (Haight-Ashbury) Pas yisroel, cholov yisroel. No longer certified kosher / open on Shabbos.

East Bay
Oakland Kosher.
Grand Bakery (Oakland) Pas Yisroel, Dairy items are NOT cholov yisroel. Closing 12/23/16
Berkeley Bowl (Berkeley) has some kosher items.
Costco (Definitely the one in Richmond. I believe this applies to others in the Bay Area, but this is what I know firsthand.) has cholov yisroel cheese and Jack's sausages. (As of August 2014)

South Bay
I believe Mollie Stone's in Palo Alto has a big Kosher selection. there are probably other options there as well.

« Last edited by ninjaleh on January 17, 2023, 12:38:15 PM »

Author Topic: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread  (Read 211696 times)

Offline shaulyaakov

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #640 on: August 16, 2018, 09:40:40 AM »
tentative planning a trip for myself and 4 kids 7-12. 2 days 1 night
here's what I have so far

landing 9:30
drop off bags at Holiday Inn Express and suites (using free annual night, confirmed upgrade to family suite)
Alcatraz is sold out, so assuming it doesn't open we'll do the  blue and gold escape from the rock 11:15 or 1:45
lunch?
pier 39 / Fishermans wharf/ exploratorioum
sabra for supper

monday - rent car (have a one way from fishermans wharf to SFO)
drive to Frena, buy lunch etc.
golden gate bridge
the marine mammal center
 Muir woods
SFO for 8pm flight back

thoughts?
Muir Woods is great but leave lots of time since there could be traffic getting back.

Offline lubaby

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Offline thaber

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #642 on: August 16, 2018, 04:53:02 PM »

Offline zow

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #643 on: September 13, 2018, 02:09:42 PM »
I was just in Fisherman's Wharf Krispy Kreme and they had a hashgacha
Thanks. Good to know. 

Offline zow

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #644 on: September 13, 2018, 02:26:01 PM »
I know this question is one of preference and highly subjective, but I will ask anyway:

Flying into SFO.
Want to have lunch with my mom-frum in-laws, who live in Marin.
Should I drive through the City and pick up Frena, which we have enjoyed a number of times?
Or should we drive to Vallejo, and either pick up Touro Univ food (which we have never had previously) or meet in-laws there?

Boils down to whether it is worth the drive just to try Touro. We have no other East Bay business.

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #645 on: September 13, 2018, 03:36:40 PM »
I know this question is one of preference and highly subjective, but I will ask anyway:

Flying into SFO.
Want to have lunch with my mom-frum in-laws, who live in Marin.
Should I drive through the City and pick up Frena, which we have enjoyed a number of times?
Or should we drive to Vallejo, and either pick up Touro Univ food (which we have never had previously) or meet in-laws there?

Boils down to whether it is worth the drive just to try Touro. We have no other East Bay business.

Sounds like it would be easier to bring food from home than to drive into SF for Frena
״וזה כלל גדול: שישנא אדם כל דבר שקר. וכל מה שיוסיף שנאה לדרכי השקר – יוסיף אהבה לתורה.״ - אורחות צדיקים

Offline CS1

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #646 on: September 14, 2018, 12:53:30 AM »
Sounds like it would be easier to bring food from home than to drive into SF for Frena

we really enjoyed Frena; if the timing works out, it may be worth the extra trip. (especially if you purchase more items for the rest of your trip as well. Great selection of fresh hot food items, and great bakery items.)
California Gourmet Belgian Nut-Free Chocolate Chips https://bit.ly/CaliforniaGourmetDirect

Offline zow

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #647 on: September 14, 2018, 05:55:53 AM »
we really enjoyed Frena; if the timing works out, it may be worth the extra trip. (especially if you purchase more items for the rest of your trip as well. Great selection of fresh hot food items, and great bakery items.)
Sounds like it would be easier to bring food from home than to drive into SF for Frena

Hi. Thank you both.  Frena is not far out of our way SFO—>Marin, so we will probably do that.  We have enjoyed Frena several times before so will look forward to it. Driving all the way to Vallejo for Touro seems unnecessary.   Thanks again.

