Comments on: Bostonians in Philly

By: David

David — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 18:08:02 +0000

The Wegman’s in Hunt Valley, MD (near Baltimore) has a “kosher section” that sells deli and prepared foods without supervision. It is operated and overseen by non-Jews. I’m surprised that they haven’t been sued.

By: Harlan

Harlan — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 12:01:36 +0000

The Princeton Wegman’s once had an expanded Kosher Selection however, it seems that the market did not support the section. That said, they still have quite a number of kosher products though not as many fresh ones (e.g. fresh meat). One overlooked area is the Mexican products area. A suprising number of those products actually have hashgacha.

The ShopRite farther down Route 1 was constructed after the Wegman Kosher pull back. It seems that the “World Class ShopRite’s” model is to include the Kosher Experiene section in all their new stores. Kudos to the ownership and mgt team in that regard.

By: Howard

Howard — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 23:50:33 +0000

Interestingly enough, the Wegmans in Princeton, NJ has a rather limited selection of Kosher stuff - and much of that is of the Hebrew National variety (note, I’m implying that Hebrew National might be considered Kosher… let the flame wars begin :-)

Thankfully, the ShopRite just a mile down the road from the Wegmans has a lovely Kosher Experience which has kept my freezer nicely stocked through my soon-to-end sojourn in Central NJ.

By: Allan

Allan — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 04:17:39 +0000

I grew up in South Jersey and now live here in the Boston area. We used to go to Levittown, PA, to get Kosher meat and then most of the places moved to the Northeast. Once the ShopRites in NJ started expanding the Kosher meat selection, and finally with the Kosher Experience, it’s made things easier.

A similar experience can be had at Wegmans. The new Wegmans in Mt. Laurel/Moorestown has great Kosher stuff and is similar to the stores I went to in Rochester and Syracuse when I was up there working for a customer. For those who can’t always get to the Kosher Experience which is more like the Butcherie in terms of being a full fledged Kosher supermarket, Wegmans does a great job.

I’ve been hoping Wegmans would expand into Boston. Shaws and Stop & Shop vary (for example, the S&S in Swampscott kicks butt in terms of a Kosher selection; the Shaws on Comm Ave and the one in West Newton have decent frozen sections). None come close to ShopRite (even the ones w/o the Kosher Experience) or Wegmans.

As someone who can’t always get to Brookline and travels a lot for work, I wish that there was some place closer to Waltham/Newton. I remember the Delitizer and I miss that place.

By: Neil Rosenbaum

Neil Rosenbaum — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 00:54:09 +0000

What are the best Kosher Restaurants, Bakeries, and Stores in Philadelphia?

Kosher Community Surveys has finally come to Philadelphia. To share your opinion, go to the following link:
http://philadelphia.kosher-community-surveys.com. A report of the full results will be distributed to the community.

Feel free to e-mail me at philadelphia@kosher-community-surveys.com if you have any questions.

By: Neil Rosenbaum

Neil Rosenbaum — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 01:08:18 +0000

I wanted to let you all know that Kosher Community Surveys will be conducting a Philadelphia area kosher survey starting in September. If you would like to be contacted when the survey opens, e-mail me at philadelphia@kosher-community-surveys.com.

By: Alan Rothenberg

Alan Rothenberg — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:56:57 +0000

Forgot to mention that I’m looking forward to shopping the Butcherie on my trip to Cambridge and Brookline next week!

By: Alan Rothenberg

Alan Rothenberg — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:56:06 +0000

Your experience in Phila. is about right. Philadelphia has always struggled with having decent kosher resturants - they seem to come and go, especially because the food is often lousy or the service barely tolerable. There’s often this sense from kosher resturant owners that you should patronize them simply because they’re kosher - no matter how bad the place is. Philadelphia - certainly Center City - doesn’t have enough of a “I’ll only eat at supervised resturants” community to sustain a lousy place. The resturants need to attract non-kosher consumers to survive - by having good food well served, kosher or not.

Maxim’s is pretty consistent in their inconsistency. The food is usually good, the service hit or miss. They get their kabobs and sausages from a local butcher called Simon’s (6926 Bustleton Avenue - no website - Vaad supervision). The folks at Simon’s are very nice and tell me they do a lot of mail order business for their sausages. (Try the Moroccan sausages on the grill!) We shop there all the time. You can’t get out of there without “Mrs. Simon” (don’t know her real name) giving you some of their homemade coldcuts “as a little nosh”.

The kosher veg. Chinese places are all under Conservative supervision. My family likes Singapore (1006 Race St.) more than Cherry St. Their soups are very good.

By: Leo Keil

Leo Keil — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 14:19:37 +0000

Of the places mentioned here, only Maxim and the ShopRite Kosher Experience are under supervision that is generally accepted by the frum community.

By the way, if you’re ever in downtown Philadelphia, try the falafel at Mama’s Vegetarian (http://www.mamasvegetarian.com) at 18 South 20th Street. Many find it even better than Rami’s.

By: nonmevushalmarc

nonmevushalmarc — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 22:29:44 +0000

David - There are three or four kosher Chinese vegetarian restaurants in Philly. They are all within a block or two of each other. I know that there are some under Conservative hashgacha (Cherry St. and Kingdom of Vegetarians are under the Rabbinical Assembly, Philadelphia Branch), but I’m not sure about others.