A Dinner for two at Tommy’s

Tommy’s is a small and cool venue located on Keren Kayemet st in the heart of Jerusalem. The reason I found this little joint is because I happened to have stumbled upon a Facebook contest that they where holding. And I won a dinner for two at the restaurant, So the one night me and my wife had free, (literally) and went to check it out.

Tommy’s is a small hole in the wall type of joint that make most of the food in house, like the salads and sides. The seating area is located outdoors but there is still an element of privacy because there are no seats on the street, mainly on the patio.

So we looked at the menu, and it really emphasized the name of the place” sophisticated street food”. Everything they serve has a little twist and isn’t your run of the mill fast food joint. The menu is composed mainly of grilled meats, but also have different types of dishes on their specials menu. The chef also made it clear that they cook their hamburgers on the flattop, and that got me excited!

After browsing the menu and talking to the chef about what to order, we ordered a hot pullet salad(pargiyot) salad, an entricote hamburger,  for the sides we ordered a blooming onion that’s made in-house, and sweet potato fries with pink lemonade.

Because i’m a gentelmen I’ll start with what my wife ordered. The pargiyot saladwas really good. It wasn’t your run of the mill salad with just chicken and vegetable, it came with bulgar, arugula, sweet potato,  and the chicken itself stood out by being packed with flavor. One of the better salads I’ve had at a fast food restaurant. The entricote burger was done like I asked, medium. It was very juicy and full of meaty goodness. I asked for some coleslaw on the  side and it made the burger taste even better. The sides were a bit dissapionting though. The blooming onion was a mess and very hard to eat and lacked seasoning. The sweet potato fries weren’t crispy, it needed to be fried twice like a pomme fritte otherwise it just gets soggy, like in our case. what really rounded out the meal was the pink lemonade that was perfectly mixed and had a great balance between sweet and sour like a good lemonade should have.

All in all it was a very good experience and you will find me returning there to enjoy another meal. but trying  different things too!

A Trip an Irish Pub in the Heart of Jerusalem

I usually spend every Sunday night in the center of town in Jerusalem, and finally tried out O’Connell. They serve over 40 types of Irish whisky there so it was pretty impressive when it came to the drink menu. But the reason I was there with friends was to try out the food. Everyone I had asked had told me that the food is legit, heck I even recommended about it in my post to theculturetrip.com. And well everyone the trip was worth it.

The food was legit. Pricey, but legit. We ordered a couple of different dishes to the table and they were all spot on. I personally ordered a hamburger medium, a fishn’chips, a chicken salad and a steak sandwich. The service took a while and a bit slow during the service itself but the food really made up for it.

The hamburger was cooked to a perfect temp and full of flavor. the char was perfect and the bun was toasted as well. But i still hate that when I order a burger they give you the vegetables on the side and I need to compile my burger. That wasn’t the case here though. A solid burger full flavor and fries to go with it. The fishn’chips, the fish was flaky and the coating was crunchy just like it should be. A bit pricey but worth the investment. The chicken salad was seasoned right, and the salad had a nice vinnagrette to compliment the salad. The steak sandwich was a bit disappointing though.  It needed like a sauce to give it another element but it was lacking, otherwise it could be a great sandwich.

All in all, a great way to spend the night out with a group of friends with some great food, on a street that is overloaded with restaurants as well.

 

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.

Greek style Butterflied Whole Chicken

This recipe is a Greek inspired dish. very easy to make and tastes delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 Whole chicken butterflied but still connected
• Juice from 1 lemon + zest
• 1\2 cup of olives
• 2 tbls butter flavored margarine
• 2 tbls olive oil
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 tbls oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• pinch of black pepper

Recipe:

1. Pre-heat oven on 175c.
2. Combine the olive oil, garlic, lemon, lemon zest, salt, pepper and oregano and mix together until the flavors merry.
3. Butterfly your chicken(that it still stays connected)
4. Put the chicken on a baking dish and place the butter under the skin covering the chicken breast.
5. Brush the marinade on the chicken and place the olives  on the chicken.
6. Place the chicken in the oven and bake uncovered for an hour and fifteen minutes.

Serve hot and enjoy!

One of Israel’s Best Kosher Restaurants

 

The Ranch House(www.ranchhouse.co.il/)

The reason I give the Ranch House such high praise is because:

1. The chef takes Kosher ingredients and able to use the to max.
2. The service is outstanding! All the waiters wear uniforms,look professional, smiling and very tolerant.
3. It is styled for comfort and the decor may be a little outdated but it doesn’t take away from the ambiance.

