Corned Beef Tower @ Black Bar n Burger

This post actually dates back quite a while ago, at least a year and a half, which is the time passed since I've decided to go vegetarian/vegan.

Due to the above, it'll be useless to describe prices, service and ambiance that could have easily change in said period.
The dishes mentioned below however, they did not change, not at all.

Take a look, and if you go and try this sandwich - tell me all about it.

Ruben | The power of corned beef

I won't go on and on about Ruben, not since they don't deserve - because they really do; except I wrote about them before, so I'll just paste links to previous posts.

The picture below is from last week; I was drinking out with friends and when we got the munchies we realized Ruben was around the corner.

corned beef on white bread, with mustard, herb aioli, horseradish sauce, lettuce and tomato

The sandwich was amazing as always, so was the service.

Look at that pinkish, juicy meat.

LOOK AT IT.

Read more:

The Search for Tel-Aviv's Perfect Sandwich: Ruben

Corned Beef Sandwich @ Ruben

Beef & Turkey Pastrami Sandwich

Read this post in Hebrew

My girlfriend made me a sandwich.

Long story short:

I was dying on the living room sofa one evening,  all of a sudden the missus offers me a sandwich.

As if I'm going to say no to that!!!

Off to the kitchen she went, and this is what she came back with:

A huge chunk of sweet challah (one side was slightly pan seared for a nice crisp), juicy corned beef, soft-ripened goat cheese, lettuce, roquette, arugula, beet leafs, cucumber and sriracha.

Visible in the background: one jealous dog.

Bottom line: she really should cook more often.

Corned Beef Sandwich @ Ruben

Two days ago I posted about a Ruben's sandwich that was a tad on the mediocre side. It was even more disappointing since I'm trying to consume less meat, so each meat that contains meat needs to be worth it.

Yesterday I posted about a roast beef sandwich from Science and got negative feedback from r/eatsandwiches about it looking bad and not containing enough meat.

This is today's lunch, another sandwich from Ruben, it was delicious, amazing, mouth watering, 300 grams of meat and joy + a couple of amazing gherkins.

300 grams are over 10.5 oz, it's their medium size. I used to have the 400 grams as my regular, then went down to 200 since I was trying to change my diet. This was just me being very hungry. I could hardly move after this sandwich, the long walk back to the office helped a bit.

The sandwich contains: above mentioned 300 grams of steamed corned beef, lettuce, tomato, mustard, date syrup, horseradish sauce and a special secret herbs sauce they make.

It was really good; enough to make me forget about vegan guilt and the previous sandwich I had there which was meh.

Bye bye now.

Roast Beef Sandwich @ Silence

Silence is a place I visit mostly for grilled cheese panini style sandwiches. It's dirt cheap, the food is food is good (i.e. delicious and fresh) and the staff is super nice. You can't really ask for more.

They have a long transparent showcase deli style fridge with most of their ingredients.

All you really need to do is tell them what you want to eat, and construct the dish along with the person serving you. All of the dishes are basically salads or variations on sandwiches, but there are enough ingredients to keep you interested for a while within the given genres.

Also available: winter soups.

I was a bit bored with grilled cheese so I took a ciabatta with roast beef, mustard, lettuce, arugula and a bit of tahini. Along with an ice cold bottle of Fanta.

It was a good lunch, no regrets here.

That's it I guess.

Beef & Turkey Pastrami Sandwich

I've dedicated two whole posts to Ruben's sandwiches, not to mention at least a handful of random images.

They make great sandwiches, simple yet delicious, juicy, tender, with the option to enlarge the sandwich into monstrosity with is always great.

This post is a bit special, keep that in mind.

If you're not a regular reader (or a follower on Instagram) you might not be aware that I'm trying to go low on meat consumption, maintaining mostly a vegetarian and vegan diet.

This is hard to gather from the meat stacked sandwiches, but there are other meals, some less photogenic, still delicious though.

As promised - this post is different.

I want to tell you mostly about the guilt that comes along with this change in nutrition.

Once you realize how horrible the meat industry is - it's hard to turn back to the ways of old. Sort of like waking up from the matrix.

Meat doesn't look as good once you flip that switch in your head. It looks more like dead animals.

This is why every relapse to meat needs to be worth it.

You can't just eat meat products if they're not amazing, I can't that is. If I go our and eat something dead - I need its death to have a meaning. You can't just kill a cow and a turkey for a mediocre sandwich, it makes no sense.

If you eat meat once a week or twice a month, that meat needs to be meaningful, flavorful and it seriously needs to be good enough to justify its consumption.

Now, you all now that not every meal is a party in your mouth, not every steak gives you a foodgasm and not every sandwich features the pastrami of a lifetime.

This makes things even harder.

The sandwich in the photo above was okay. I can't say it was mediocre but I also can't say that I didn't feel bad for wasting my "meat ticket" on it.

It disappointing me in a whole new way. A way that is rather new to me and as such stings even more.

This sandwich was the the unjustified death of two animals. I don't need that on my conscience.

If I'm going to eat meat every now and then - I need it to be great. I need it to be so good that I won't mind all the horrible stuff that comes with the territory of meat eating.

