✈ Keeping Kosher in The Catskill Mountains, NY (“The Catskills”)

Contributed by: Dani Klein | Last Date of Visit: June 2008

Kosher Info: Situated 90+ minutes (longer if you’re traveling during the weekend rush) north west of NYC, the Catskills have become the summer escape for Jewish urbanites for decades. Over the years kosher places have come and gone, while others still exist, feeding the thousands of Jews who flee the city each summer.

In this post, I will go over eateries, hotels, and markets (including within Bungalow Colonies) which exist in the Catskill region. Each location will be followed by its approximate location and town.

(Please note: Due to the nature of the Catskills, many of these restaurants or markets are not open all year round. Also, many of these institutions come and go. If you know about a recent closing, or a new store opening, please comment to this post and I will make the necessary changes. Thank you.)

Markets, Supermarkets, etc.:

• Beaver Lake Estates, Monticello, concession style market… has capability of serving hot dairy food, often doesn’t.
• Mountain Fruit, Broadway, Monticello… large kosher-only market. Similar offerings to its Brooklyn namesake.
• Aladdin Supermarket – Kiryas Beirach Moshe Bungalow Colony, 184 Hasbrouck Dr., Woodbourne
• All Fresh Supermarket, Rt. 17B White Lake
• Buy Rite Kosher Supermarket, 3 Maple Ave. Woodridge
• Landau’s Supermarket, 2 Railroad Plaza, South Fallsburg
• ShopRite of Ellenville, 100 Shoprite Blvd Route 209, Ellenville
• ShopRite of Liberty, 1955 Route 52, East Liberty
• ShopRite of Monticello, 46 Thompson Sq. Off State Route 42, Monticello
• Woodbourne Supermarket, Main St., Woodbourne

Restaurants, Pizzerias, etc.:

• Fialkoff’s Pizza, 66 Broadway, Monticello… year after year, Fialkoff’s consistently has the best pizza I’ve ever had. Period. Expect a long line during popular times (typically Motzei Shabbat).
• Woodbourne Pizze, 431 Route 52, Woodbourne… often a scene amongst teens and college students Motzei Shabbat, pizza is good.
• Feller’s Woodridge Pizza Cafe & Fish Grill, 9 Broadway, Woodridge
• Flaum’s Shwarma & Appetizing, 5220 Main St., St. Fallsburg
• Glatt Delight of Woodridge, 13 Green Ave. Center One Mall, Woodridge
• Jay & Sharon’s Country Cafe, 5426 Main St. Route 42 North, South Fallsburg
• Kikar Tel-Aviv Restaurant at Vacation Village, Hurleyville Rd. (within Vacation Village colony), Loch Sheldrake
• Main Street Pizza, Main St., South Fallsburg
• Mazal Wok Chinese & Sushi, 436 State Route 52 Main St., Woodbourne
• Meal Mart, Main St., South Fallsburg
• Shawarma King, 279 East Broadway, Monticello
• Simply Sushi Cafe, 343 East Broadway, Monticello
• Simply Sweets Ice Cream & Candy, 343 E Broadway, Monticello
• Sprinkles Pizza & Ice Cream, 5671 Route 42, Fallsburg
• Stargelt, Main St., Loch Sheldrake
• Swan Lake Pizza and Dairy Restaurant, 42 Stanton Corners Rd., Swan Lake
• Yosi’s Pizza, 431 Route 52, Woodbourne

Kosher Hotels

A few kosher hotels exist, but they are not for everyone. Places like Spring Mountain Resort (formerly the Homowack), Raleigh Hotel, and Kutcher’s are popular with families looking to leave the city, but unfortunately, these hotels seem like they have not been updated in decades.

On a recent stay at Kutcher’s by my family (celebrating a Sheva Brachot Shabbat), we observed the hotel and noticed it retains a musty, sometimes moldy smell. The hotel is large, and offers many amenities, but not everything is kept to appropriate standards. The food was quite awful. The place seemed like an old age home, partially due to the clientele, and partially due to the decor and lack of any updates since the 1970′s. The man-made lake out back is swarmed with mosquitoes. If you prefer hard mattresses, this is the place for you. From my previous experiences with other Catskill kosher hotels, like the Homowack, they don’t seem to differ much.

Tourist Info: The attraction for most is getting away from the city’s hustle and bustle. Sadly the few tourist attractions in this region remain the Monticello Raceway and Casino, a handful of golfing greens, and Wal-Mart. You heard me. Wal-Mart. The Monticello Wal-Mart is majorly packed Motzei Shabbat, it’s a massive social scene! The lines can be over an hour long, especially later Saturday night. You may be better off at the bowling alley with the teens.

• Kiamesha Lanes, 4685 State Route 42, Kiamesha Lake   |   (845) 794-5561
• Liberty Lanes, 5714 State Route 55, Liberty   |   (845) 292-6450

Jewish Info: During the summer, this region is bustling with city Jews. Basically every bungalow colony has it’s own shul and set of minyanim, and typically it’s own mikveh. During off-season times, there are still Jewish communities (mainly Chassidish) who live there all year round, however, many of the kosher and other Jewish shops will be closed.

