koshervancouver

A little moderation

2008-06-29T20:04:00.006-07:00

KosherVancouver needs a new moderator(s). We here at KosherVancouver have made aliyah and will no longer be able to keep the blog up-to-date.

KosherVancouver covers items of interest to the kosher consumer, including what kosher products are available in various Vancouver stores, kosher restaurant information, kosher alerts. Also, we respond to email requests from travellers, and various other emails of interest.

Please email KosherVancouver if you are interested in taking over this blog. While we haven't been able to keep it updated as frequently as we'd like, we would still hate to see the blog die away.

If you think it's Kosher, but it's not

2008-06-01T09:58:00.003-07:00

According to BC Kosher: Kayan Mediterranean Cuisine, located at #202-777 West Broadway in Vancouver, has been representing themselves as a kosher restaurant. The restaurant is in fact not certified kosher.

Always ask to see the Certificate of Kashrut if you are not familiar with a kosher restaurant. And remember, sometimes the misrepresentation is not malicious; a lot of people honestly - albeit naively - think they're kosher, based on their own misunderstanding of what kosher actually means.

Cashrewt Alert

2008-05-18T15:07:00.002-07:00

From BCKosher:

And to think, we almost bought these...

May 18, 2008 - Please be advised that TRADER JOE’S brand CASHEWS marked product of Thailand bear an unauthorized BCK symbol of Kashrus. Consumers finding this product are asked to contact BC Kosher at (604) 731-1803 or by email info@bckosher.org.

It's not kosher food, but it's a kosher flat

2008-04-10T11:11:00.003-07:00

Posting on behalf of a friend tight with the former-Vancouverites-now-in-Jerusalem group. Please email us at koshervancouver@gmail.com if you're interested. Feel free to forward.

----------------------
My Roommate will be in America for about two months this summer and am looking for a mature responsible female to sublet her room in Nachlaot this summer.

May 13th-July 20th (Dates are negotiable)
$500/month (if rent is paid up front early in full there may be a discount of $25/month)

- Utilities included except electricity (approximately $20/month)
- Internet and cable television included (there is a television however it is rarely turned on)
- Fully furnished
- Large bedroom
- Kosher dairy kitchen
- Washer/Dryer
- Mirpeset
- Centrally located
- 5 minute walk to the Shuk
- 10 minute walk to Ben Yehuda/center of town
- 10 minute walk to the central bus station
- Mature responsible roommate :-)

Please contact me or forward to someone you know who may be interested.
Thank you so much & warm regards,
Pamela
----------------------

Pesach guides

2008-04-08T11:55:00.003-07:00

BC Kosher has come out with their Pesach guide. It has the basic information, and probably would have been more helpful if they had listed "regular" supermarkets that carry Kosher for Passover products (ie, which Safeway has the best stock, does Choices carry anything, etc.), instead of just telling us what we already know: Sabra's, Pini's, Omnitsky's, Kosher Food Warehouse.

However, the Passover page is still worth looking at, as it mentions Seven Seas for fish, and has a link to download the guide. Importantly, there is also information about what items need a hechsher and which do not. And, reminders to buy milk, eggs and sugar before Pesach starts. We at KosherVancouver find ourselves running out to the store nearly every year 15 minutes before the Chag begins in a frantic dash to buy enough milk. Maybe this year we'll remember Thursday.

Trader Yosef's

2008-04-08T11:32:00.004-07:00

A curious reader asks the following question:
"does anyone know if Trader Joe's will have a good selection of kosher l'pesach food?"

Because we at Kosher Vancouver always have our readers' best interests at heart, we took it upon ourselves to shlep down to the States this past Sunday to investigate.

(Okay, so we did some of our own Pesach shopping, too.)

The answer is, no. We asked the First Mate in Bellingham (no, seriously, that's what they call the head customer service guy) and he said they were not planning on bringing in anything specific, other than keeping the kosher meat stocked up. He mentioned they used to bring in the "crackers" but they weren't going to this year.

