The Kosher Food Festival will take place this year on the Argaman Boardwalk in Netanya on Tuesday – Thursday, August 17-19th, between 18:00-23:00 (6-11pm).
Dozens of kosher restaurants will be participating with portions at ₪ 15-25 NIS.
Check out one of our author’s post on Netanya:
http://yeahthatskosher.com/2008/12/netanya-israel/
Source: http://www.janglo.net
Contributed by: Michelle Szpilzinger | Last Visited: June 2010
Kosher Info: Nice has a small Jewish community and a few restaurants and kosher shops. There are two good and mostly (but not entirely) accurate sites that list kosher places in France. One is 123 Kosher and the other is Kosher in France. As with almost all of Europe, most places close during midday.
I have made a Google Map showing all of the restaurants and shops that I know about. The ones that don’t have numbers are ones I didn’t get a chance to check and make sure still exist. If you see a listing for something called “Anat” I can tell you firsthand that it either doesn’t exist or has moved to a different address that isn’t listed. I was also in the area where something called “Le Keter” would have been and didn’t see it.
There is a previous entry about Nice that gives a nice review of Chez Arthur, but even though it was right next door to our hotel, we didn’t get a chance to eat there. We did pick up croissants every day at Le Kineret. They also carry other breads, pastries, and takeout and have a small (meat) restaurant in the back.
We went to Le Leviathan for lunch on our first day in Nice and they informed us that they only had pizza at that time. This was fine as the pizza was delicious. A few days later we had dinner there and got tuna steaks and salmon fillets. All of it was excellent and very reasonably priced.
Lechem Chamaym is the Chabad restaurant and it’s also very good and reasonably priced. The pasta was excellent and they had crepe desserts. When we went there we also inquired about meals for Shabbat and they were able to set us up for both meals.
For those in need of ice cream, there is a Haagen Dazs cafe in a pedestrian zone on the corner of Rue Massena and Rue Magenta that has a freezer with packaged bars that have an OU.
The hotel we stayed in was Hotel Aria, right next door to Chez Arthur. We chose it because they use regular keys so there is no worry for Shabbat, though the front door is automatic. If you’re there for Shabbat just tell the staff and they will make sure to open the door for you manually to get in to the building. The hotel is in an older building and is not what one would call lavish, but if you just want someplace serviceable to sleep and don’t plan to spend a lot of time in the hotel, it’s fine. The rooms do have small fridges.
Tourist Info:Nice is a beautiful city with an Italian flare, having only joined France in 1860. The Old Town has the colorful buildings and narrow streets one would expect to see in any Italian city. The beach is beautiful (but rocky — no sand here) and anyone in Nice should take a relaxing stroll along the beachfront promenade called the Boulevard des Anglais. Be forewarned — this is the south of France, and some women do go topless on the beach. But if you stay on the promenade and don’t look down to the beach itself, you can avoid seeing anything you don’t want to. There is also an excellent Chagall Museum as well as a Matisse Museum, both easily reachable by bus. Near the Matisse Museum is an archaeology museum with some Roman ruins for Ancient Rome aficionados (although some of them are currently closed and can only be seen through the window of the museum.) For the kosher traveler, Nice makes an excellent base from which to explore the French Riviera as Monaco, Antibes, Cannes, Villefranche sur Mer, and other sites are only a short train or bus ride away.
Jewish Info: Nice has a small, quiet Jewish community. We didn’t really encounter much outside of Chabad and at the kosher shops and restaurants.
The hotel we stayed in was Hotel Aria, right next door to Chez Arthur. We chose it because they use regular keys so there is no worry for Shabbat, though the front door is automatic. If you’re there for Shabbat just tell the staff and they will make sure to open the door for you manually to get in to the building. The hotel is in an older building and is not what one would call lavish, but if you just want someplace serviceable to sleep and don’t plan to spend a lot of time in the hotel, it’s fine. The rooms do have small fridges.
