A Middle priced gem in Jerusalem: Medita

A lot of people ask me all the time, where can I go out to eat and not have to spend a fortune? Where can I go and take a family of 5 without spending 300 shekels a person?

So this is what I tell everyone who asks; you have 2 options: 1. Go to any shupudia (an Israeli Steakhouse) where you can order 2 skewers with perfectly grilled meat,  fresh salads and fresh bread. The ambiance leans toward the fast food and not fine dining but you get what you pay for. By the way, I highly recommend many of these shipudias, whether it’s Grill Bar or Tzidkiyahu, because you get your value for the money. But when a family is looking for a place with a nice ambience, great food and restaurant service, I recommend Medita.

Medita is the brainchild of chef Motti Ochana owner and operator of the gourmet restaurant Hechatzer(one of my favorite kosher restaurants in Israel) Chef Motti decided to open up a second location a bigger location, but with more affordable prices without compromising the quality and level that the chef brings. Nothing on the menu looks cheap and is definitely not fast food. We went two couples so we ordered 2 starters and the house bread. One of the starters was a sabich salad, and the other was the pate mix with the cherry tomato jam on toast.

In a very non Israeli manner, all of the apps came out at the same time! We started with the bread and the dips, the bread was super fresh and crunchy, and had no clue what some of the dips were but they were a delight. The sabich salad was very nice with little pieces of toast to accompany the boiled egg and eggplant tehini sauce mixture. There was some chili in there as well and that gave the dish a nice kick and a great way to finish it off! The pate was out of bounds, I’ve had it before in Hechatzer and it was just as good; smooth texture, sweet and savory with a perfect crunch from the toast.

For the main course I ordered a medium rare steak with a baked potato and my wife ordered the “hechatzer “short ribs. Again, all the dishes came out the same time and definitely a highlight of the night. My steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare with the right amount of seasoning to make it complete. I didn’t really care for the baked potato because there was nothing special about it, no toppings or a dipping sauce to accompany it (it had a roasted cherry tomato on top, whoo hoo). The asado (short ribs) had a nice topping by adding pomegranate with scallions, it was a very very filling dish. Perfectly sweet, it’s a very heavy dish to eat alone, but it is so good!

A great location, great service, delicious food, all in all, Medita is a great middle range meat restaurant that fills out all the criteria of fine dining without making a hole in your pocket.

 

Olla from Eilat!

Olla

When visiting the southern city of Eilat, I usually do my research before I head out to eat at nights with my family. This specific trip I decided to look up a Hebrew website and find out in what their opinion is the best kosher restaurant in the city. So when I finally got to the top ten page I saw that Olla (kosher rabbanute Eilat) has been ranked number 1.

When arriving at Olla, we noticed that there were two sides to the restaurant, on was a sushi bar called Isabella and the other was Olla, both establishments are owned by the same owner and have become kosher about 7 months ago. The owner decided that going kosher was the right thing to do considering he became closer to god, long story. Anyway, he kept all the same staff, just kashered the kitchen and spruced up the place with a minor renovation and business has been booming ever since.

When walking into the establishment we were greeted by a very nice waiter named Chaim and he was amazing literally until we walked out. The ambiance is very welcoming and the whole venue is very comfortable and child friendly. The moment we sat down chaim brought my daughter a coloring book with crayons and put in the order for the children’s meal(shnitzel and fries). While we had some peace and quiet, we ordered a couple of starters, beef carpacchio, a mushroom medley on a  bruschetta and the lamb kebab.  As you can see they looked super appetizing and tasted even better! The carpacchio was cured to perfection with a balsamic glaze was a great compliment. The kebabs were cooked to a perfect medium and with the tehini glaze again was a wonderful compliment to the dish. Lastly the mushrooms were sautéed to perfection and had a meaty flavor and was just delicious.

For the main I ordered a 500 gram prime rib steak cooked medium with a side of truffle mashed potatoes and a medley of grilled vegetables. I had no words to describe how amazing the steak was, one of the best I have ever eaten. The Au jus that accompanied it took it to the next level of awesomeness.  The steak, cooked to a perfect medium rare with perfect grill marks, I mean it’s as good as it’s going to get. Oh, I can’t forget the grilled bone marrow that i smeared on the steak like a butter was just phenomenal!

My wife originally ordered a pasta dish that looked really nice but was to spicy for her. Without hesitation Chaim the waiter  replaced it with a salad that she wanted without extra charge. We haven’t ever had such a wonderful customer service experience in Israel in a long time.

Olla in my eyes is really one of Israels finest fine dining establishments that this country has to offer. There is a reason it’s rated Eilats number 1 kosher restaurant for a long time running. So if you ever find yourself in Eilat, you must try it.

Olla, Tershish 7 Eilat, Israel

 

An Eilat steak house you need to know about

When I went on vacation with my family to the southern city Eilat a couple of weeks ago, we decided to go to a nice steakhouse while there. So how did I find out about the place, I asked a native eilatian. Everyone pointed me to one place that is called, Entrecote (http://www.rol.co.il/sites/entrecote-eilat-agmonim/menu.html). No relation to the one in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, this is an independent franchise in Eilat with a couple of locations around the city. It is hidden in the heart of the city outside of the tourist’s reach. Although there were a lot of tourists there with us I feel that places like these are the best places to go.

Established almost 10 years ago this place has become an Eilat establishment. As the name suggests, Entrecote Eilat features entrecote steak, priced by weight, from 200 grams and up(35 shekel per 100g). But that’s hardly all! The Entrecote menu includes other grilled favorites too – kabobs, merguez sausages, marinated chicken, BBQ wings, and lamb chops as well.

I ordered a 300g entrecote steak and it was served with an au jus that was just heaven. My daughter ordered the home fries that are hand cut and spiced to perfection. My wife ordered the BBQ wings that were a bit on the spicy side and a bit burnt. But served with the BBQ sauce on the side mixed with the wings it was delicious. Still a bit spicy though. The service wasn’t the greatest the waitress didn’t really give us the attention didn’t really notice us. But the food was amazing!
I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Eilat.