And for those of you who are wondering, they don't know when they'll have the smoked mozarella again. When we got over our devastation, we answered the First Mate's questions about Pesach, and gave him a brief rundown of the holiday.

So the answer for Trader Joe's is you can get kosher meat, and a few bottles of kosher wine. However, travel an extra hour or so south and visit the University Village QFC (I-5 South to exit 171 to NE 65th St to 25th Ave). Everything you could possibly need for Passover, you will find there. Plenty of fresh meat, roasts, briskets, chicken, lamb, and cholov yisroel products for Pesach. In addition to their regular kosher section, they have a nice-sized Passover display that includes all the standards. And of course, decent prices on everything. You'll plotz over the price of the meat.

You can have lunch right at the QFC in Noah's, a kosher bagel/deli shop.

QFC even has a nice (cheap!) wine selection, or you can go back to NE 65th and visit Tree of Life, which has a big wine display. Just remember, technically, you can't bring any alcohol back with you to Canada if you've only been gone a day. Some people have gotten away with the "ritual purposes/religious use" explanation, but you can't always count on that working.

Pick up freezer packs for $1 each at the meat department, or buy a large freezer bag to keep your meat cold while you sit in the line-up at the border going home. We bought frozen blintzes, put them in an insulated bag with a freezer pack, and despite two stops and an hour wait at the border, they were still frozen when we got back to Vancouver.

Ready for Pesach?

2008-04-01T12:45:00.004-07:00

We definitely have to get more aluminum foil...

Thanks to regular reader Mark who forwarded this to us, published last week in the Crown Heights News

Starch your salmon, Sir?

2008-03-21T14:08:00.004-07:00

From BCKosher:

March 19, 2008: "With Passover coming up shortly BCK would like to inform the public to be aware that it is common practice among salmon manufactures to dip raw salmon in a corn starch bath. This is especially important for those careful not to consume kitniyos on Passover. Please verify that the fish you are purchasing has not been treated as mentioned and is certified kosher for Passover."

Seven Seas usually offers kosher for Passover fish each year. We'll post info as soon as we hear when they're taking orders.

Miss the Spice? It's now twice as nice!

2008-02-18T16:43:00.005-08:00

If you've been missing the falafel, soup, pizza and especially the amazing lasagna at Spice, then get yourself down to Falafel Plus immediately!

The owner of Spice has re-opened as Falafel Plus & Catering, and is now located at 446 West 8th Avenue.

We here at KosherVancouver took it upon ourselves to immediately head to FP&C when we got the notice from BCK about a new kosher restaurant, and we were very pleasantly surprised to see Spice's owner behind the counter! The food was yummy as ever, although they were out of soup by the time we got there for dinner take-away. The pizza looked terrific, the salads wonderful, and the lasagna was mouth-watering.

FP&C is also now carrying frozen goods - knishes, bourekas and spinach rolls. Not sure if that's a permanent thing, but it was there when we visited.

Menu items are either Pareve or Dairy Chalav Yisroel. The phone lines weren't set up yet when we went, so it was cash only, but FP&C was anticipating being able to accept Interac and credit cards soon.

Falafel Plus & Catering is located between Cambie & Yukon - behind Wendy's, but you can't get there from Cambie during the RAV construction. There's plenty of parking, just make sure you come down Yukon.

Please call Simon at 604-724-5252 for more information.

Welcome back!

Trader Joe's opens in Bellingham. Kosher meat lovers* in Vancouver rejoice.

2007-10-17T10:27:00.001-07:00

What's better than finding a store that sells FRESH KOSHER 1" thick steak CHEAP?

Finding a store that sells FRESH KOSHER 1" thick steak CHEAP that's only an hour** drive away.

Chevra, Trader Joe's has come to Bellingham. We at KosherVancouver sacrificed a Sunday to check it out for you. Bellis Fair is no longer the only reason to go to B'ham. We found fresh steak, fresh ground beef, fresh turkey, fresh ground turkey, fresh whole chicken, cut up chicken, organic chicken, skinless breast, organic skinless breast and of course, hot dogs. There is the to-die-for smoked mozarella and Italian mozzarella, although that's about it for acceptable hechshered cheeses.