Anyone needing Shabbat meals should contact Chabad.
If you want to stay in for Shabbat and have a place to keep and refrigerate food, the kosher groceries listed have deli, cheeses, wine, snacks, etc.
Contributed by Jay Yudie Akselrud | Last Date of Travel: July 2010
Kosher Info: You’re on your own here. No kosher restaurants in Greenville, South Carolina or in the vicinity to save you the trouble of making your own meal. Don’t fret. You will not go hungry. There are plenty of supermarkets that have the basic kosher foods: milk, cereal, tuna, coffee, pasta, frozen vegetables. There is even kosher pastrami at Costco, so its not the end of the world. I would recommend finding Publix and Wal-Mart in the vicinity. There are several around town.
Travel Info: As far as visiting Greenville, it’s actually not a bad place. There is a very beautiful downtown park and waterfall. The town built a park that goes above the Reedy River, which is quite nice. There is also a minor league baseball team, and in the fall, a minor league hockey team will be in town. There is a zoo and a lot of parks for sports. Tennis, softball and the like.
Jewish Info: There is a Chabad house in Greenville, but there is only a service one Shabbat a month. Only the Rabbi is orthodox and there are approximately 300-400 Jewish families, so a minyan during the week almost never takes place. They just started building the mikvah this summer (2010).
Contributed by: Matt Erlandsen | Author resides in Santiago, Chile
Kosher Info:
When it comes to think about kashrut in this corner of the world, you won’t believe that Chile actually has a wide array of places to dine out. The cuisine varies with options from sushi houses to Mexican food to shwarma and pizza.
Falafel Asly was the first kosher restaurant to open in Santiago, and in Chile. Carmit Tzabari, its owner, supervises and keeps the store placed in front of the Estadio Israelita (Av. Las Condes #8400) that looks like a typical small fast food restaurant in the Middle East. The flavours that it offers, a fusion of Arab-Israeli food, are the same as those found in the streets of Jerusalem. The specialty is the famous Falafel Asly (CLP$1,750, about USD$4), that’s pita bread stuffed with chickpea fritters, hummus, cabbage, carrot, cucumber and tomato salad dressed pure Israeli taste dressings.
It opens Sunday through Thursday 11am to 10pm. Friday 11am to 4pm and. Saturday closed in honor of Shabbos. Kashrut is under the supervision of Rabbi Itzjak Shaked of Chofetz Chaim Synagogue (Av. Quinchamali #14159, Las Condes).
Another fleishig restaurant to visit in Las Condes area is Mi Refugio Food Store (Camino a Farellones #14345 local 2, Las Condes). Only a couple of blocks away from Aish HaTorah (San José de la Sierra #070, Lo Barnechea) and Chofetz Chaim Synagogues and right in the bottom of Los Andes mountain, public will be able to try several different dishes including French fries, hamburgers and soy sausages all served in a very Chilean style. Its pareve ice-creams and deserts are famous among the orthodox community and a absolute must. Ernesto Vareshtein (Argentinian and also the owner of another 2 brand new kosher restaurants in Santiago) keeps the store updated in terms of hechsher, showing the framed certificate behind the till.
Kashrut is under the supervision of Rabbi Avraham Horowitz, of Aish HaTorah and Principal of Maimonides School.
Further information can be found here (only in Spanish).
Travel Info:
Santiago is a safe, clean and modern European city in South America. Local people love to feel proud of that. With a wide mix of Spaniard, Italian, Croatian, Yugoslavian, German, British, and French roots, the Jewish heritage is not very present in the daily routine. Besides a huge menorah lit by Chabad in front of the Hyatt Hotel every Channukah, there’s not other Jewish milestone in the city.
If you are on your way to Easter Island or the Patagonia, you’ll probably like to make a stop over in Santiago and enjoy a 48 hours tour.
