Kiko, New Meat Restaurant in Armon Hanatziv near Arnona

Kiko Meat Restaurant, 

15 Daniel Yanovsky St, Armon Hanatziv, Jerusalem, 

Tel: 0778836883 Kashrut: Rabbanut Yerushalayim Mehadrin

Last week my friend and I decided to eat out, and she had recently read Eluna email and noticed a write-up about a new meat restaurant not far from where where we were. Yes, Kiko is the restaurant. It's right next to the Armon Hanatziv Promenade (the Tayelet), a major tourist destination in Jerusalem.

As we walked over, we decided that if it didn't look acceptable, then we'd go someplace else.

Lucky for all, Kiko seemed clean and comfortable, plus the prices were reasonable.

We went over the menu, Hebrew only, though the guy working here insisted that he could explain it in English if needed. 

 

There's a nice variety and choice of foods and presentations, sandwiches in different breads, platters and salads. 

We both ordered salads with meat. Mine was the kabob salad. After ordering, our meat portions were put up to cook. 

We were very pleasantly surprised to discover that we could have our bowl filled with whichever salad ingredients and dressings we wanted, like at a salad bar. All we had to do was to indicate to the young man working there what we wanted.

Once the salad bowls were full, we waited for our meat to finish cooking, and then we were called to get our dinners. We brought them to the table and ate. Both meals were perfect. We weren't offered any pittot or bread, which was fine with us.  Yes, we look forward to returning.

שפשוואן - Chefchaouen Restaurant Review

As Israel began opening up after months of COVID corona closures I had dinner out with a special person in שפשוואן - Chefchaouen. It's a relatively new restaurant that although opened during the difficult COVID corona restrictions has managed to survive. 

Many of the health restrictions here in Israel seriously affected restaurants, because although the cooks and serving staff can easily mask themselves to keep customers and themselves safe, there's no way that customers can do the same. Therefore only Takeaway was permitted, and quite a few restaurants just stayed closed. That's how my eating partner and I ended up experimenting, trying a new and different restaurant. 

I knew nothing about שפשוואן - Chefchaouen when I called it up to make our reservations, and to be honest, I still can't pronounce its name.

The person who answered the phone was charming with a French accent. I'm sure he was amused that we made reservations, because when we arrived we were the only customers. שפשוואן - Chefchaouen began filling as we ate. It's on Hillel Street #19 where the sidewalk is very wide, and they have an outdoor eating area in a flexible structure. There were just enough walls to keep us warm and comfortable and few enough to make sure we felt safe from unwanted viruses. In today's world, clean, safe fresh air is a priority.

שפשוואן - Chefchaouen is a kosher meat restaurant that serves North-African French style food. As it was a cold night, plus we were in a celebratory mood we ordered our favorite drinks, whiskey and beer. When I questioned the beer list on the menu, which was nothing special, I discovered that they had many more including my favorite, Shapiro's IPA. 

Maybe it was the chill in the air, because I went against my general practice and ordered a carbohydrate based main course, the couscous. Of course it also comes with vegetables, chicken breast and chickpeas. They were very generous with the chicken, so I was able to fill up easily without having to eat all of the couscous. It was totally delicious. 

The menu they have online is slightly different from what we ordered from, but it doesn't really matter. Everything they served us was first class, 100% scrumptious. We've added שפשוואן - Chefchaouen to our list of favorite restaurants and look forward to eating there again.

To contact them for reservations, questions and takeout call 074-769-1307. 

Fantastic Salad Deal in Ariel

Last week I had a brunch date in Ariel. We had planned on eating in BIGA, in the new "mall" or better called "shopping center" across from the Ariel University. But since my "date" had come by car, we needed a parking space, and every one was full. I really didn't want to drive around and around, up and down hoping to find a car pulling out, so we went to the other mall, which has lots of parking.

The only problem was that besides the Greg dairy restaurant, in which we had an awful meal a few months ago, I didn't know of a place where we could have a nice simple meal. Considering that a lot of stores have recently opened, I suggested we case the joint. We parked the car at the end closest to the university and furthest from Rami Levi Supermarket, and then we walked. For some strange reason, there aren't many restaurants in that mall. We walked from one end to the other, and besides the Greg, nothing.

