A night at the cinema with Moses

For all the kosher foodies living in the Jerusalem area, we have the pleasure to have a complex that is full with different styles of cuisine, prices and of course like mentioned before, it’s all kosher. Whether it’s a sushi roll, a cup of coffee, or a meat meal, all of the above are available in the cinema city complex in Jerusalem.  the sole reason for this is because it has been built on government property, and the Israeli government doesn’t work on Saturday.

Now why do I mention all of this you ask? For one reason only; The burger chain Moses has come to the holy city and it is kosher. At this stage there are 2 kosher branches(there is one in Petach Tikvah) and they are in the stages of opening 5 more kosher locations. While asking the manager why did they go kosher, he said that the owners wanted to give a chance to all burger lovers in Israel to enjoy a top-notch burger(and of course the location). I have been looking forward for many years now to try a hamburger from Moses. So took my wife and good friends and drove to cinema city.

The restaurant in designed to have a good flow, meaning there is room for the waiters to move through the tables without knocking in to each other. Which also means that there is a lot of space in between tables so you don’t need to hear your neighbors conversation. The decor is modern and black, which also seems to be a repeated motif in many burger joints. and the service was impeccable(I’ll explain a little later). On the other hand it’s a bit pricey for a burger joint, so I would call it a high-end burger joint(62 shekel for a burger with no sides).

I went there with no expectations, which I think is the way to go otherwise you can get disappointed so, I came with all the good things that I heard about the place in mind.  While looking at the menu, the waiter explained that for 100 shekel a year you can become a member of the Moses club and you get 10% of the amount you spent back on the next time you visit. This is good for those who really need to get their Moses on!

The cuisine in Moses is very simple: Burgers, salads, appetizers, steaks  and dessert. For the appetizers we ordered the spring chicken nuggets in a spicy blood orange sauce, spring chicken skewers grilled and glazed in maple syrup and the yellow curry wings. The spring chicken nuggets were surprisingly good. Just the right amount of heat in the sauce which didn’t taste like sweet chili sauce, the chicken was crunchy and came with a small salad to take down the heat. The skewers were grilled to perfection with a right amount of glaze not to make it too sweet, and the chicken wing were deep-fried deliciousness. During the entire time the waiters kept on giving us wet wipes which I thought was very nice, because no wants sticky hands while eating and we didn’t have to get up every time to wash our hands.

For the main course, we ordered; The Artburger with potato wedges, the spring chicken with potato wedges and the Mexican chicken salad(although, my wife ordered the salad with no chicken ). What we didn’t know about the Artburger was that it only comes with lettuce on top, and nothing else!? So when I asked for vegetables the brought it to me on the side, which I get, because the burger is the star and they don’t want to ruin it by adding any toppings. And the burger was a GOOD burger. Cut from 3 cuts of meat(lamb, veal, beef) they cooked it to a perfect medium rare and it was delicious. The chicken was nice but the potato wedges were divine. Coated with seasoned salt, now that’s the way to go. The Mexican chicken salad with no chicken, came with chicken on top and we asked them to take it back, and they gave it to us on the house! The salad was on the spicy side bu the dressing was nice and soothing. For dessert we ordered the chocolate truffle cake with vanilla ice cream, which was a nice way to finish the meal.

We had a great time there, the food, ambiance and service were all spot on, so next time you go and see a movie, get your Moses on and have a great time!

 

The Spot on Achuza St

 

As all of you know, I take my dining very seriously. So when me and the family decided to take a trip to Ra’anana, the first thing I did was try to  find out where’s a nice place to eat. I was there with my family and in-laws and they lived in Ra’anana for many years and never ate there so they said they will try out something different that was not a coffee shop. After asking other foodies where they would eat there, it was clear that the city is lacking a nice meat restaurant. Where quality and service meet. When going into Spot the decor is very modern looking, young and vibrant. The service was quick and efficient, and also had a nice selection of alcoholic drinks. But the quality of the food is where they are lacking.