Santiago has a safe and a almost-brand-new transport system that interconnects the subway and all the buses running across the city. If you wish to ride the public transport, you’ll need to get a Bip! prepaid card at any ticket booth in the Metro Stations.
To start visiting this city you’ll probably want to do so by Palacio de La Moneda (La Moneda metro station, Red Line 1). The courtyard of the Presidential house of Chile is very easy to enter and there are awesome sculptures by Chilean artists worth seeing. Tours of the inside of the building need to be planned in advance. Be sure to toss a coin into the fountain and make a wish.
After that, the tourist can walk eastbound across Alameda Avenue and reach the Santa Lucía hill, where the city was founded by Pedro de Valdivia in XVI century. This hill takes 15-20 minutes to climb and provides another sweet view of the city. There are various murals, statues, lookouts and ponds hidden all over the Cerro, and multiple ways to get to the peak.
La Chascona, one of the 3 homes of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, the place is decorated with an incredible collection of anything you can imagine from all over the world and is also host to his Nobel Prize. There are rooms designed to create the feeling that you are on a ship, and there are some great views of the city.
One of the more bohemian streets in Santiago is Lastarria street in downtown (centro) area, go for a stroll at night and pick from one of the many restaurants or cafés to eat at. During the day/evening, there are a few street vendors that cater to the more sophisticated crowd, like the guy who sells original prints of historic Chilean newspaper editions (including the first report of the 1973 military coup). You can also head towards Museo Bellas Artes from here and there are even more mid-upper range restaurants, cafés and bars to chose from.
The ultimate nightlife sector of Santiago is also very centrally located in Bellavista. Tons of bars (for drinking), and discotecas (for dancing and drinking). There is also plenty to do here during the day, but be on your guard at night as there are many drunks and people looking to take advantage of outsiders.
You cannot miss Sanhattan/El Golf: Get off the metro at stops Tobalaba or El Golf to see the modern second financial center of Santiago.There is some great architecture here and awesome sculptures all around, including a series of painted horses down the main drag, walk thourgh Apoquindo or Isidora Goyenechea avenues eastbound.
The Sculpture Park, along the banks of the not so beautiful Mapocho River running through Santiago lies a tranquil park with about 30 sculptures made by Chilean artists. This is a gem of the city that I have never seen talked about in English guides to Santiago. Make sure to check out the concerts in the park in summer months (January-March). Get there from metro Pedro de Valdivia station, walk north on Pedro de Valdivia street to the other side of the river and it’ll be on your right hand side. Ask anyone for “Parque de Esculturas” if you feel lost.
Daniel Segal is among the few (maybe the only one) organizing kosher tours in Chile. For further information, feel free to write to segaldaniel[at]gmail[dot]com.
Jewish Info:
When you think in Chile, you probably think about the last corner of the world. In some aspects, that’s right. The small Jewish orthodox community over there isn’t bigger than maybe 200 families spread over five frum shuls (there are a lot more conservative and reformist temples) and only one daily school -and its conservative counterpart.
Tags: jewish chile, jewish santiago, jewish travel, kosher chile, kosher santiago, kosher travel
As we know, eating meat is considered festive and therefore forbidden (without a siyum) during the 9 days. Thus, many meat restaurants have created special pareve (non meat or dairy) menus to stay open during the 9 Days. To learn more about why we don’t eat meat (or drink wine) during the Nine Days, click here. (Thank you to Great Kosher Restaurants for compiling this list)
Be aware that most of the links below will open PDF files.
(UPDATE: See the comments section below for more restaurants, please comment if you have restaurants to add)
NEW YORK
MANHATTAN
BROOKLYN
LONG ISLAND
NEW ROCHELLE
NEW JERSEY
PHILADELPHIA, PA
MIAMI BEACH, FL
SKOKIE, IL
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA
MONTREAL, QC
Contributed by: Nicole Zetler | Last Date of Travel: April 2010
Kosher Info: The Jewish ‘centre’ of Uganda is found just outside the town of Mbale (about 4 hour drive from the capital city , Kampala). The Abayudaya community practice Kashrut, and have a kosher ‘supermarket’ in their vicinity. All meat is slaughtered according to the Kashrut laws and is supervised by the local Rabbi. There is also a guest house that can be visited for overnight stays. 
