How do you manage Friday night meals in Miami beach?

amother

Silver

Sat, Jan 02 2016, 10:01 pm

We plan to eat in a restaurant for the day meal, but want to eat in our hotel room Friday night. We don't have anything for cooking. Any suggestions? Any good/ not too expensive take out places?

sleepybeauty

Sat, Jan 02 2016, 10:50 pm

There's a new takeout place on 41st street called the Kugel Factory. Kosher Price and Kastners both have takeout as well.

doctorima

Sat, Jan 02 2016, 11:07 pm

Why not bring a hot plate or George Foreman grill? If you don't have, you should be able to borrow, or buy one fairly cheaply.

ra_mom

Sun, Jan 03 2016, 12:25 am

Shabbos day meals at restaurants are buffet style. Just wanted to put that out there. We preferred to eat out Friday night and eat in shabbos day.

But you can use a crockpot and crockpot bags to warm your food for either Friday night or shabbos day.
Friday night: fish and dips kept cold, soup and noodles in the crockpot, roast beef slices placed on top of the crockpot, potato salad or pasta salad and veggie salad kept cold.
Shabbos day: fish and dips kept cold, salad and eggs kept cold, cholent in the crockpot, if any extra deli is needed can be kept cold.

amother

Silver

Sun, Jan 03 2016, 9:25 am

ra_mom wrote:

Thanks, ra_mom, thanks for all the ideas! where would you buy a crockpot (it's too heavy to take on the plane), and where would you tovel it? Also, a buffet actually sounds like something my kids would like, which place has a buffet? Thanks!

amother

Silver

Sun, Jan 03 2016, 12:50 pm

[quote="sleepybeauty"]There's a new takeout place on 41st street called the Kugel Factory. Kosher Price and Kastners both have takeout as well.[/quote
Thanks, does Kugel Factory just have kugel or is it a regular takeout?

amother

Silver

Sun, Jan 03 2016, 1:04 pm

More questions...it seems like all the takeout stores are in one area, is it very hard to park there Friday afternoon? Does anyone know how close to Shabbos they stay open, because we're not getting to Miami until Friday afternoon, thanks!

Rutabaga

Sun, Jan 03 2016, 1:26 pm

I have no advice about takeout specifically in Miami, but this is what we usually do when traveling.

Call the various takeout places in advance. Find out the menus and prices and closing time. Place an order IN ADVANCE at the place that suits your needs the most. Find out if they also provide challah and grape juice and paper goods or if you have to buy those elsewhere.

Call the hotel to see if they can provide a microwave for the room. It's really easy to kasher a microwave or you can buy/bring saran wrap to double wrap the food. Have the takeout place package the food in microwave containers. Microwave any food better eaten hot close to shabbos and wrap up in towels/blankets to keep warm until you are ready to eat. This might not work so well with soup but it usually works fine with chicken/meat and sides.

amother

Powderblue

Sun, Jan 03 2016, 1:40 pm

That's why I'm renting a house when I go this weekend. Don't like being in a hotel room for Shabbos. House comes with hot plate and everything and I'm ordering take out food.

amother

Powderblue

Sun, Jan 03 2016, 1:42 pm

If I were you I would eat both meals in a rest. Doesn't pay to eat one meal in hotel. Going to have cold food. You bring a knife to cut your challah? A bechor? Salt? Esp since your arriving Friday.

ra_mom

Sun, Jan 03 2016, 1:47 pm

amother wrote:

You can probably find a crockpot at Walgreens. Not sure about toiveling but you can contact chabad or the sefardic shul to find out.
All the places we've ever been to have buffet style lunch and sit down dinner on shabbos. The ones that come to mind are in tower 41, the carriage club, days inn, but any of the other places I contacted all served buffet style shabbos day.

amother

Silver

Sun, Jan 03 2016, 7:57 pm

Thanks for all of the good ideas. I'm going to try to bring a small warming tray & tins for the food, also a thermos for the soup, & also call in the food order in advance (great idea, thanks!)

amother

Blush

Sun, Jan 03 2016, 10:31 pm

Other things that can be eaten cold/room temp (which is what we do when we travel):
Fruit soup
Sushi
Deli
Salads
Challah/dips
Wraps (grilled chicken Etc)
Schnitzel / schnitzel sandwiches

sleepybeauty

Sun, Jan 03 2016, 11:16 pm

[quote="amother"]

sleepybeauty wrote:

There's a new takeout place on 41st street called the Kugel Factory. Kosher Price and Kastners both have takeout as well.[/quote
Thanks, does Kugel Factory just have kugel or is it a regular takeout?

Has all takeout. They also sell the disposable challah knives and kiddush cups, nice plates and cutlery, grape juice and Challah. One stop shop kind of place. They are open on Fridays until 4 I believe.

If you get a crock pot, you can Tovel it at the beach or Keilim Mikvah.

amother

Hotpink

Mon, Jan 04 2016, 9:02 am

I Once traveled to Florida and packed a crock pot in my suitcase. It added weight but not terrible. I wasn't bringing anything else too heavy so I didn't care about the weight so much. I packed the parts of cholent: canned potatoes (can opener), pre-boiled beans and barley with spices, frozen meat. And then put it together there (you can buy all the ingredients there also).