Thursday's For the Only Kosher Jewish Restaurant in the City, Go To Chinatown?

Being Jewish and from Los Angeles, I'm used to many deli options. When I moved to San Francisco to go to college, I discovered a woefully few numbers of delis for a city this size. In those days there were a few sprinkled around the city, then people's eating habits changed. The idea of having a ten-inch-high slab of corned beef on a slice of challah began to appeal less to the new macrobiotic-dieting, health-conscious people moving to the city. Then the pandemic hit, and in short succession they all closed.

The Sabra Grill

Unlike east coast and European cities, Jews were not Ghettoized in San Francisco like the Chinese were. That's not to say there wasn't antisemitism, and still is, but Jews have been woven into the fabric of San Francisco history since the Gold Rush. Jews like other ethnicities came to find their fortune in gold along with thousands of others with the same desire.

Prominent Jewish San Franciscans like Levi Strauss (the guy who invented the Demin jeans you are wearing right now), Donald Fisher (founder of The Gap, where you probably bought those jeans, you are wearing right now) and the late Senator Dianne Feinstein contributed to the development of the city.

As Jews did not face the antisemitism as they had in many other cities, the need to create a cohesive community was less necessary, and as a result San Francisco does not have a Fairfax District like Los Angeles or a Skokie near Chicago.

Yet through all the evolving demographics and dietary changes, one variable has been consistent in this equation: The Sabra Grill.

Ironically located in the most touristy part of Chinatown, for three decades they have been the only Glatt Kosher restaurant in the city and the only one with a Mashgiach on the premises. In fact, many religious Jews visiting the city (and some who already live in San Francisco) would preorder kosher meals for Shabbat dinner, which they’d bring back to their hotel rooms (or homes) before sundown.

Their menu caters to Ashkenazi, Sephardic and Middle Eastern tastes, but isn't so weird that anyone can enjoy a meal without having to ask the waiter to explain the menu. Like a lot of restaurants devastated by the pandemic, the Sabra Grill was almost lost forever. Thanks to a crowd-funding effort this unique institution was saved. For the only traditional Glaat Kosher Restaurant in San Francisco, head to the least likely of neighborhoods to find it - Chinatown?!

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