We will be staying near Machane Yehuda and plan to shop there - but I understand that it closes at 1 p.m. on Friday and our plane doesn't land until 1:45 p.m, so we'll have just enough time to get to the apartment before Shabbat starts.

For Sunday, what are the best places in the market?

We are planning a trip to Israel this summer, and will be flying in and arriving in Jerusalem on Friday afternoon. We will be staying at a rental apartment, so we can't just eat at our hotel. Are there other hotels that allow non-guests to reserve and pre-pay Shabbat meals? Or any other pre-paid Shabbat meal service?

President's Choice Chocolate Chunk cookies, or just their chocolate chunks. The chocolate chunks are pareve, so we use them for Shabbat baking.

We just tried Marron, and it far exceeded our expectations. It's good by any standards - not just good-for-a-kosher-place. It's definitely fine-dining as opposed to family dining.

Ba-Li Laffa is decent. The laffa is better at Dr. Laffa, but the ambiance is better at Ba-Li Laffa.

If it's going to succeed, a kosher restaurant that is more than fast food needs to appeal to customers that aren't kosher as well. People won't pay more for less quality when they have a choice.

Dr. Laffa succeeds because it appeals to those who want authentic Middle Eastern (and specifically Iraqi/Israeli) food, and it gets plenty of Israelis who don't keep kosher. While there are other Middle Eastern places, you can't find that many that bake their own fresh laffa, or that make sabich sandwiches, or that have amba available.

Some kosher restaurants try to be all things to all people (no, sushi doesn't need to be on the menu in pizza joints or steakhouses), and end up pleasing no one.

What are the best supermarkets for kosher challah, chicken and deli in Calgary? We will be staying in Canmore, and want to make sure that there is a reliable selection so that the drive to Calgary won't be a waste.

We're going to Las Vegas in 2 weeks. I have the list of kosher places from the Chabad website. Does anyone have any experience with kosher places there - which are good, which are convenient, which are best for Shabbat meals?

Sorry - I was giving the location for the OP who was in Toronto.

Newmarket is a town north of Toronto.

Everland, which is based in British Columbia.

In some stores, you can find Sharwood's curry pastes. They don't have an official hechsher, but I know that they are on the London "kosher list". See this past topic:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/274203

Everland Black Bean Sauce is available at Nature's Emporium in Newmarket, at the corner of Yonge and Mulock.

http://www.everlandnaturalfoods.com/e...

John's No Frills on Centre St. just west of Bathurst in Thornhill has a good selection of VH sauces, including the Thai ones. You can also find Sambal Oelek from Huy Fong Food Inc. that has a hechsher. Both are in the Asian food aisle. In the kosher aisle, top shelf, you can find Taste of Asia thai red and green curry pastes, coconut milks, rice paper wrappers, etc.

San-J has a great thai peanut sauce, that works well with Pad Thai.

If you have time to drive 20 minutes north, you can also get some great Asian and Indian sauces, including curry sauces, pastes, chutneys and a 14-spice curry combo in a grinder, at Nature's Emporium at the corner of Yonge and Mulock in Newmarket.

Eat Sum More, in the plaza along the north side of the Promenade Mall in Thornhill, often has South African curry spices and sauces that are kosher. The best is Nando's - their coconut curry sauce is simply awesome.

President's Choice Decadent Chocolate Chip cookies are amazing, and you can buy their chocolate chips or chocolate chunks separately. New batches of the chocolate chips are now dairy, but you can still find pareve chocolate chunks.

In Montreal, the IGA in Cavendish Mall in Cote St. Luc is your best bet.

Dry would work as well - just reduce the amount and slightly increase the liquid.

Eggplant or zucchini work well if you want something that sort of dissolves into the stew. Otherwise, carrots or celery keep their shape well.

My cholent is more like a beef stew, and gets rave reviews.

I use a package of beef stew chunk, a cup of well-rinsed canned chick peas, a cup of chopped veggies, a chopped onion, a 1/4 cup of quinoa, barley or couscous, a 1/4 cup of red wine, 1 Tbsp of deli mustard, salt and pepper, a pinch of rosemary, 2 chopped garlic cloves, and a can of drained diced tomatoes. It all goes into a 2 qt slow cooker on Friday afternoon, and is perfect by lunch on Saturday.

Shemesh on Jabotinsky in Ramat Gan has the BEST shawarma.

Tov Li is often open late. You could also call Dr. Laffa.

