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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 199372 times)

Offline PlatinumGuy

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #660 on: October 16, 2018, 11:33:56 AM »
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.
+1
״וזה כלל גדול: שישנא אדם כל דבר שקר. וכל מה שיוסיף שנאה לדרכי השקר – יוסיף אהבה לתורה.״ - אורחות צדיקים

Offline Ploni3

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #661 on: October 16, 2018, 02:00:02 PM »
Was there a few months back. Good service. Food was fine.

Offline shaulyaakov

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #662 on: October 16, 2018, 02:06:25 PM »
I think Sabra is fine for what it is. Not sure why it gets so much hate here.

Offline whYME

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #663 on: October 16, 2018, 02:16:07 PM »
I think Sabra is fine for what it is. Not sure why it gets so much hate here.

Simple: the food is reasonable but overpriced. (not outrageously, considering the location etc.) The service is atrocious.
1. "overpriced" might not even be fair considering they're in SFO, I shouldn't compare to NY etc prices. I probably should've said "not cheap" instead.
2. At times the service there was really really bad, that doesn't mean it was always bad for everyone.

It sounds like maybe by now (with the new management?) they moved up from really bad to just mediocre? people are not having really bad experiences any more?

Online yelped

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #664 on: October 16, 2018, 03:08:22 PM »
Didn't have any issues. Friendly waiter, ordered my food, it came a few minutes later. Had a good and hearty meal and left. Didn't find it to be overpriced.

Offline thaber

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #665 on: October 18, 2018, 02:42:30 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.
Service was improved, and nice. Heimish. It's great for what it is.

Offline whYME

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Offline jose34

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #667 on: December 11, 2018, 07:36:11 PM »
Is there enough stuff to do here to spend two three days?

Offline Yaalili

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #668 on: December 11, 2018, 07:41:51 PM »
Is there enough stuff to do here to spend two three days?

Yes.

Offline jose34

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #669 on: December 12, 2018, 08:13:07 AM »
Yes.
Ideas?
I saw Dan TR but he only mentioned Alcatraz and that science museum - Exploratorium .
Maybe should look up thread and read some other trip reports before I start asking questions  ::)

Offline Yaalili

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #670 on: December 12, 2018, 09:06:41 AM »
Ideas?

look up thread and read some other trip reports before asking questions  ::)

Wikitravel would be helpful too.

Offline stever

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #671 on: January 23, 2019, 10:13:09 AM »
Went to Sabra last night, to me nothing has changed in 10 years. Food takes forever to come out, not all that great but keeps me alive. That’s about it. Going to try the new bakery today

Offline chevron

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #672 on: January 23, 2019, 12:40:40 PM »
Legion of honor museum one of my favorites, go to Napa!

Offline shaulyaakov

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #673 on: March 04, 2019, 04:54:48 PM »
The Rabbis of the Orthodox shul in Oakland & Berkeley started a new Hashgacha - "East Bay Kosher." They are now certifying a Falafel place "The Flying Falafel" at the Berkeley location only.

The place is open on Shabbos, and the announcement says to wait 30 minutes following Shabbos to buy any food.

Offline Divora M

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #674 on: May 12, 2019, 10:18:41 AM »
Any reviews on the Flying Falafel?

Offline Divora M

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #675 on: May 12, 2019, 10:43:35 AM »
Are there any beaches near OAKLAND/San Francisco worth going to?

Offline Dan

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #676 on: May 12, 2019, 01:04:44 PM »
Any reviews on the Flying Falafel?
Doesn't seem like a generally accepted hechsher.
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 chevron

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #677 on: May 12, 2019, 01:57:03 PM »
Are there any beaches near OAKLAND/San Francisco worth going to?
Sure, in SF very nice, lands end by sutra baths and park presidio

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #678 on: May 13, 2019, 02:45:43 PM »
How feasible is it to rent bikes from around Fisherman’s Wharf to over the Golden Gate Bridge with a 8 year old boy?

Offline shaulyaakov

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Re: San Francisco/No Cal Master Thread
« Reply #679 on: May 13, 2019, 03:11:37 PM »
How feasible is it to rent bikes from around Fisherman’s Wharf to over the Golden Gate Bridge with a 8 year old boy?

It's 4 miles from Wharf to GG bridge, and then you'd at a minimum need to go back over the bridge - so figure 8-12 miles. Doubt a kid can bike that.