Food coverage is supported by a generous donation from Susan and Moses Libitzky.
Hummus Bodega, a kosher restaurant in San Francisco’s Richmond District, has reopened under new ownership and — news flash — shwarma is now on the menu.
The restaurant at 5549 Geary Blvd., which quickly became known for its exceptionally creamy hummus and fluffy pita, is now owned by two former tech industry insiders from Israel, Yotam Daniel and Daniel Chadash.
Daniel, who is managing the place, is most excited about the shwarma, which he called the “new crown jewel” of the restaurant; they’ve brought in another Israeli known for his shwarma prowess to make it.
Daniel said that before working in tech, he cooked in restaurants in his hometown of Tel Aviv. When he moved to the Bay Area, he would host events for his Israeli friends with “simple Israeli food.”
“It’s always been fun for me,” he said. “So when I heard about the sale, I thought it was perfect for me.”
His business partner, Chadash, was “semi-retired from tech but he can’t sit still” and “his dream was to have a place of his own,” Daniel said.
Hummus Bodega is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays. Rolling out in the coming weeks will be special menus on Fridays, so customers can take food home for Shabbat meals — something restaurants in Israel sometimes do. The plan is to offer both Ashkenazi and Sephardic favorites like roast chicken, salads, kubbeh and stuffed cabbage.
Daniel said he’s already felt the support of Jews who are happy to have a kosher option in the area. He’s also been giving away samples to non-Jews.
“In such a tense time for Israel, food can serve as a bridge,” he said. “We’re coming in with fresh energy, and we’re excited to make this place the best version of itself.”
A pop-up babka baker is now selling chocolate-miso sourdough babka and almond-croissant sourdough babka in Berkeley, San Francisco and other locations. Michelle Fried has named her business Juna, which she describes as a “micro New York Jewish bakery.”
Originally from Port Washington on Long Island, Fried grew up attending a Reform synagogue. She began running a cake business out of her parents’ home before she graduated from high school.
“I made my high school principal’s son’s bar mitzvah cake with four layers and fondant when I was 16 or 17,” she said.
Her interest led her to attend the Culinary Institute of America. From there, she went to work in such fine-dining temples as Eleven Madison Park in Manhattan.
Fried arrived in the Bay Area about five years ago and stayed in fine dining, working at Saison in San Francisco.
She developed her chocolate-miso babka recipe there. She baked it both for Saison’s provisions menu during the pandemic when restaurants were shut down and for a small business she started from her home.
“Babka has always been a big part of my career,” she said. “While chocolate miso isn’t an obvious combination, I love the classic fudgy chocolate filling. And the miso adds the perfect saltiness to it. Plus I’ve always loved savory desserts.”
Since she also loves almond croissants, she started with almond for her second flavor — with almond cream, spiced rum and slivered almonds. She is starting to branch out with more seasonal flavors, too, like strawberry rhubarb.
I was lucky enough to sample the chocolate-miso and almond-croissant flavors and found them delicious. Admittedly, it’s hard to find a babka I don’t like, but these are unlike anything I’ve tasted before.
Together with her business and life partner, Vicky Tu, they’re also making kombucha and vinegar to sell under the name Mothership Ferments. The Celery Soda kombucha is inspired by Jewish deli staple Dr. Brown’s.
Juna babka will be sold at upcoming First Fridays at the Gilman Wine Block in Berkeley, Shouk in San Francisco and other sites listed on Juna’s Instagram account, @junababka.
Last but not least, Marla SR, located at 208 Davis St. in downtown Santa Rosa, is hosting a series of summer suppers. The first one, on June 16, is an ode to Sammy’s Roumanian Steakhouse, a legendary restaurant on Manhattan’s Lower East Side that closed in 2021 but recently reopened in a new location. Joe Wolf, who owns Marla with his wife, Amy Brown, said that the first supper is a collaboration with his friend Evan Bloom. (Wolf helped Bloom open the original Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen location on 24th Street in San Francisco.)
Wolf recalled Sammy’s “tableside chopped liver, schmaltz in old-fashioned diner syrup dispensers, ice blocked bottles of Absolut, and Danny Love on the keys — all ingredients for a night that always delivered, with a hangover to boot. Finally after 15 years of kibitzing, we are making it happen.”
The June 16 event is set from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $140, but bring cash or use Venmo to tip the house. “This is going to be quite the event to be a part of, so don’t be a schmendrick and sleep on this opportunity,” Wolf said.