S.F. Rising: Three Challot for a Friday
Categories: Bread
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| Jonathan Kauffman |
| Moscow and Tbilisi's challah (non-Kosher). |
Challah #1
Source: Moscow and Tbilisi Bakery, 5540 Geary (at 20th Ave.) 668-6959.
Price: $4 for a large, $0.85 for a small
Kosher? No
Toast-appropriateness: 6/10, if you cut it to size
Source: Moscow and Tbilisi Bakery, 5540 Geary (at 20th Ave.) 668-6959.
Price: $4 for a large, $0.85 for a small
Kosher? No
Toast-appropriateness: 6/10, if you cut it to size
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| Mini challah, 85 cents. |
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| Jonathan Kauffman |
| Grand Bakery's challah. |
Source: Grand Bakery, purchased at Tel Aviv Kosher Meats, Deli and Restaurant, 2495 Irving (at 26th Ave.), 661-7588.
Price: $5
Kosher? Yes
Toast-appropriateness: 7/10
Grand Bakery, the long-running kosher bakery in Oakland's Grand Lake neighborhood, produces a compact, golden-topped, traditionally shaped challah speckled with poppy seeds. Not as eggy as the Moscow and Tbilisi, the challah takes on the slightly dusky flavor of the poppy seeds scattered on top. It's a fine loaf, but it wants to be dredged through a fruity olive oil.
Challah #3
Source: Irving's Premium Challah, purchased at Dayenu Judaica, 3220 California (at Presidio), 564-6563.
Price: $4.99
Kosher? Yes
Toast-appropriateness: 4/10 (good, but why would you want to?)
Irving Greisman may no longer bake each loaf by hand, but his Irving's Premium Challah still carries the aura of handmade. He's a local software engineer who turned a knack for baking challah into a business about a decade ago. Irving's challah is glossy, pillowy, seemingly fragile; walking out of the Jewish Community Center store, you find yourself cradling the bread in your arms, almost as much for yourself as the bread. The challah seems engineered for tearing up instead of slicing, each tug pulling away a hunk with long strands that resembles a comet with a tail. Less eggy than Moscow and Tbilisi's, the bread has a whispery sweetness to it. If you're not saving the challah for dinner tonight, you may find yourself returning to the table where you've left it, pulling off just a bite or two, until you find it's long past lunch time and you have forgotten to eat a proper meal.
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| Jonathan Kauffman |
| Irving's Premium Challah. |
Source: Irving's Premium Challah, purchased at Dayenu Judaica, 3220 California (at Presidio), 564-6563.
Price: $4.99
Kosher? Yes
Toast-appropriateness: 4/10 (good, but why would you want to?)
Irving Greisman may no longer bake each loaf by hand, but his Irving's Premium Challah still carries the aura of handmade. He's a local software engineer who turned a knack for baking challah into a business about a decade ago. Irving's challah is glossy, pillowy, seemingly fragile; walking out of the Jewish Community Center store, you find yourself cradling the bread in your arms, almost as much for yourself as the bread. The challah seems engineered for tearing up instead of slicing, each tug pulling away a hunk with long strands that resembles a comet with a tail. Less eggy than Moscow and Tbilisi's, the bread has a whispery sweetness to it. If you're not saving the challah for dinner tonight, you may find yourself returning to the table where you've left it, pulling off just a bite or two, until you find it's long past lunch time and you have forgotten to eat a proper meal.
Location Info
Venue
Map
Moscow and Tbilisi Bakery Store
5540 Geary, San Francisco, CA
Category: Restaurant
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