| Israel in Chinatown |
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| Written by Joe Mullin | |||||
| Sunday, 09 June 2002 | |||||
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What's a pocket of Israeli merchants doing in the heart of San Francisco Chinatown? Kung pao chicken or potstickers come to mind when thinking about what one might order at a San Francisco Chinatown eatery. But the first restaurant one probably will see upon entering the famous San Francisco Chinatown gate serves falafel and schwarma. The glatt kosher Sabra Grill, which has Hebrew script on its awning, is actually one of at least four Israeli-owned businesses just inside the traditional decorative Chinatown gate. The other three stores, all on the same block, are antique shops specializing in European and Asian art. One of the antique shops, directly across from the grill, actually has a façade made of white Jerusalem stone. Although this "Little Israel" may seem out of place, the Israelis who own and work in the shops think Chinatown is a natural choice for their businesses. "It's a great location," says Ronen Sokol, mashgiach (supervisor for Jewish dietary laws) at the Sabra Grill. "We're right next to the financial district and shopping areas. Thousands of tourists go by here. About 90 percent of our customers are tourists." Some of the customers are in organized tour groups--about once a week an Israeli tour group is scheduled to eat at the restaurant. But many are just folks passing through town, mostly Jewish, who are delighted to find a little taste of home where they least expect it. Since Sabra is the only restaurant in San Francisco to have a full-time mashgiach, and to have its kashrut (adherence to Jewish dietary laws) validated by a wide variety of rabbis, for many religious Jews it's the only option in town. "I have good hashgacha [kashrut supervision]," says owner Yuval Mizrahi. "We do everything by the book. Many people talk to their rabbis in California or even out in New York, and their rabbis tell them, 'only Sabra.' That's why I have six different rabbis on the teudah [kashrut certificate]." Just upstairs from the Sabra Grill, the minyan of Chabad of San Francisco meets. The group previously leased a spot in the same neighborhood. Mizrahi was considering opening a separate dairy restaurant above Sabra, but when Chabad lost its lease about a year ago, he allowed the minyan to move in upstairs. The Israelis who work in the neighborhood are a tight-knit bunch. Those who work in the antique shops regularly come to lunch at Sabra. The owner of the Risoli antique shop, who gives his name as Menashe Risoli, considers the story of how his business came to be in the symbolic heart of San Francisco's Chinese community to be pretty ordinary. "I love art; I was collecting a lot of art," he says. "Then I thought to sell it to others. I'm not selfish." Risoli's shop has been open for four years. Like the other Israeli antique and art stores on the street, he sells mostly European art. When asked about their relationship with neighboring Chinatown businesses, the Israelis say relations are cordial, if not exactly intimate. "We respect each other, but we don't talk much," says Mizrahi. "We don't have that much in common."
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