The Clark and Hilda one is THE kosher Sobeys.

The other one in Thornhill Woods just has a very ordinary, limited kosher selection.

If you don't need a fresh bakery or deli counter, John's No Frills on Centre west of Bathurst also has a huge kosher selection, at far lower prices.

Huy Fong makes both sambal and chili garlic paste.

John's No Frills on Centre St. in Thornhill (just north of Toronto), Canada.

My favorite meat Indian recipe is so easy that it's embarrassing, but it gets rave reviews.

I use Nando's coconut curry sauce on boneless skinless chicken, which can be cooked on the BBQ or in the oven. That's it! If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll add in some veggies to the roasting pan.

My local supermarket imports Taste of Asia brand kosher Thai curry pastes, coconut milks, seaweed, rice paper wrappers and more. I wasn't always kosher, and can say that it tastes authentic.

Lee Kum Kee has kosher vegetarian hoisin sauce and chili garlic sauce.

When making pad thai, substitute soy sauce for fish sauce (quantity will be different). Other than that, just use any basic recipe.

Soup:

I make mine by throwing 4 packages chicken bones, 4 onions with skins, a handful of carrots, a parsnip and a bit of garlic and dill into a 6 qt. crockpot. Cover with water, cook overnight, and strain into jars, which can last a while in fridge or freezer. I can get 4 packages of bones for around $5.

Egg noodles for the soup are cheap, and you can also add in the cooked carrots.

Once the soup bones have cooled down, take the meat off the bones and save it. You can add it to the soup, use it for a chicken salad or sandwich, add it to some pasta, saute it with some spices and onions and mushrooms, or throw it into a stirfry.

Leftover soup can be a great base for hot and sour soup. Add mushrooms, rice vinegar, soy sauce, a couple of drops of sesame oil, hot chili paste, cubed extra-firm tofu, an egg, green onion, and a bit of bok choy. It's filling enough for a lunch or dinner on Sunday.

For a nice twist on a meat cholent for Shabbat lunch, I get a pound of stewing beef chunks (around $7) and throw it into a small 2 qt crock pot with chopped onion, 1 cup of other veggies, 1 cup of chick peas, 1/4 cup barley or couscous, garlic, salt and pepper, a big pinch of rosemary, 1/4 cooking Merlot wine, and a can of drained diced tomatoes on top. It starts to cook Friday, and after around 20 hours on Low it is incredibly tender and tastes fantastic. For a total of $10, you get a hot beef lunch, plus enough leftovers for a few lunches.

For fish, add a can of salmon to some pasta and veggies. Saute the onion, mushrooms, garlic and some zucchini or spinach (fresh or frozen), and then add in the salmon, toss with the pasta with a decent amount of olive oil. It's yummy, cheap and filling.

With veggies, shop for what's on sale and in season, and don't be afraid to use frozen in the winter.

Homemade brownies are easy and cheap. Made your own mixes out of dry ingredients ahead of time, and then they are fast to whip up.

I make my own hummus or black bean dip to eat with the challah. You can really play with different spices and flavors, and canned beans are really cheap.

My favorite kosher Indian spices are The Cape Herb & Spice Company's Curry Seasoning (with 14 spices). It comes in a grinder with coriander seeds, sea salt, , cumin, garlic, black peppercorns, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, onion, ginger, cinnamon, chilies, cloves, fenugreek, bay leaf, turmeric oil, curry leaf and ginger oil. I find it very convenient to use, yet far better than any yellow powder. It has a South African hechsher, and I generally find it in natural food stores, not kosher ones.

Our family of 5 went to New York and stayed in a great apartment on the Upper West Side. The key is to forget about traditional hotels, and use VRBO.com or a similar vacation rental website. We were able to get a 2 bedroom apartment with a small but gorgeous updated kitchen for around $225/night, on West 80th. For Shabbat dinner and lunch, we bought prepared food on Friday afternoon at The Kosher Marketplace, and found that it was surprisingly good.

Taste of Asia brand makes both red and green curry pastes, along with coconut milk (sold as "coconut liquid". The hechsher is KFA. It is imported from Israel, and I buy it in Toronto in the kosher aisle of John's No Frills, located on Centre St. west of Bathurst, in Thornhill.

The quality is great - I was a big fan of authentic Thai food before becoming kosher, and it's far better than most kosher products.

If you can't find that, VH sauces have a new line of thai curry sauces. However, I find they tend to me sweeter and less spicy than the authentic thai curries.