Offline zow

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #648 on: October 04, 2018, 10:48:42 AM »
Hi, I don't remember seeing any commentary on this take-out option:

Aviya Asian Take-Out

(650) 456-7000

3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA

Aviya Asian Takeout is glatt kosher takeout located in the Palo Alto JCC. We serve a variety of Asian fusion menu items sure to suit every taste.
----------------------------------

Any experience with it?

Offline tam111

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #649 on: October 12, 2018, 07:14:07 PM »
Heading to San Francisco this weekend and thought I would share a few things I thought was helpful.  It’s been mentioned but the Go Card is very good. There is a multi day pass that’s included several activities but what I thought was better was the 20% of for two activities which are more expansive than the multi day passes.  For example, four of us are going to ride a 2 1/2 hour Segway tour through Golden Gate Park. It is $75 per person so the 20% off was very helpful. 

Also, don’t forget to check gold star.  There were many activities any where from 20-40% off. Wish I knew this the last time I was in SF.  No need to pay full retail on activities.

Offline chevron

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #650 on: October 15, 2018, 10:07:49 AM »
Hi. Thank you both.  Frena is not far out of our way SFO—>Marin, so we will probably do that.  We have enjoyed Frena several times before so will look forward to it. Driving all the way to Vallejo for Touro seems unnecessary.   Thanks again.

From SFO to Marin frena is along the way. Though from Marin to Touro it's not that bad especially in off traffic times but I love driving in California

Offline whYME

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #651 on: October 15, 2018, 10:29:12 AM »
Apparently there's a new shwarma/falafel place opening soon near Frena.

Offline Dan

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #652 on: October 15, 2018, 10:30:40 AM »
Apparently there's a new shwarma/falafel place opening soon near Frena.
Nice!
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline zow

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #653 on: October 15, 2018, 11:44:48 AM »
From SFO to Marin frena is along the way. Though from Marin to Touro it's not that bad especially in off traffic times but I love driving in California
Thanks. Good point.  I don't mind driving there either, but we need to get back to Palo Alto by afternoon, so the Touro diversion is still probably not worth it.

Apparently there's a new shwarma/falafel place opening soon near Frena.
Great! We'll check it out next week.

Offline whYME

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #654 on: October 15, 2018, 12:11:44 PM »
Great! We'll check it out next week.
I'm not sure it's opening quite that soon, but I know it's in the works.

Offline zow

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #655 on: October 16, 2018, 10:28:14 AM »
I'm not sure it's opening quite that soon, but I know it's in the works.
Great! I hope it's as nice as Sabra Grill.  ;)

Offline whYME

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #656 on: October 16, 2018, 10:49:44 AM »
Great! I hope it's as nice as Sabra Grill.  ;)
lol

On that note, has anyone here been to sabra in the last year or two?

I'm wondering how the service is under the new management.

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #657 on: October 16, 2018, 10:51:47 AM »
lol

On that note, has anyone here been to sabra in the last year or two?

I'm wondering how the service is under the new management.
Have not been in at least 3 years.  Frena changed the game. 

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #658 on: October 16, 2018, 10:52:07 AM »
lol

On that note, has anyone here been to sabra in the last year or two?

I'm wondering how the service is under the new management.
I've been, no noticeable difference AFAICT
״וזה כלל גדול: שישנא אדם כל דבר שקר. וכל מה שיוסיף שנאה לדרכי השקר – יוסיף אהבה לתורה.״ - אורחות צדיקים

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #659 on: October 16, 2018, 11:23:16 AM »
lol

On that note, has anyone here been to sabra in the last year or two?

I'm wondering how the service is under the new management.
Was there a few months ago. Had simple good food. Was happy there. I am not picky at all so I'm easy to please.