Snacks and desserts galore. Milk chocolate chips, and parve chocolate chips. Ghirardelli chocolate chunks. Fake italian sausage and bacon. Yogurts of all flavours. Oh, and did we mention wine? Yes, Baron Herzog and Fortant (Chardonnay included), which is helpful now that our local resource has closed. Although, remember that technically, you're not supposed to buy alcohol if you're gone less than 48 hours.

In the old days, if you were sitting at your desk in the afternoon, with a craving for a nice, thick, juicy steak, you were outta luck. If you didn't take the rock-hard, frozen-since-the-ice-ages steak you bought locally out of the freezer the night before, you ain't having steak that night.

Those days are gone, gone, gone. Now, if you're sitting at your desk thinking you'd like a steak that night, you can drive down to B'ham, pick up a steak, and drive back, and be back in time for dinner. Granted, that's a long way to go for a craving, but we have three words for you: Seattle. Three. Hours.

We saved $20 on gas by filling our tank in B'ham, and paid ridiculously cheap prices - some products were HALF of what we pay in Vancouver. And with the dollar being above par, it actually didn't cost us anything to go to Trader Joe's. Except a few hours of our day.

One caution. Trader Joe's has an extensive kosher inventory, but some of the hechshers are not recommended by the OU or BCK. A lot of the cheeses are "tablet K." We also saw a lot of the generic "K" on products. Obviously, unless you know the product and know the source of the hashgacha for that product, a "K" should not be accepted.

Related to that, there is a product that Trader Joe's carries which has lost their certification, although some packages are still marked with a hechsher.

2410 James Street (Mt. Baker Hwy, Sunset Dr exit. At end of ramp, go straight across and you'll be on James.)
Bellingham, WA 98225
Phone: (360) 734-5166
Trading Hours: 9 am - 9 pm

Note, they do not have "hechshered in the US only" products such as Thomas's English Muffins, Entenmann's or Oreo cookies. Head to Hagen's for those.

Make your first steak with just a little salt & pepper. Revel in those juices.

*Not meant to exclude vegetarians or non-meat lovers. You can rejoice, too!
**Always depending on border traffic, of course.

If at first you don't succeed...

2007-08-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

Rockin' review for Nava Cafe at the JCC in Vancouver (scroll down to the last comment):

I previously commented negatively on Nava, and I need to retract it. Today we had two phenomenal meals there.

Read the whole comment here and then go get yourself a cajun salmonburger! Or try the new BBQ dinners on the patio. Yum!

Peel it off. Peel it all off.

2007-05-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

That seems to be the answer to the issue presented here.
A small sign hanging above the produce in a local supermarket reads, “Fruits and vegetables have been coated with food-grade vegetable, petroleum, beeswax, and/or lac-resin based wax or resin to maintain freshness… No fruits or vegetables have been coated with animal-based wax”. The sign is the result of efforts by citizens groups demanding disclosure of ingredients in coatings used on fresh produce. The produce industry, citing the impracticality of constantly changing signs and claiming that disclosure would compromise the confidentiality of coatings ingredients, resisted these demands. The FDA regulation that emerged in 1994 is the result of a compromise between the two groups. Although the sign does disclose some information, it only tells part of a much larger story.

The sign is not required by law to declare the additives put in coatings, some of which raise kashrus concerns. That doesn’t mean that coatings on fresh produce are not acceptable. This article will present information relevant to evaluating the kashrus of coatings.
Regardless of kashrut, this is all just gross enough to make us peel. Everything.

Or better yet, buy local and organic, then you don't have to worry about bug wax at all. AND you support your local farming community. Tikkun olam, baby.

Parting is such spicy sorrow

2007-04-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

If you want to get your Israeli falafel fix, awesome veggie lasagna fix or just a good ol' motzei Shabbat fix, and have it all with a hechsher, better get to Spice before Tuesday, May 1. According to BC Kosher, they will no longer be certifying Spice Restaurant and Catering, starting on that date.

