Dining out horror stories

LEORA ISRAEL SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

One would assume that a dish as simple as a fruit salad would be kosher, or at least vegetarian, but as I learned early on, you can never be too careful. I was nine, at a friend's birthday party, when I almost accidentally ate my first piece of pork. The friend knew my dietary restrictions and her mother had prepared a special dish especially for me. At first glance it seemed innocent but, upon closer inspection, I noticed some chunks of a pinkish color. I asked my friend and she said it couldn't be meat, but asked her mother anyway.

"No meat," she said, "just pork." I was shocked.

Ever since that experience, I have been extremely careful, knowing that, even if you ask specifically, there's always a chance that the server will just tell you what they think you want to hear.

A University of British Columbia student once told me her solution for this problem: When she eats out, she tells them that she's allergic to meat and shellfish. I tried her idea out recently and noticed a significant difference. The server tends to attempt to find the manager and, if the manager is not in, they go and check the ingredients themselves. The fear of being sued prompts a much more thorough check for non-kosher ingredients.

Ariel Zellman, a vegetarian UBC student, has always attempted to trust the word of waiters. However, he recalls a time when he ordered a vegetarian omelette that had a surprise ingredient.

"It was called a vegetarian omelette on the menu, but just to be safe I told him I didn't want any meat in it."

When it arrived, he noticed something he assumed was an onion. When he bit in, the chewy texture clued him in. He asked a friend, who told him it was ham.
These UBC students and others who care about kashrut (or at least keeping kosher style) are wary of eating at any establishment on campus other than at Hillel House for hot lunches because there are rumors about almost every restaurant on campus.

One longstanding story is regarding the Blue Chip bakery. I have heard conflicting reports regarding their use of lard in their baking. Some students have asked and were told that they do use it and others have been told that they do not. I recently asked an employee of Blue Chip about their use of lard. She told me that they currently use margarine and olive oil but she was busy and did not check the back or ask a manager. This has prompted many students to simply bring food with them to campus and to only eat at restaurants where they can be sure that no treife (non-kosher) ingredients will be in their food.

One restaurant that is quite popular with students is the Naam on West 4th and Macdonald. It is a direct, 10- to 15-minute bus ride from campus and they deliver. Their menu is strictly vegetarian and it is quite affordably priced for a student budget. Some other safe and tasty restaurants include Bo Kong (which has two locations, one on Ackroyd in Richmond and one at Main and 14th in Vancouver), as well as the Rainbow on Park Avenue in Richmond.

Just remember, you can never be too careful when eating out. You never know what stray pig parts will land in your vegetarian omelette.

Leora Israel is a freelance writer and a student at UBC.

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