The community keep Shabbat and it is common for visitors to spend Shabbat with the community – going to the shul and having traditional Shabbat meals with the community members. The community also celebrate all the Jewish festivals and if the necessary kosher food items are not available, it will be sourced from relevant locations (e.g. for Pesach, matzah was imported from the USA).
Travel Info: Once dubbed the “Pearl of Africa” by Winston Churchill at the turn of the 20th century, Uganda is not only rich in resources, but also a tropical and scenic place that offers travelers a beautiful adventure. Popular tourist activities include going on Gorilla safaris, standing across the Equator line, visiting the source of the Nile River in the town of Jinja; and Bujagali falls. Kampala is the capital and the main business hub.
Most of the country is dedicated to some form of agriculture which makes the country very green and lush. Ugandans are generally very hospitable, gentle and kind people. They like to socialize and there are many pubs and clubs open to all hours of the night.
Although most of my travel in Uganda has been for business purposes, it is a great destination for tourism. While visiting the Mbale area for work I contacted one of the Abayudaya community members who showed me around the Jewish area. His name is Samson Shadrak and can be contacted on sbshadrak@yahoo.co.uk. His tour company is called Shalom Tours Uganda available on http://www.shalomtoursuganda.com
Being in East Africa, it is also very closely situated to other tourist hubs like Kenya (about 1 hour via air travel) and Tanzania.
Bujagali Falls
Jewish Info: The Abayudaya (Luganda term for “People of Judah”) are a community near the town of Mbale, Uganda who practice Judaism. Although these Ugandan Jews are not historically related to other ethnic Jews, they are recognized by most sects of Conservative and Reform Jews. The Abayudaya are more than 1000 members strong and are devout in their Jewish practice – keeping Shabbat and kashrut; following all the Jewish festivals and traditions; reading and writing Hebrew; and having regular Shiurim etc.
The Abayudaya owes its origin to military leader Semei Kakungulu (the current High School is named after him). Upon studying the Bible, Kakungulu came to believe that the laws described in the Old Testament were true and started following Jewish practices. In particular, in 1919 Kakungulu circumcised his sons and himself and declared that his community was Jewish. In 1920, a foreign Jew known as “Yosef” (he had European roots) arrived and taught the Abayudaya community about Judaism for approximately 6 months; and also brought the Jewish calendar and its festivals into the community, as well as the Kashrut laws.
Main Synagogue in Uganda
During the rule of Idi Amin, the community isolated themselves for self protection as Amin had outlawed Jewish rituals and destroyed synagogues. In 2002, approximately 400 community members were formally converted to the conservative branch of Judaism. Today, most of the community lives around the Moses Synagogue on Nabugoye Hill outside Mbale town with Rabbi Gershom Sizomu as the spiritual leader and head of the community Yeshiva (he was ordained as a Conservative Rabbi in 2008 after graduating from the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, California).
Rabbi & Nicole (author of this post)
Jewish HS
Ugandan Yeshiva Students
Apart from the Moses Synagogue, community institutions include:
I spotted this article shared on the JewishJournal site. Thought it was worth sharing. If you find out about similar “Kosher Travel” news, please let us know.
A hotel with a kosher restaurant has opened in a southwestern Ukrainian town.
The Under the Temple hotel in Ivano-Frankovsk, near the town synagogue, is the first kosher hotel in the western part of the country, where many former Jewish regions are located.
The hotel’s 11 rooms are decorated with artifacts of Jewish culture and everyday life.
Food production at the Tsimmes restaurant is under the supervision of the region’s Chief Rabbi Moshe Kolesnik.
