The second question I hear most often (after “There are Jews in Kansas?”) is “What about kosher food?” Some things can be harder to find here, or more expensive, than in NJ, but in general we can get what we want. (OK, there’s no Sammy’s Bagels / Pizza / Deli…)
When it comes to food shopping, we have the following options:
- Our kosher supermarket is inside the Hen House (the one at 117th and Roe). We shop here for kosher foods that can’t be found in other local supermarkets or that we don’t have stocked up in the house already. This is also where we would be fresh deli meat or salads. Mainly, we use it for challah and the other baked goods in the fully kosher bakery. Unfortunately the cookie cakes are dairy, rather than pareve, like at the Acme in NJ.
- Costco carries chicken and occasionally other products like cheeses.
- We order meat from Golden West Glatt. This is some really good meat and I recommend it highly! (If you want to order, we have a referral code we can email you…)
- We order cheese and things we need to stock up on (macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, etc.) from the Kosher Co-op. Items come in bulk, so sometimes we make split arrangements with other people if we don’t need say 12 blocks of American cheese.
As far as kosher restaurants…our options aren’t quite plentiful.
- Until recently, we had a kosher Subway. Sadly the owners are unable to keep it open at this time, and no one wanted to buy it from them! This month, they are still open in the mornings for take out.
- Once a month or so, we have kosher Chinese when a non-kosher restaurant called Princess Gardens opens their kosher kitchen.
- Inside Village Shalom is Rachel’s Cafe, where you can get pizza, soups, salads, hamburgers, deli sandwiches, etc. All at the same meal, if you want. They have both meat and dairy kitchens, which are open on weekdays for lunch.
- Inside the JCC is Ram’s Cafe, open during school hours. I have only eaten there a few times as it’s usually not open when I’m there and wanting to eat.
- Every so often there are dinners offered at the various synagogues. KI has Bistro Night, BIAV has Pizza Night, and TLC has cafe nights.
So there you have an overview of kosher food in Kansas City. Locals should let me know if I forgot anything!