Now lets get to the food! We went as a family with my three year old daughter to this 5 star restaurant thinking this would be a problem. The thing was, my daughter behaved better than half of the patrons at the restaurant! The waitress that came to take our order was super nice and kind. Even when we had to switch out my daughters order because she wanted a burger and then changed her mind to a hot dog, they said it wasn’t an issue, and it was taken care with a smile. I feel that that’s the most important part of going out, when a patron gets great service, 9 out of 10 times the patron will recommend the place and also return again in the future.

So, now that our daughter was happy, my wife ordered the Chicken salad and I ordered to 400g steak on the bone with onion rings for a side. The food came very fast, and the portions were enormous! They gave my wife this salad tossed with the house vinaigrette that was mayonnaise based and it was just great. the chicken was tender, the vegetables weren’t to soggy and all in all a great salad.

Now let me share with you the steak. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare, served with a sweet potato and three sauces: honey mustard, au-jus, and a red wine reduction. All three were full of flavor and really complimented the steak. But the steak itself was so good! Melted in my mouth in every bite. The onion rings are made in-house and were crunchy and full of flavor.

For dessert we shared my daughters chocolate chip ice cream that tasted a bit parve bit was still good.

SO next time you visit the southern city of Eilat, you must try out  this restaurant.

 

Orange Soy Chicken Stir Fry

 

Winter is here and going out for chinese food isn’t really an option where I live. So, I made myself a Stir fry with a twist.

Ingredients:

• 1 Kilo Chicken Breasts, sliced into 1 cm strips
• 2 Sweet Peppers cut into 2 cm Strips sideways
• 1 White Onion sliced
• 6 Broccoli florets
• 1 can Baby corn cut into chunks
• 5 Mushrooms sliced
• 1 Carrot sliced
• 3 cloves Garlic crushed
• 1 tsp fresh Ginger diced
• 1 /2 tsp salt
• A handful of Bean sprouts
• Coriander leaves for decoration and flavor
• Vegetable and sesame oil for frying

For the Orange Soy sauce:

• 1/2 cup Orange Juice
• 1/2 cup Chicken broth
• 3 tbls Soy sauce
• 1 tbls Teriyaki sauce
• 2 tbls Cornstarch to thicken

Recipe

1. Slice the chicken breast in slices and place in bowl. Let a kettle of hot water boil and pour over the chicken breasts until you see no more pink on the chicken. Drain. Put aside.
2. Combine all the ingredients except the corn starch for the sauce in a pot and let boil. once boiled add the cornstarch and put aside to cool.
3. Prepare all the vegetables for the stir fry in a separate bowl.
4. Add some vegetable oil to your frying pan and a couple of dashes of sesame oil too. First add the  garlic and let it brown. Then add the rest of the vegetables except the bean sprouts and fry until Al-dente. Add the chicken and salt and fry until the flavors combine.
5. Pour on the sauce and let cook for 2 minutes until the sauce get absorbed. then add the bean sprouts, and take off the fire.
6. Decorate with fresh coriander and serve on a bed of rice of your choice.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

One of my Favorite Burgers at Black Bar ‘n’ Burger in Jerusalem

As a Kosher carnivore, I have very limited options to eat a great burger. A couple of years ago when Black Bar ‘n’ Burger became kosher, I was very excited. It is very hard to find a really good kosher burger. You know, no cheese, bacon and such, but they really have found the recipe to success in the kosher burger world.

When the chain decided to go kosher they adapted really well. The decor in all of their restaurants are the same but it’s a comfortable environment. They have a couple of different menus: late night, business, alcohol and my favorite, the student discount(which is like the late night menu). They also have a membership that is worth every agura. You get 10% of what you payed back on every time you return to the restaurant.

I go there for the burger. Your burger comes medium! The meat that they get is fresh and portioned out daily, the sauces are made in house and the have a fully stocked bar. The burger sizes are 160-450 grams and they always taste great. They have a lot of different items on the menu besides burgers like: Grilled sandwiches, great appetizers, a variety of grilled meats, crazy burger combos(using a bagel instead of a bun) and delicious desserts. They just added stir fried rice with chicken, and it also isn’t half bad.

Whenever I go with my better half or just friends, I always get a burger. Which burger? depends on how hungry I am or how much money I have on me. I usually order the Yokozuna burger (330 grams), and its always done to perfection. Sometimes I order the Norma Jean which is made out of ground rib eye and is phenomenal! I also share a plate of wings that are deep fried and glazed with their homemade BBq sauce. On my birthday I order a 450 gram burger with a side of 1\3 litre of Stella!

I am never disappointed with the place because constancy is key there, and that makes a great experience at any restaurant.