So, I suggested that we go to the second floor, over the Rami Levi. And we took the escalator up. We saw a bakery and decided to peek in and discovered that they serve sandwiches and salads made to order.  At only NS35, we decided to give their salad it a try.

The worker filled our plastic bowls with everything we asked for, tuna, fresh vegetables, a hard boiled egg, mushrooms, cheese, roasted vegetables and the salad dressing of our choice.

I think the name is "Lachmitzia," if I'm reading it correctly. It's a bakery cafe` and its sign also says "kosher mehadrin," meaning kosher to the highest standards. This is the phone number from their Facebook page 050-846-1484.

Many of the food businesses in Ariel cater to the residents of Shomron and Northern Binyamin, who are mostly religious Jews. The two new malls have all kosher stores, if I'm not mistaken. Although you can still find non-kosher restaurants and food stores in the older shopping areas. Many of the veteran residents of Ariel are Russian, not religious and even not halachikly Jewish. In recent years the population has changed. More religious and traditional Jews are moving to Ariel, besides all the university staff and students.

My salad

We were both happy with our salads. They didn't come with rolls, which didn't bother us. Since Lachmitzia is a bakery, we could have asked, but we really didn't want the temptation. Customers were coming in to buy rolls, rugelach, challah and cake. Some just sat eating cake and coffee. Ever since we ate there, I've been recommending it.

Afterwards, we looked at the shops nearby, and I bought some of the Chanukah presents for my family. Then we went down the elevator. I did more Chanukah shopping as we walked to the car.

I plan on reviewing the public toilets later on. The mall is officially called the Ariel Mall, but most people refer to it as the Rami Levi Mall, since the large discount supermarket is the draw for most visitors/customers.

Enjoy

Bagel Café Breakfast, Also Lunch

I have some good friends I meet regularly for all sorts of enjoyable activities. Yesterday's plan was a festive breakfast "out."

We decided that the most convenient location would be the Hadar Mall in Talpiyot. The big problem was to choose which of the many restaurants there. Until just a few months ago, there wasn't much choice, but now they've opened what could be called a third "food court" by the main entrance of the building on Pierre Koenig Street.

Choosing where to eat wasn't easy with so many restaurants. I checked out some via the internet, and we ended up at the Bagel Café, which has a nice large section by the front door.

There's a rather daunting, large selection of food to choose from, special breakfasts and the regular menu. At first glance, it's not cheap, but then I realized that I could "kill two birds with one stone." Since many of the breakfast choices contain too much food, which is why my friends weren't interested, I ordered the Israeli Breakfast.

The above photo doesn't even show all the food served to me. There was also a cookie, which I should have trashed. In the right hand upper corner of the above picture you can see a bit of a bagel. The first thing I did was to make myself a sandwich, tuna, salad and some cream cheese. That was put aside, later packed for my lunch. The remaining food was delicious, filling and kept me going until I got home after 3pm. All I ate, just before a 12 noon class in Matan, was an apple and cup of water. So, even though I spent more than I had hoped for breakfast, I really got two filling meals from it.

The wait staff was polite, but not all that professional. First of all, they should have asked me if I wanted to start or end with my coffee. They started by bringing me coffee and the cookie. The cookie wasn't worth the calories, and I'm sorry I ate it. And my carrot juice wasn't brought with the rest of the food, besides the fact that it should have had been served, or offered, first. I had to remind the staff that it was part of the breakfast. One of my friends had very clearly requested that she get a salad without any tomatoes. But the salad had tomatoes, so she sent it back.

The food was much better than a recent lunch I had at the Emek Refaim branch. Maybe it was the processed fish, we had eaten that had an awful salty aftertaste. This time I ate none of that.

We were all happy with our breakfasts. It was a nice treat.