 

My mother in law ordered a Cesar Salad, me and my father in law ordered medium done hamburger and my wife ordered the Chanukah special, lemon chicken. Sadly, what was lacking in all the dishes was creativity. The food tasted fine but it wasn’t anything different than any other “bistro” that sold american style cuisine. The burger was slightly overcooked but lacked some seasoning, with a side of processed fries.  The Cesar salad had a lot of dressing on it but also tasted ok. What disappointed us though was the lemon chicken. It didn’t taste like there was any lemon in it and for some reason a lot of sweet chili sauce. I don’t get that. If you are calling lemon chicken DON”T PUT IN SWEET CHILISAUCE(unless you explain that to the guest before they order). Call it lemon and sweet chili chicken, that way we would have known not to order it. The dish was fine for a chicken coated in sweet chili sauce. But like I said the service was good and the food was average.

Being one of the only places like this in the area they should be capitalizing on the opportunity by being the best in the area, so people don’t have to tell me to travel to Hertzeliya to get some good food.

Potatoes and chive Latkes with Mango Salsa

A modern topping on a classic dish!

Ingredients:

For the Latkes:

• 5 potatoes, peeled and grated
• 1 small onion, grated
• 3 tbls chives, chopped
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp salt
• 1\4 tsp black pepper
• 1\3 cup of flour
• Vegetable oil for frying

For the Mango Salsa

• 1 mango, peeled and cubed
• 1\2 red onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced with no seeds
• juice from 1 lemon
• a bunch of cilantro(2-3 tbls)
• Salt and pepper, for flavor

Recipe:

1. Combine the ingredients for the latkes in a mixing bowl. Mix until the spices blend.
2. Put a non-stick frying pan on a medium-high flame and add the oil until it shimmers.
3. Measure out a tbls of the mixture and place in hot pan, and flatten.
4. Fry until golden brown on both sides. Place on a paper towel when finished frying to absorb the extra oil.
5. For the Salsa: Combine ingredients for the salsa and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with sour cream too and Happy Chanukah!

My trip to TLV got Wings!

After months of talking about how, when a reason comes up to travel to Tel Aviv, I will have to try out the new Wings Bar. Finally after months of not seeing why I need to leave the holy city of Jerusalem, I had a reason to go and will finally be able to try it out.

For those of you who don’t know about the kosher culinary scene in Tel Aviv, I must share. Everywhere you turn today you can find something kosher. Unlike 10 years ago, the  only kosher food item was a bakery or really expensive restaurants. But today anywhere you turn you can find something different to eat if it’s a cafe or a fast food joint or even some really funky places around the Carmel Market. For those who keep kosher, you do not have to be afraid to eat in the big city anymore, Bon Apetite.

Wings bar is located in central Tel Aviv, in the shadows of the Shalom tower. What I find cool about the location of the joint is that if you fancy wings but your friends fancy something else, there is a Asian stir fry place on one side and a deli on the other. The wings are king though because the concept of the place is based only on deep fried crunchy chicken wings. “It’s all about the wings” the owner Eitan White told me. When he opened this place with his partner Robert ben Or (who I didn’t get to meet sadly) he told me that this is the only kosher wings bar in the world! The concept was so unique, that chef Leon Elkalay had to get in and help these guys create the menu for the wings bar. When I sat down to talk to Eitan about this funky joint, it really was a dream come true for him. Coming from the hi tech world into the culinary industry is a big risk and it payed off. From cooking for friends on Sunday night football to here. A journey that is taking flight very quickly.

The wings bar is all about the sauces. The wings are all battered and deep fried , but the sauce is what makes the wings. They have an extensive list of sauces but me and my friend ordered the buffalo and curry. Eitan told me after that you can order the wings and get the sauces separately or to order half and half. We ordered onion rings too. The wings were cooked to perfection like I said, but what surprised me was the battered onion rings, they were amazing. The buffalo wings were very spicy but full of flavor, and the curry wings were sweet and savory deliciousness. The wings come in batches of 8/12/16 and you can leave there without damaging your wallet too. I highly recommend anyone in the area to go and try it out because the wings bar is a legit!

Homemade Adobo Sauce

Adobo sauce is called for in many Mexican or Philippine style dishes. But sadly in Israel we don’t have adobo peppers so here a different way to make home made Adobo Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 3 grilled red jalapeno peppers
• 1 grilled red bell pepper
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1/2 tsp of creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp of sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp of black pepper
• pinch of cinnamon
• 2 tbls apple cider vinegar

Recipe:

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender.
2. Pulse everything into thick paste and store it in the refrigerator in a container with a tight lid.
3. Thin the adobo paste with 1/4 cup tomato sauce before use.
4. Lasts up to 3 months.