I just came across this site which has a listing of all the bungalow colonies. I can’t believe how many there actually are! Check it out: http://bungalowcolony.us/index.asp?lang=EN

✈ Keeping Kosher in Shenzhen, China

Contributed by: Gavi Lewy-Neuman | Last Date of Travel: October 2008

Kosher Info:

Essentially, the only kosher food available in Shenzhen is at the Chabad house.  They provide both Friday night and Shabbat day meals free of charge (donations are welcomed).  You may also order meals from them to take away.  Because of its close proximity to Hong Kong (Shenzhen is the border city with Hong Kong) you can easily travel back and forth there to replenish food stocks (but you will need a multiple entry visa to get back into Shenzhen, whereas the Hong Kong Visa is given on arrival).

Tourist Info:

Not the most interesting place, but you can find what to keep you busy with.  There are 2 subway lines to get around, and they cost anywhere from 2-5 Yuan per ride, depending on from/where you are going.  Windows of the World is a popular “theme park” which is similar in idea to Israel’s Mini Israel, only on a much larger scale here. It does not have a cheap entrance fee.  This is located basically down the block from where the Chabad center currently is  – and across the street from WOTW is a big shopping mall of high end stores and other American and European stores.

Shenzhen is the world’s capital for knock-off designer bags.  The LoWu shopping center, located at the beginning of the main subway line, is the first thing you encounter once you have crossed the border form Hong Kong.  There you will find 5 heavily saturated floors with people forcing themselves on you to buy something (they sometimes get physical and grab your arm – so BEWARE! But no one will hurt you – I’d still  recommended the place for the experience).  There you can also get massages and manicures at very discounted prices.  Make sure to bargain for everything! Don’t pay more than 65% of the original asked price, but you can absolutely go lower than 35% even.  About 15 minutes walking from the Chabad Center is a nice lake that is quiet and serene at night, while lit up with lights, and is a good place to go and relax with a beer.

Jewish Info:

Again, Chabad is the only Jewish thing you will find in Shenzhen, and they do have minyanim (almost always) on Shabbat, but not always during the week.  No Mikvah here… must travel to the mikvah in Hong Kong.  To get to the Chabad, go to www.chabadshenzhen.org and print out their address to show to a taxi driver in Chinese.  Most people here won’t speak any English.  The building, while I was there, didn’t have any signage that it held Chabad inside, so my advice would be to contact the Chabad beforehand and ask for help.

✈ Keeping Kosher in Beijing, China

Contributed by: Gavi Lewy-Neuman | Last Date of Travel: October 2008

Kosher Info:

There are 2 Chabad centers in Beijing.  The main Chabad house is located in the Chaoyang District, in the northern area, whereas the smaller Chabad center is further south from there (both in the east of Beijing).  I only visited the larger of the 2 centers. There is a kosher restaurant in the same vicinity, called Dini’s Restaurant.  (Note: there is an Israeli restaurant almost next door to Dini’s, and even though it has Hebrew writing on the sign, it is NOT kosher).  The restaurant is meat and delicious and fairly priced.  You may order food “to-go” there.  The Shabbat meals, both Friday night and Shabbat day are eaten in the restaurant as well (not at the Chabad house!).  Go to www.kosherbeijing.com for Restaurant info.

There is a supermarket “chain” (there are at least 2 of them) in Beijing called Jenny Lou’s, and they sell a ton of American products, many of which are kosher.  They even have kosher soy milk there.  I believe there is another supermarket called “Super Center” that also sells a lot of American products.  Exact information can be received from contacts at Chabad.

Suggestion: Bring your own packaged soups that just require added hot water.  A main part of the Chinese culture is soup, and on-the-go most Chinese people will have “cup-of-soup” equivalents, and to cater to that, hot water is available everywhere, even on long distance trains. This goes for everywhere in China. Traditions soups (and its equivalents) will be very helpful in China.

Tourist Info:

Beijing has extensive subway system great for getting around, and any trip, no matter destination costs only 2 Yuan.  The subway is preferable to on road travel due to lots of constant road congestion.

There is plenty to see in Beijing and its surrounding areas.  I would suggest not to miss the Great Wall of China (any part will do – Badaling is the most touristy, and easiest to get to by public transport), The Forbidden City/Tienanmen’s Square (a private guide of the audio guide is well worth the investment – both can be picked up right outside the entrance), and the Olympic village.  Having just hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing exhibits great pride in that fact, and the Olympic village, home to the National Stadium (or “Bird’s Nest”) and the Water Cube… all well deserving of a visit.  Get there before 3pm to ensure the ability to buy an entrance ticket to the Water Cube, and before 5pm for the Bird’s Nest.  There is lots more to choose from – read up about it and choose for yourself! Lonely Planet has been a very useful guidebook to lead me around Beijing.

Jewish Info:

Visit www.chabadbeijing.com for full details.  The main chabad has minyanim on shabbat (most of the time) and sometimes during the week.  There is a Mikvah located by the Jewish School about 30 minutes from town (get details from the Chabad family).   Get directions in Chinese and English on the website, and print it out to show to a taxi driver.  The website will also show places to stay within walking distance nearby.  No youth hostels are really within walking distance under an hour, but there is a budgeted hotel called the Home Inn closer by.  The whole Chabad family, including the children really add to the atmosphere and they are very welcoming.  The re are currently 3 Chabadnik girls brought in from France to help with the Shlichut and they too are very much a part of the community.   Chabad Beijing = a really wonderful experience!