Bagel Café
Hadar Talpiot Mall, Jerusalem
Sun-Thu 6:30- 23:00
Friday 6:30 -14:00
One Hour After Shabbat Till 23:00
1-700-500-751

Japan-Japan, Do Japanese Really Eat That Sort of Food? Restaurant Review

The other night, I went with a friend to the Derech Hevron branch of the "Japanese style" chain of kosher restaurants, Japan-Japan. I'd heard about their restaurants from friends who like the food, especially since there's a branch in nearby Ariel, in the Rami Levy Mall.

I was hungry, since it had been a very long day in the middle of a busy week. As I understood, traditional Japanese food is served separated to show off color, texture etc. But in all honesty, I had never eaten in a Japanese restaurant or been served Japanese cuisine.

The Beit Hanatziv branch of Japan-Japan, 101 Derech Hebron is very attractive, and it wasn't too noisy. Noise can be an awful problem for me. The staff was attentive, and we got our hitech menus set up in English.

There was a large choice of foods on the menu, though most seemed pretty similar to my untrained eye. I decided to choose a cooked main dish, rather than a salad, hoping that there would be enough vegetables in it. We thought it rather funny that although the menu was on a tablet, the waiter had to write our order on a pad with a broken pen, that he had to replace.

Before our food arrived we were served complementary "chasers," which were appreciated, giving our dinner out a festive aura.

My doubts about the authenticity of the food started pretty quickly with our first course of chicken wings, which my friend and I shared. They had been given a Japanese sounding name, but were really just Asian style "buffalo wings" with jam, "soy sauce" and sesame seeds. I did enjoy the small lightly pickled salad on the side. It helped cut the sweetness of the sauce used on the wings. And since "buffalo wings" are a "finger food," we were given lots of napkins and wipes.

For a main course, I chose the Asian Mix which had both beef and chicken, while my friend chose something just with beef. When we were served them, it seemed to me that the waiter had mixed them up. So, we asked again, and were told that we had been given the correct dishes. It didn't take long for us to discover that our guesses had been correct, so we switched them. Yes, as you can see, both main courses are the same color. A careful look revealed the chicken and eggplant in mine. The advantage of this mistake was that we got to taste both, and the sauces were very similar. The sauces totally overpowered the vegetables, both color and taste-wise. But I must say that there was plenty of meat and chicken, and the beef was very tasty.

Neither of us were interested in trying their sushi. If we had been guests of the restaurant, our experience would have been different, no doubt.  But I'm just an ordinary customer. The staff and management hadn't a clue that I'd be reviewing it.

The meal was filling, and not only was Japan-Japan full of seated diners, we could see that they do an amazing takeout business. Bags of cooked food kept leaving the kitchen area, both taken by customers and special delivery staff.

Neither the Japan-Japan site, nor facebook page seem to function in English. But, as I had mentioned earlier, they have an English menu and the staff seemed capable of serving English speaking customers.

We decided to pass on dessert; I couldn't bear the thought of more sugar. Later on we had some fresh fruit, which was perfect.

Bye, Bye Cafe Rimon

For as long as I remember Jerusalem, going on forty-nine 49 years, there has always been a restaurant, or two, called "Rimon" just off of Zion Square on Lunz Street. And I've had some wonderful meals there. So when a friend and I were looking for a place to meet for lunch yesterday, The Rimon was an easy and popular decision.

I had been looking forward to ordering their "Business Lunch," and my friend expected to have their breakfast she loved, even though we were meeting after 1:30. We had ordered these things many times at that hour.

When I didn't see the business lunch on the menu, I just figured that the waiter had forgotten to give the extra sheet to us. And my friend was concerned that nothing was on the menu about breakfast being "served all day."

The waiter was friendly and charming, but that didn't help, since he had bad news for us. Both the attractive business lunch menu and breakfast all day are history in the Rimon. We had a very tough time finding something to order in the newly revamped menu. My friend ordered the "Crispy Salmon," and she told the waiter that they should leave out the spicy mayonnaise. One bite and she was in pain from the spices. They forgot, but at least the waiter offered to replace it and give her one without spicy mayonnaise. She liked the salmon and gave me a small piece. I found it awfully oily.