Before World War II, Ivano-Frankovsk was home to seven Chasidic leaders. Many of the tourists who come to the area from all over the world are descendants of the Jews who lived in the area, called Ruthenia, before the war.
Contributed by: Dani Klein | Last Date of Visit: November 2009
Kosher Info: Buenos Aires (a.k.a. BsAs) has the largest Jewish community in Latin America, so it is not shocking that we found plenty of kosher food throughout the city. Argentina is known the world over for their meat, kosher and non-kosher, and the rumors are true … Argentinian meat is amazing. Compared with American beef, Argentinian cattle are not fed corn, but rather grass which is what they should be eating, making for better meat.
Whilst spending a week in Buenos Aires, my wife and I got to experience some of the amazing culinary delights that Buenos Aires has to offer the kosher traveler. Before diving into the tasty treats that BsAs has to offer, it is important to note the late night eating out atmosphere that permeates the culture of the city. Most of the kosher restaurants are open relatively late, especially compared to wherever you’re from … even New York. 
Basically anything kosher in Argentina is covered by the Ajdut Kosher supervision, run by Rabino (Rabbi) Daniel Oppenheimer, who we had the pleasure of meeting. Rabbi Oppenheimer also helped us find accommodations for Shabbat.
There was one restaurant that we ate at twice, since it was by far the best (and most expensive – but nothing compared to what it would’ve cost in NY!): ASIAN Grill Fusion Steak House located in the Palermo neighborhood. First of all, the restaurant is beautiful and modern. When you are seated they give you a shot, typically fresh fruit juices mixed with vodka. Both nights we went the shots were delicious! From there, the freshly made dips and breads were amazing, and the eclectic options on the menu tantalized our eyes and palates. 
Back to back evenings we enjoyed 2 different sweet bread appetizers. While most people think that sweet breads are cow brains, they are actually glands in the cow’s neck. 
Both appetizers were amazing, and so different from what we’re used to.
The steaks at Asian were unbelievable! Massive, juicy, delicious steaks rival any I’ve ever had. They were savory, tasty and so big that I couldn’t finish either of them in one sitting. I definitely recommend visiting Asian. It is a great place for a date or just an amazing evening! Address: Cordoba 5288 Tel: 4116-5507/3399
Other places that we ate at were also really good. One evening we tried out El Galope in the Once neighborhood (the heart of the industrial garment district, where there are many Jewish businesses and restaurants). Be aware of your surroundings in this neighborhood in the evening. This restaurant is reviewed by Frommer’s travel guides. It is described as the epitome of an Argentine parrilla (steak house), with Middle Eastern flavors. We were forewarned that the service in the restaurant is awful, and it was, but the food and prices were well worth it. Our steaks were thick and juicy (although not as tasty as Asian’s steaks). 
The papas fritas (French Fries) were good, but did not come with ketchup. In fact, the restaurant didn’t even carry ketchup at all! Address: Tucumán 2637 Tel: 4963-6888
Another favorite was Dashi, a chain of sushi restaurants that has one kosher branch in Palermo Soho. We ordered a mix of sushi rolls and pasta. The salmon roll topped with guacamole was deliciously interesting, and our second roll had mango, salmon, and warm fried cheese which was one of the tastiest rolls of sushi I’ve ever had! Please keep in mind that only the Dashi branch at Salguero 2643 in Palermo Soho is kosher. You will see the “AK” symbol on the window. Tel: 4807-0633
While we ate at a few more places, I don’t want to leave out the Kosher McDonald’s in the Abasto Shopping Mall. We arrived in the mall on Friday after 2pm (Shabbat started after 7pm) and the McDonald’s was already closed, so we tried El Pasaje Express. 
We had some empanadas, each were filled with different vegetables and cheeses. We didn’t enjoy this as much.
