By Jacob Kamaras
DEL MAR, California — One year ago, Meats and Eats opened in the Del Mar Highlands Town Center with the mission of offering San Diego a new option for kosher shopping.
In the ensuing months, the business also came to embrace the diversity of the local Jewish community and its palate.
Jacobo Laniado and his family, according to the store’s manager Sam Dujowich, “just wanted San Diego to have a kosher place. They wanted San Diegans to have the opportunity to buy kosher food and that’s only reason they opened it.”
“And then once we opened it,” Dujowich says, “we realized that we have a lot of culture in San Diego. We have Mexican Jews, South African Jews, American Jews, Israelis. As people started asking us for different products, we said, ‘Well why can’t there be a kosher store where there’s something for everyone?’ And that’s what we’re all about.”
Consumers who are seeking a more boutique experience than the kosher section at the supermarket can find it at Meats and Eats — with its unique array of frozen meat and other delicacies, and Dujowich on hand to guide you through the selection. The tomahawk thin sliced steak was a particularly special treat on the night after my visit, and it left me wondering why I hadn’t shopped there sooner. It’ll certainly be worth the relatively quick drive from La Jolla moving forward.
Meats and Eats states on its website, “We crave the taste of impressive cuts of meat, enjoy a variety of select cuts, and have the utmost respect and consciousness for our supply. We exist because we share that passion with our customers and want to share that joy with all.”
Dujowich tells San Diego Jewish World that the store has garnered interest both within and beyond the kosher-observant community.
“I think it has been very well-accepted, and people are happy that we’re here,” he says.
If you’re looking to try something new and interesting — and if you keep kosher in San Diego, in all likelihood, you are — then you’d be well-served visiting the Del Mar Highlands Town Center and stopping by Meats and Eats.
For more information, visit https://www.meatsandeats.com/, or check out the store on Facebook and Instagram.
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Jacob Kamaras is editor and publisher of San Diego Jewish World.