I wasn't happy with any of the salad options, and I didn't want to spend more for a fish meal. Many of the so-called salads were really sandwiches, or based on bread. And there were too many ingredients, which usually means too much oil and salt. Finally I chose the Asian Salad, even though it's based on pasta. At least it had some nice cooked vegetables. If you're wondering what that white stuff is on the right, you should be. I think they called it "rice sheets," or something like that. It looks a bit like thin Styrofoam, and it has less flavor than paper. Yes, it was that awful.

We were enjoying talking, but I needed to leave, and they hadn't given us our bill yet. I suggested we just walk out. They probably wouldn't have noticed. But instead we finally got the waiter's attention and asked for it. Then it took ages until they gave me my change.

Before leaving I went up to the WC, public toilet, and they were in awful shape. Luckily I noticed that there wasn't any toilet paper before closing the door, so I took paper towels. A woman came up right after me, and she complained too. Then we began discussing the new menu. We agreed that everything in the Rimon had gone downhill except the prices.

I won't be back.

Bye, Bye Cafe Rimon

Celebrating at Tereza & Seeing The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

This week some of my friends took me out for a pre-Birthday Lunch at Tereza, Cinema City Jerusalem. Afterwards we saw The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, because we had read the book for our book club.

At first we had trouble choosing a restaurant in Cinema City; there are so many. But despite the fact that Tereza bills itself as a "Pasta Bar," we chose it. It looked more interesting, and was relatively quiet. Apparently it's a chain, and I couldn't find a phone number for the branch itself, 1-700-700-338. 

Tereza offers those popular lunch specials in which for the price of just the main course you get a starter and juice, bottled water or soda. We all chose different menu items, breakfast, fish and pasta.

My first course of grilled eggplant, which included salad and white cheese, was so large and filling, I had them pack it up for me to eat the following day for breakfast. I chose a fish which was delicious. The bones had all been removed, so it was easy to eat. As you can see, there was also a large green salad, which I chose from the side dish options. The others were all carbohydrates.

My friends ordered us a celebratory waffle with ice cream and whipped cream for my upcoming birthday. It was the perfect end to a birthday lunch with close friends. And for me, eating a quarter of such a treat was enough to satisfy my sugar cravings. On that we were split. Half of us said that we were glad to share it, while the other half would have been happier eating an entire portion.

We all agreed that Tereza was a great choice. We loved the food and the atmosphere. Service could have been a bit swifter, but we made it to the movie on time.

Being that it was a Tuesday afternoon, the senior tickets were reduced to NS14, if I remember correctly. We also enjoyed the movie and agreed that the screenwriter did a pretty good job adapting it. With the exception of the non-American actor playing the fiance, who had an awful fake accent, casting was on target. I love the fact that British actors have real faces, unlike Americans who look like they've come off an assembly line in a toy factory.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a movie suitable for all ages.

"Merlot" Great Shiloh Dairy Restaurant

I'd been hearing amazing reports about "Merlot," the dairy restaurant in the heart of Shiloh. There's a pizza place in the same building, which I still haven't sampled. They're near the bus stops and just across from the supermarket, Kupat Cholim Leumit clinic and the Dvrarim Yafim clothing/toy/misc store.

A couple of weeks ago my friend invited me there for brunch. You must know that I'd never refuse such an offer, and I gladly accepted. To be honest, I wasn't even sure that it was open in the morning. I thought it opened only at noon, but I was wrong. It's the pizza place that opens later.

Merlot has a breakfast menu, just like the nice dairy restaurants in Israeli cities. The prices are pretty standard, though not in the high end. It's nicely decorated and very comfortable.

We had the "Breakfast for Two." Our eggs were custom cooked, and we ordered different types. We shared the salad, spreads and rolls. My only complaint was that the "whole wheat" wasn't really whole wheat. The flour was too fine, and it didn't have the crunch and texture I expected in a good bread. The advantage of that was that I ate less bread than I would have.