Saturday night we headed back to the mall to have our kosher McDonald’s fix. What we experienced was delicious but very different type of fast food meat. The burgers are fried, not grilled, so the taste is definitely different. Our ‘Double McNifica’ which is basically a double burger with all the veggies, was good, but not as filling as we would’ve hoped. We ordered Chicken McNuggets, which were really good, to help fill us up. 
Watch our video on the Kosher McDonalds in Buenos Aires on Jewish Travel TV. Address: Abasto Shopping Mall Av. Corrientes 3247 Tel: 4959-5137
For kosher snacks found all over Buenos Aires, you’ll find Freddo Ice Cream. Majority of their flavors are kosher certified by Ajdut Kosher. The kosher flavors will have a “AK” next to them to make it easy for you while ordering. 
The ice cream is more like a gelatto, something we can’t really find kosher in the U.S. The flavors are more robust and the texture is much thicker than ice cream in North America. It is definitely worth a try.
Here is a near full listing of the eating out options for the kosher traveler in Buenos Aires:
Restaurants
Pizza / Small Dairy Places
Bakeries
Ice Cream
Travel Info:
Buenos Aires is a vast and exciting city, and is referred by many as the “Paris of the South”, although don’t mention that to the locals. The city is a happening metropolis with both expensive, fancy neighborhoods, as well as poor, rundown barrios. Every guide and local we encountered had warned us about specific neighborhoods to avoid, watch out for pickpockets – which apparently are common, and just be aware of our general surroundings at night. In our week spent in BsAs, we thankfully didn’t have any specific issues to worry about.
A few notable things you will notice about the city: Costs, Tango, and Art.
The costs of most things in BsAs are really cheap or really expensive, depending on whether you’re buying something local or imported. For Americans & Europeans, and even Israelis & Australians, your currency will go very far in Argentina, especially for those seeking to live on a shoestring budget.
Tango is played up throughout the city, with numerous theaters or dinner halls hosting nightly shows. From our discussions with the locals, this does not compare to a Broadway show in New York. Tango shows are mainly attended by tourists. While tango is a favorite past time for the city’s residents, the areas where you’ll find the locals dancing, aren’t always the safest.
Between the architecture and numerous art stores and museums, BsAs is an art lovers dream (if only your suitcase can hold all the art you want to buy).
Here are a few neighborhoods worth checking out:
It is worth mentioning a specific store in this area, “Silvia y Mario“, which is a Jewish owned leather goods store. We met the owners and they gave us a tour of their shop. If you’re into leather goods – jackets, pants, bags, rugs, gloves, belts, wallets, etc., it is definitely worth a visit to this shop!
DAY TRIPS from Buenos Aires
Jewish Info:
Although the Jewish population in Buenos Aires is shrinking, it remains the largest Jewish community in Latin America, with over a quarter million Jews.
We spent our Shabbat in Recoleta and found the Chabad house (Bet Jabad) in the neighborhood. Before our stay, we contacted the Chief Rabbi of Argentina, Rabbi Daniel Oppenheimer, who was extremely friendly and helpful and set us up with 2 families for the Shabbat meals. The Jews in BsAs were very friendly and welcoming. Since our Spanish wasn’t too great, and many Jews did not speak English too well either, we conversed in a mix of Hebrew – English – Spanish. The younger generation, however, has a stronger knowledge of the English language.
Belgrano is a wealthier Jewish neighborhood with some restaurants of it’s own. Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to visit the area, but we were told it is very nice.
Another very Jewish neighborhood is Once (pronounced OWN-say), which has many shuls and kosher restaurants. The Jewish Community Center, AMIA, which was bombed by terrorists in 1994, is located in the Once neighborhood, and is heavily guarded. You can request special guided tours of the building, which I do recommend. You’ll be able to learn a lot more about the history of the building, and of Jewish Argentinian history. The one thing you will notice about the Jewish community in Once, in contrast to the Jews in Recoleta & Belgrano, it is poor.
Click here for a Synagogue directory in Buenos Aires.
Here’s a list of Mikvahs in the city:
