My trip down to the Bodega

 

 

This is my blog post that was published on yeahthatskosher.com! Enjoy!

If any of you have visited Gush Etzion lately, you will notice that the culinary scene has had a change, after many years of only having coffee shops and dairy eateries. People demanded meat restaurants and Menachem Katz delivered. An Efrat native, who wanted to be a lawyer but ended up in the food industry for many years, and eventually fulfilled his lifelong dream of opening his own restaurant. He got his culinary education under renowned Israeli chef Yossi ben Dayan at the Hadassah college. His passions are food and music and that’s what brought him to open the Bodega.

Menachem decided to call the place the Bodega because at a bodega you can get your daily fix. Originally wanted to call it Avocado but “Bodega” was catchier because the abstract to the east coast. Located in the Efrat shopping mall where a supermarket used to be (ironicly), the Bodega offers a unique fusion of Mexican and Japanese cuisine. You can order sushi and a burrito in the same place. The main crowd that we met at the Bodega was a young and hip crowd, whether singles or young couples, everyone came to enjoy not only a good meal but also a live show. When I was there, there was a live jazz band scatting away while playing great music. It was a bit loud for the size of the place but still nice to get live entertainment in an area where it never existed.

We started with a Saki sour that was delicious, after that we moved on a beer taster. They hold many beers that are made in locally in Israel on tap: Dancing camel, Shapira and more. All the beers were really good, from the IPA to the lagers. The rest of the alcohol menu is also great, from different bottled beers to cocktails.

The food menu at the restaurant is different than your regular menu because of the cuisine fusion. We ordered chili fries, sushi and hot wings. The hot wings where deep fried to perfection and coated with a sauce that was spicy, but in the right manner. When you feel the heat at the back of your throat and doesn’t burn your tongue so you can’t enjoy the rest of your meal. The sushi was very good. I liked the way he put a jalapeño chili on top of one of the rolls to really get the fusion vibe. The chili fries were different than just any fries. They are seasoned battered French fries, which by concept is a great idea. The chili topping was nice but a bit under seasoned and the fries turned into one big chunk of fries.

For the mains we ordered many different items: Steak salad that was cooked to a perfect medium rare; Chicken salad that was seasoned nicely. The tortilla chips were a very nice addition to make the salad crunchy.  The burritos are made from premium cuts of beef and wrapped nicely with rice and beans. I personally ordered a burger done medium and a beef hot dog.  The hamburger I ordered wasn’t the greatest, it was well done which dried out the hamburger. On the other hand the hot dog was on point. Covered with pico de gallo and sauerkraut it was the highlight of my night. The service was a bit slow but they were swamped that night.

The Bodega is a one of a kind concept that fits the Gush Etzion crowd. Live music, good food, what else do you need to enjoy a great night out?!

My Surprising Lunch at Chooka

Yesterday I had the pleasure to go out and have lunch with my wife. For a long time now I had been wanting and craving Asian style fast food. As we all know, sadly in Israel, they never understood the concept of Asian fast food. The Israeli weren’t able to differentiate between: Chinese, Thai, Japanese and so forth. So after living here for almost 20 years, I have come to peace with it, and  tried to enjoy it as much as I can.

Lately, for the past couple of years, the flavors in these fast food places have been amped up by so much MSG, that the taste of the food is purely based on soy and MSG. But, I have found a place that actually uses spices in their food, and not just MSG. The take out place is called Chooka (mychooka.co.il).  It is located  in the Hadar mall in Jerusalem. Their menu is split up into 3 categories: Stir fries, Sushi and beef or chicken dishes with a side of noodles or rice.

What is great about this specific take out is a couple of things: They call themselves an Asian Kitchen, so you know what to expect and not get disappointed They have an online takeout menu that you can order from! No more phone ordering!; They use fresh ingredients! They have an open kitchen so you can actually see what goes in your food.; The portions are HUGE! I needed to share a main course with my wife the portion was so big; The have a 10 shekel menu appetizer menu if you order a main course.

So what did we order? The business lunch for 50 shekels, plus an appetizer for another 10. We ordered Lemon Chicken strips that were battered and glazed beautifully, wit a side of Pad Kavu stir fried noodles that were just excellent. For a starter I asked for wings because I love deep fried anything. They also threw in for us a eggplant pancake that was just delicious. I know it’s just take out fast food but they really hit the nail on the head with their Asian flavor profile.

We didn’t order sushi but the menu looked really good and so did the sushi that they rolled out for other customers.

All in all, if you are looking for a decent priced Asian style take out, this is a great choice.

And remember, ” eat well, so you don’t get food poisoning”.