Our coffee was included in the price of the breakfast meal.  The waitress brought us that "white milky coffee," which I don't like. When I told her that she hadn't asked what type of coffee we had wanted, she quickly took my coffee order and brought the other one back to the kitchen. She was very polite about it. Merlot's coffee was fine, as one would expect with such an impressive coffeemaker.

Next time I must go there for a real meal. I'm looking forward to it.

Kosher, of course. Open Sunday- Thursday from 8:00 AM – 11:00 PM, Fridays from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM and Saturday nights from one hour after the Sabbath until 11:00 PM. Telephone: 02-6284601. Call to verify, of course. They also handle groups. There's a parking lot behind it for cars and buses. Egged Taavura lines 461 and 463 have nearby stops.

Tasty Vegan Cafe in the Shuq

Yesterday I had a lunch date with my favorite vegan and decided to look for a very special venue. Of course, being that we were meeting in Machane Yehuda aka the Shuq/Shuk there were plenty of the usual Israeli falafel and hummus joints to choose from. But I wanted something that felt cleaner, more refreshing and even, if you'll excuse the expression,  female.

Suddenly I remembered that I had once heard that the Natural Choice Bakery on the corner of Agrippas and Shiloh Streets, which I had happily patronized before going "low carb," had opened a "coffee shop." I hadn't a clue of what the menu was or if it even still existed. So, I entered the bakery, looked around and didn't see any sign of a cafe. So I asked and was told that it was nextdoor. And then I found it, the Natural Choice Cafe.

It's a lovely cool, serene oasis in the hectic shuq. I chose a table and waited for my "date" to arrive. While waiting I read the menu. If you click the photos of the menu, you can enlarge them for easy reading. As you can see there's a large variety of foods and drinks to choose from.

When she arrived we ordered two of the salads, the Chopped and the Nourishing and shared them.

Both salads were delicious and very filling, even though they don't look all that big.

Since we had time and wanted the meal to be extra festive we also shared dessert. Of course it was all vegan, including the "milk" in the coffee and the "cheesecake" made with cashews.

The Natural Choice Cafe is located at 111 Agripas Street, right next door to the Natural Choice Bakery, 02-622-3229. Hours 7:30AM - 9:00PM.

You don't have to be vegan to enjoy the food served in the Natural Choice Cafe. You can take my word for it!

HaYekev, Netanya, Food OK, Service Deficient

As I had blogged yesterday, a few friends and I met in Netanya for a late lunch. One of the group lives in Netanya and she made us reservations in Hayekev, which is right near the boardwalk.

It's a kosher dairy and fish restaurant. There was a nice varied menu. The choice looked good, but although it was a very hot day, we were served plain warm tap water without any ice. A few times some of the women got up to look for someone to bring ice, and even then, they'd just bring for one person. The pitchers should have been full of ice cubes. Another problem was that the lovely picturesque wooden tables were sticky. I had to keep pulling down my sleeves, because it was uncomfortable on my skin.

But they did get one thing right. A friend and I had ordered their Tuna Salad with a few changes, and they got that right, though they never brought me the olive oil I had asked for in lieu of the dressing. So I decided to have some bread instead.

As you can see in the photos, the food was gorgeous, and the portions were large. Most of us found the food perfectly tasty, except for those who had ordered the salmon. They found it tasteless. The breads were good, too.

As we drove up I had no idea we'd be so close to the Mediterranean Sea. Even though we sat inside The view was mesmerizing, but that couldn't make up for bad service. The staff wasn't alert. Too many times, my friends were forced to get up and look for a staff member. And then after we had paid, each of us carefully gave money to cover what we had ordered and a minimal tip. Then the waitress insisted that we still owed money. Finally it was discovered that they had billed us for something we hadn't received.

Since I'm not familiar with the Netanya restaurant scene, I can't compare Hayekev with others. Here's more information:

• Address: 6 Gad Makhnes, Netanya, Israel
• Location: Middle East  >  Israel  >  Central District  >  Netanya
• Phone Number: +972 9-862-2220