21683 Wed Oct 16 20:17:13 -0700 2002 15 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 78846 I'm hoping that some transplanted New Yorkers are in the bay area and can guide me to the kind of food I grew up with: food like I'd find in a good Jewish delicatessen or kosher-style restaurant in the New York area. The restaurant I'm seeking would offer any or all of the following: sit down restaurant or take-out deli hot corned beef and brisket crusty rye bread fresh onion rolls knishes kreplach latkes matzoh ball soup bialys pickled lox smoked whitefish Dr. Brown's soda (Cel-ray tonic!) apple strudel rugelach My home base in southern Oregon is a little tough, food-wise, on a former New Yorker. Mostly there seems to be a lot of beef jerky, which is offered as an impulse item at most cash registers. I'm afraid that wasn't introduced to me at the proper age for me to consider it comfort food. There oughta be tasty Jewish food somewhere in the bay area... Let me know! Wed Oct 16 20:17:13 -0700 2002 0 Deborah-Miriam 1 78848 Whoops! My first search didn't show any threads on Jewish food. Now that I've posted, I found a whole slew of old posts... Go figure. Mentioned on the board: East Coast West, SF Brothers Deli, Burlingame Moishe's Pipick, SF Saul's Deli, Berkeley Let me know if there are any other places to add to this list. Wed Oct 16 20:38:09 -0700 2002 78846 0 Deborah-Miriam 2 78857 It has a bit of a chain atmosphere, but you can also try Max's Diner on 3d (near Harrison, I think?) -- pretty good Matzoh Ball soup and decent pastrami (generous portions). I don't think they have things like kreplach, though. Wed Oct 16 21:38:19 -0700 2002 78848 0 Zach Georgopoulos 3 78858 It's worth noting that there are considerable differences between the various Max's locations. The one in Stanford Shopping Center tries to be fat-free which makes the food taste terrible. I'd also mention House of Bagels. I've only been to the San Rafael one recently. Wed Oct 16 21:40:33 -0700 2002 78857 0 Melanie Wong 4 78866 The cynic in me says stay on I-5 and skip the Bay Area turnoff and proceed about 400 miles further south and you can go to Art's in Studio City or Nate 'N Al's in Beverly Hills or Junior's near Westwood or ... The food I've had at East Coast West--pastrami, corned beef--was good, if not great. Its atmosphere is nothing like an East Coast deli. It's a bright, open California room with a relatively friendly staff of servers. Nice place, but not exactly New York style. It has both an eat in and take out section. Saul's is mostly eat in, though it does take out as well. It's the closest I've seen in the region to the "look and feel" of a New York deli, and the food is pretty good. But it doesn't quite feel the same for reasons I can't immediately identify. Lack of spiciness of meat? Look of the crowd? Max's in Oakland City Center is pricey and seems to have gone seriously downhill--my gristly sandwich the last time I ate there persuaded me not to go back. Thu Oct 17 01:04:12 -0700 2002 78858 0 Nathan Landau 5 78877 Did you all see the article in yesterday's NYTimes comparing New York deli's to LA deli's? I think the problem/issue is that people do not use the deli as the same institution any more, nor I guess in a way, are their the same characters, "sportsman", theater agents, one-liners, hard boiled columnists, molls, etc. left that gave the color to deli's. Except, it appears, in LA, where a bit of schmooze still lingers. The food may remain the same, but the setting may be gone. Thu Oct 17 11:31:31 -0700 2002 78866 0 Vital Information 6 78884 I question how well even the food made it across the Mississippi. Thu Oct 17 11:59:00 -0700 2002 78877 0 Greg 7 78903 Why is it that some insist that Jewish food can only be obtained on the east coast, preferentially in NYC. The New York Times article yesterday had LA deli operators dismissing the idea of New York water producing better bagels. They admitted that they obtained their smoked and pickled fishes from the east, but as these products do not require immediate consumption, does it affect the resturant as to where the food comes from. I still insist that what is missing so often from the deli experence, including in New York, is the deli experence. The food is the same. Thu Oct 17 14:43:57 -0700 2002 78884 0 Vital Information 8 78936 Not even close. Deli food is not measured by bagels but by pastrami, chopped liver, stuffed derma, and Knish Nosh knishes that appear not to lose their flavor when transported over the east river from Forest Hills. Thu Oct 17 23:48:24 -0700 2002 78903 0 Greg 4 78881 Last year I had a business breakfast at Max's in Corte Madera. I've had better breakfasts at Denny's on the other side of the Freeway. Cheaper, too. Max's however does have that look of a place designed for business get togethers, which Denny's sure doesn't. As for House of Bagels in San Rafael, it seems to prove the old adage that there are bread bakeries and then there are pastry bakeries. Don't order sweet rolls there. Thu Oct 17 11:52:11 -0700 2002 78858 0 Sharuf 2 78928 Had wonderful corned beef sandwiches at Max's Opera House recently, and my parents (NY natives who now live in Florida - is that typical or what?) enjoyed Max's in Burlingame where they ate with another native NY'er. Thu Oct 17 21:39:57 -0700 2002 78848 0 Barbara 1 78849 Good luck. If you find anything close to the second ave deli, let all of us know. Wed Oct 16 20:49:20 -0700 2002 78846 0 Greg 1 78861 When I moved to SF in the fifties, there were a number of pretty good Jewish delis...not like upper Bdwy, but pretty good. David's was a hot spot...7 or 8 stools, and you had to stand behind one to get a seat...then like the rest, downhill. David Apfelbaum himself was there, serving everyone. Then Solomon's opened down the street, and there was competition. There was Diller's on McAlister near Filmore...and a few others. Something happened...all of a sudden, by the seventies, there were no more good delis around. No blintzes, no knishes, no kreplach...just dreck. I understand the new place on Polk is pretty good, but I haven't tried it. We used to have places like the Stage and Carnegie...but no more. Let's revolt!! Wed Oct 16 23:14:03 -0700 2002 78846 0 Jim H. 2 78865 While you are reminiscing, don't forget Shenson's on Geary (in the Avenues). Great bagels as I recall, plus the usual sandwiches. Thu Oct 17 00:14:11 -0700 2002 78861 0 Gary Soup 1 78872 For years, San Franciscans (including myself) have been complaining about the lack of a good Jewish deli. Now we finally have one and noone talks about it much. I have eaten at East Coast West roughly 20 times and have had mostly very good experiences. I usually order the Potato Pancake Delight which is 2 latkes covered with pastrami or corned beef or both. They have all different kinds of smoked and pickled fish as well as Dr. Browns (I don't think cel-ray though). This isn't the ultimate deli but its so much better than anything we have had here for a while. Let's not take it for granted. Thu Oct 17 02:34:00 -0700 2002 78846 0 notmichaelbauer 2 78913 They do have Cel-Ray there. They also have a huuuge menu that includes non-deli items like fried chicken, but don't let that put you off. The pastrami, brisket and latkes are quite good -- and so are the fries. Thu Oct 17 17:02:43 -0700 2002 78872 0 Juniper