Food coverage is supported by a generous donation from Susan and Moses Libitzky.
We recently wrote about Anya El-Wattar, the owner of San Francisco’s lauded Birch & Rye, which served Russian food until it closed a year ago. El-Wattar is thought to be the first Bay Area Jewish chef to compete on the popular Bravo reality show “Top Chef,” but unfortunately, her time on the show has come to an end. She was eliminated at the end of March for an unsuccessful dessert: Her pine-needle ice cream didn’t set, and her cake with sea-buckthorn powder was too hard.
El-Wattar came to the U.S. from her native Moscow when she was 18. Her mother taught her about foraging, while she learned about Russian Jewish dishes more from her grandmother, who “kept old traditions alive.”
In an email interview with J., El-Wattar said that she had just closed Birch & Rye — “even with all the awards and accolades, I was not able to make it profitable. Perhaps San Francisco was not ready for a Russian fine-dining concept yet” — when a producer from “Top Chef” reached out, inviting her to apply to compete in the new season.
“I was surprised but also excited. I had some free time,” she said. “My main motivation was to share my culture and food and share the stories about my background. I felt that Russian Jewish food was still underrepresented in America, and I decided to take a chance even though it was a big risk.”
She said the experience showed her that while she is a “thoughtful and creative chef, I don’t thrive as much under such intense pressure.”
While none of the dishes she made on “Top Chef” were specifically Jewish — “the line between Russian and Jewish food has always been a bit blurry for me,” she said — she shared that “I am proud to be (to my knowledge) the first person to represent Russian food and culture on the show.”
In November 2023, I devoted a column to David Jacobson, an award-winning pizza chef from Oakland, who until recently was making pizza at Acre Kitchen in Oakland’s Rockridge area. He also contributed dishes to the restaurant’s Jewish holiday menus.
Now Jacobson has his own spot, with his wife Raluca Romero, in San Francisco. Cheezy’s Artisan Pizza is open in Saluhall Market, at 945 Market St., Suite 102.
As I noted previously, Jacobson was invited to compete in the 2022 Real California Pizza Contest, sponsored by the California Milk Advisory Board, and took home the grand prize of $15,000.
Jacobson is known for fermenting his dough five to six days rather than the usual two or three, giving it a distinct sourdough flavor, and for his combinations of unusual toppings. In addition to offering whole pies, pizza is available by the slice, and gluten-free and vegan variations are coming soon.
Iliana Berkowitz of As Kneaded Bakery — I wrote about her in October 2018 – appeared on ABC’s national newscast talking about the new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and how they will affect her bakery.
A new place in Oakland known for its cheesecake strangely has a storefront sign promoting latkes in big, bold letters. Crazy Block Cheesecake has a Jewish owner — who is quite the Instagram presence — and is on my list to check out soon. But I couldn’t let the latke shout-out go by without mention. It’s now open at 3355 Lakeshore Ave.
The Bagel Blurb: The San Francisco Chronicle just released its list of the top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area. The only bagel shop to make the list, in 100th place, is Poppy Bagel in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood. While one can get the usual whitefish and schmears there, the Chronicle’s food critics recommend Poppy’s seasonal veg sandwich.