Keeping Kosher re:Invent 2021

Posted on 5 mins read

It is that time of the year again, and the last time I did this was three years ago. I did not attend re:Invent in 2019, and last year was 100% virtual, so anyone that wanted to keep kosher, it was pretty simple because everyone was at home.

I am really happy that we will be able to get back an in-person event again this year. Personally this will be my first trip out of Israel since February 2020, so I am really looking forward to this.

First and foremost, there will be kosher food, for those request it in advance.

There was no option to provide that information during the registration process, so I reached out to the event team to ask if there would be an accommodation for those who keep kosher. The answer was yes, there would be.

In order to request kosher food for the event, send an email to [email protected] and put in the request.

Please do this before November 12th, so that they can guarantee you receive a meal. Additional information will be sent out about the logistics during the week of November 22nd.

There are usually hot and cold drinks throughout the day available at the various venues, sometimes there are fresh fruit and some snacks here and there that have a Kosher certification (OU, OK, Star-K, and many more, depending on what are comfortable with eating).

Restaurants

Some things have changed since I was there in 2018, restaurants have closed, new ones have opened.

This is the most up to date information I could find.

You can order online from some of the restaurants below and have them deliver to you.

  • Burnt Offerings (3909 W Sahara Ave, STE10 - 702-848-2876)
    • Open till 22.00 Sun-Thur
    • It is about a 10 minute drive from the Venetian.
    • They deliver!
  • Kosher Chinglish (8704 W Charleston Blvd. Suite 103 - 702-935-2055)
    • Open until 22:00 Sun-Thur
    • It is about a 20 minute drive from the Venetian.
    • They deliver!
  • Ariela’s Pizza & Kosher Kitchen (7595 W. Washington Ave. Suite 120 - 702-944-4042)
    • Open until 20:00 Sun-Thur
    • It is about a 15 minute drive from the Venetian.
    • They deliver!
  • Simon & Joe’s Eatery (3720 West Tropicana Ave. Unit 3 - 702-759-0333)
    • Open until 20:00 Sun-Thur
    • It is about a 10 minute drive from the Venetian.
    • They deliver!
  • Hummus Vegas & Grill (318 West Sahara Ave. 702-385-0006)
    • Call first, they don’t have a website!!
    • It is about a 10 minute drive from the Venetian.
  • King Solomon’s Table (561 W Flamingo Rd. - 725-244-4034).
    • Open till 22.00 Sun-Thur
    • It is about a 10 minute drive from the Venetian.
  • Shawarma Vegas (2521 S Fort Apache Rd. - +1 702-703-7700).
    • Open till 20.00 Sun-Thur
    • It is about a 25 minute drive from the Venetian
    • They deliver!
  • Cafe Express (2521 S. Fort Apache - 725-7804329)
    • Open until 18:00 Sun-Fri
    • It is about a 20 minute drive from the Venetian
    • They deliver!

If you are looking for a list of Kosher products, the list from the Ahavas Torah Center has a substantial amount of information.

Supermarkets

The supermarkets usually have a wonderful selection of Kosher food

Shabbat

The conference ends on Friday at around 12:00 which means for most of us that are visiting from outside of Vegas, that you either leave early to get back home on time, you fly early to family / friends somewhere else in America, or you stay in Vegas for Shabbat.

Shabbat starts on Friday at 16:08 and ends at 17:08 the next day.

The Strip is of course not a Shabbat-friendly atmosphere and there are a number of Jewish Orthodox (I am sure there are other denominations as well, I will only list the ones that I would personally go to) communities in the area.

If you so wish - many of them have some option of Shabbat hospitality.

(I have personally spent a Shabbat in at the Young Israel community a good number of years ago) There is a hotel that is quite Shabbat friendly, literally 200 meters from the shul, the La Quinta Inn, not the best of hotels, but OK for Shabbat, and the community was very nice to invite me for meals.

Last but not least, there is also an Eiruv (https://www.lasvegaskollel.org/eruv)

Hanukkah

One more thing. Hanukkah falls out this year on the week of re:invent, I am trying to organize a communal candle lighting for one of the days of the festival at one of the venues, it is already in the works.

I will update this post and publish more information on Twitter when it is available.

Please reach out to me on Twitter @maishsk (my DM’s are open), or send me an email through the contact form on the blog, if you would like to join a minyan or join someone for a kosher dinner during the event.

I will probably be organizing a WhatsApp / Telegram group for those who are interested.