Cashrewt Alert

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

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

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

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?

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?

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!

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!