It's a sad day for Vancouver kosher consumers.

*Please note: we do not know why Spice will no longer be certified, so please don't start any rumours. If you want more information, please contact Rabbi Lando of BC Kosher at 604.731.1803.

Clean your lettuce, the Pesach bunny's coming

2007-03-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we know people go overboard for Pesach. For some reason we here at KV feel it's important to ensure under the dryer is spotless for Pesach. But Kosher-for-Passover lettuce? C'mon.

from BCKosher:
KOSHER LETTUCE FOR PASSOVER 2007

We at KV recognize the convenience of having pre-triple washed, ready-to-eat fruits and veggies. It's a great service that Pos`tiv provides. And we're okay with having to pay a little more for this convenience (and it is a convenience. If you've ever had to wash 12 heads of spinach, you know what we mean), but announce it as just that: a convenience.

Let's not add to the already (mostly unnecessary) stressful preparations for Pesach. There are probably some poor folks, trying to being machmir for Pesach, in a panic right now, thinking that if they want salad for Pesach, they have to spend 9 bucks on a bag of Kosher for Passover lettuce. We at KV have to admit that for a moment - a split second - we experienced a bout of panic, thinking that all these years we've been buying regular lettuce and Shite! We've treifed our Pesach dishes.

If you want to buy pre-checked lettuce

Pini's Pizza
729 West 16th Avenue
Vancouver, BC
Kindly contact Pini With your order before March 18 2007 (Tel: 604-879-7100)
Romaine Lettuce 908g for $8.99
Romaine Leafs 284g for $4.49

please do. But buy it because you want to, not to because you think you have to.

Kosher Alert. We almost got too excited.

2007-02-12T12:57:00.000-08:00

Because we loves our pasta sauce, and really wish there was a kosher cheesey pasta sauce:

from BC Kosher
February 12, 2007

KOSHER ALERT

We have been informed that Hunt's Thick & Rich Premium Pasta Sauce
Four Cheese (680 ML) was erroneously labeled with the OK symbol.
The product is NOT certified by the OK and is NOT kosher

Death of a Dan-D

2007-02-07T15:34:00.000-08:00

Alas. We had a post ready about a falsely advertised challah product available at the 67th and Oak Dan-D Market store, but the store is no more.

Fear not, the store on Broadway still exists. But no more last-minute dash to Dan-D for grape juice or inexpensive desert, no more late evening Yedda Chedda cravings satisfied for the Marpole Jewish community.

Ah, Dan, we hardly knew ya, but you'll be missed.

Kosher Alert - and it's local

2006-12-08T10:35:00.000-08:00

From BCK:

December 08 2006
“KASHRUTH ALERT”
Please be advised that BOTTICELLI products imported by Dynamic Chocolates, of Delta, BC, Canada, bears an unauthorized BCK symbol and are being withdrawn from the marketplace.
Orthodox Rabbinical Council of British Columbia
Rabbi Eli Lando
www.bckosher.org

Krispy and Kreme-y, but not Koshery

2006-11-16T17:07:00.000-08:00

In an off-blog inquiry by some loyal readers, we were asked about the Krispy Kreme store in Delta and the rumour that they are kosher. Like many others, we assumed that it was (don't know why, maybe the rumour was stated with such enthusiasm and conviction, we found it hard not to believe! Or maybe that Krispy Kreme-y goodness was just too inticing for us to confirm the rumour.)

BCKosher said the Krispy Kreme Delta (ya gotta feel sorry for some future Krispy Kreme Kamloops location) store was not supervised. So we at Kosher Vancouver did our krispy kashrut duty and checked into it. Here is what Kathleen Bishop, Krispy Kreme Customer Experience (rep? question-answerer? Or is that an existential statement: Krispy Kreme Customer Experience?) said:

All the ingredients used to make Krispy Kreme doughnuts are kosher; however, not all our stores are. The doughnuts in our Delta, B.C. store are made from kosher ingredients but the store itself is not kosher. The closest kosher store to Delta, B.C. would be the store at 3580 - 20th Avenue N.E. in Calgary, Alberta. KSA is the supervising group and the supervising rabbi is Rabbi Weiss who may be contacted at (905) 882-0790.

Actually, she might be wrong. The closest kosher store has got to be Seattle, no?

So spread the word. If you're KBI* then go for it. If you're not, as one of our readers said: gam zu l'tovah - it's probably better that way. Your heart will thank you.

*Kosher by Ingredient. You go by labels, hechshers be damned. Maybe we'll do a post about an incident one of our readers told us about when he looked at the ingredients of a package he bought where shrimp was listed in the French, but not the English. He went strictly kosher right after that event.

What rhymes with kishka?

2006-10-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

Amazing - someone found a rhyme for falafel.

This is very cute; way to advertise, Kosher.com! By the way, the do ship non-perishables to Canada (but not wine, sorry).

The search is on

2006-09-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

A reader asks if anyone knows where, in the greater Vancouver area, one can find the following:

1) unbaked frozen croissants (cholov stam is fine) - large or small quantity

Le Bon Croissant makes unbaked frozen products, which are COR certified. We are currently waiting for a response to our inquiry about where to purchase their products.

2) solid pack canned pumpkin (for baking) - not to be confused with pumpkin pie filling.

Anyone? COR has a few canned pumpkins listed on their site, but tracking them down? *shudder* We suggest calling IGA, Safeway, Superstore, Choices, Capers, Whole Foods, etc. In the meantime, if any of our 3 readers know where solid pack canned pumpkin is available, please drop a comment or an email. Thanks!

Kosher alert:Whoops, here's another one

2006-08-16T14:37:00.000-07:00

You know, we really didn't intend to become all about kosher alerts. Really. And we only post those that we think affect Vancouver. And are important.

Like the following:

The following kashrus alert is from the Kashruth Council of Canada on August 15, 2006.

The Kashruth Council of Canada (COR) wishes to advise that Natures's Blend Cheddar Cheese Bagels were labeled with an unauthorized COR 153. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT KOSHER CERTIFIED. Please note that COR 153 is presently inactive and should not appear on any products.

Sorry if you got all excited about cheddar cheese bagels being available at a regular ol' store.

Kosher alert:Not all Starbucks products are created equal. Or by Starbucks.

2006-08-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

The following kashrus alert is from the Chicago Rabbinical Council on August 9, 2006 and confirmed by Pepsi^*.

Unlike other varieties of Starbucks bottled drinks, the Frappuccino Strawberries & Crème in the 9.5oz bottle is NOT certified kosher.

^* Yep. Bottled Frappuccinos are manufactured by Pepsi. Disillusion lives on.

Getting buggy with it

2006-07-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

There's an interesting, albeit eye-spinning, article at Kashrut.com about bugs in our food. Check it out and discovery why sometimes bugs are perfectly acceptable to eat.

Bragg's Kosher alert

2006-07-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

This one affects Vancouverites, so check your bottle codes:

The following kashrus alert is from Kosherquest.org and confirmed by the KSA on July 24, 2006.

Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar with the following bottle codes bear an unauthorized KSA: 12046, 13046, 14046, 17046, 11056, 12056, 18056, 19056.

Food:Missing the muffin

2006-05-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Why can't we get these in Canada?

Yes, they are kosher. Just don't use ham when you make your Eggs Benedict.

*Update: because we at KosherVancouver are so concerned about your welfare, and the epidemic of Muffin Deprivation, we contacted Thomas' English Muffins via their website. They called us back, and told us to call the parent company's Canadian branch, George Weston Limited. Weston in turn told us to contact the Vancouver office, which we did. Or rather, tried to. The number they gave us was out of service. After some investigative work, we found a document online with the company name, which allowed us to backtrack and look up the new phone number, where we left a message. We shortly received a call back from the sales manager at the local office, who told us they are looking into bringing Thomas' English Muffins into BC. But they'd likely not be brought up from the States, but be baked by the bakery in Ontario, which is not under supervision.

If you know of any other English Muffins that are kosher and can be found in BC, please let us know!