I wish I had some magical conclusion I could share, a notion about vegetarianism or veganism, it's just a different way of thinking, even for a borderline enthusiast such as myself.

Consciousness is unpleasant, that's what you can walk away with, that and a picture of a beef and turkey sandwich, with mustard, horseradish sauce, tomato and lettuce.

Don't be fooled by this post; it's not that easy to turn a life around, the next post is going to be about a corned beef sandwich, an amazing one, luckily.

Fleishmann's Deli

This is not the first time I mention Fleishmann's Deli although I did spell the name differently last time.

They've already opened a Foursquare account so I know how they want to be called, although I tweaked it a bit since it wasn't following some grammar basics (which is kinda arrogant of me).

Anyhow, let's keep it simple, this is a short one: Fresh Moroccan bread, chipotle sauce, BBQ sauce, yellow mustard, horseradish sauce, lettuce and lots of corned beef.

I was pleasantry surprised to discover chips and delightful pickled cabbage in my take-away bag [and a tiny chipotle sauce container].

It was a superb sandwich, as good as I remembered.

The only bad thing I can think of is that they don't have enough opening hours so it's kinda hard to get my fix.

Otherwise - epic.

Note to self: on my next visit I should check out their pulled beef sandwich, it looked pretty good.

The Search for Tel-Aviv's Perfect Sandwich: Fleishman's Deli

Me and a few people from work went out for lunch today - to a quiche place I adore.

Yeah, I know, quiche, right? But that place is amazing. Was amazing actually, we discovered that it moved.

Instead of the familiar venue I found Fleishman's Deli, same location, different dimension. 

They were wise enough to place fresh, gorgeous sandwiches in the window display, I fell right into that trap.

BBQ sauce, chipotle sauce, mustard, tomato, lettuce and sliced pickles

I ordered a corned beef sandwich. 

They use fresh frena bread; frena is a Moroccan style bread, named after the frena oven in which it was traditionally made. The traditional way also includes river stones (for thermal reasons).

When compiling the sandwich I asked for: BBQ sauce, chipotle sauce, mustard, tomato, lettuce and sliced pickles.

The sandwich is served with a side of potato chips and sweet pickled cabbage.

There were sauce bottles and various dipping sauces on and behind the counter, it was like a party in my mouth.

the best corned beef sandwich I had in quite a while

I'm gonna stop here cos I'm pretty tired of writing this post, wasn't going to post anything new today but the sandwich was so amazing I just had to share.

Just let me add that they have four special gimmicks that are worth mentioning:

1. There are self serve taps with various types of soda (no brands but they were all good), you just pay for a cup and drink whatever you want. This concept is rarely used in our parts of the world due to both sides (i.e. business owners and customers) being assholes. People will drink your "free" soda all day and fill up bottle they brought from home - and on the flip-side, if you can charge for extra drinks it's considered a loss.
2. There are vases with fresh green onions all over the place, just pick 'em and eat away.
3. They use a machine that keeps the potato chips warm and fresh. The kind of machine you find in cinemas and nacho stands, but the fact that they bothered and that the chips were actually fresh is pretty new in our culinary scene. It's usually stale-ish servings or just factory sealed bags in our areas.
4. They have really cheap booze! 9nis for a shot of Stoli or Jameson is pretty decent. 

That's all, enjoy the rest of the pictures.

Also, I gotta state again that the sandwich was EPIC.

a display of steamed corned-beef sandwich awesomeness

a bowl of sweet pickled cabbage, a side of potato chips, lemon soda

warm corned beef pleasures

a tap of goldstar beer, green onions, bread and a potato chip heater

Jaffa : Shipudey Zika

The following post revolves around the last two visits I've made to Shipudey Zika (shipud = skewer), located  on Jaffa's Yefet street. A small place with a welcoming staff and really great food.
The first one happened on my birthday, the second one was on a holiday, with all the streets overwhelmed with local and foreign tourists, mixed in with the occasional foodies and locals.
We were heading to some other place, but on the way we decided to change our route, Zoe said she was craving and all the everyone else were easily convinced.

Guess which is lamb and which are beef

On my birthday we arrived at 3am. There was only one last group of diners and they were just finishing up. Our order was taken quickly, and we were served just as fast, with the speed reserved for people closing up and dying to get home.
Nevertheless, the service was gracious, kind and very professional. At 3am that's quite an achievement. 

A great opener

Zika offer great VFM (value for money) ratio. As soon as you sit down your table is loaded with freebies. Wonderful hummus, hand sliced fries, a variety of salads, fresh soft pitas, falafel and deep-fried cauliflower if it's in the season.

The deal goes like this: all of the above is free, as long as you order something from the meat menu. One-three people usually get one round for free. If you're four you'll get two plates of fries and two bowls of hummus, and so on and so forth. Refills are pretty cheap.

If you're not planning to buy a main course - fear not, the prices are still pretty low. Wait, that's not all! The meat is not that expensive either! We usually go for beef, lamb and chicken skewers, but if you wanna go mad there are also internal organs: hearts, kidneys, tonsils and there's even udder.

Hummus, pitas, salads, salsa, the good life

Thinking of Zika makes me hungry, so does looking at all these pics.
And it's not like I haven't eaten in a while, there's a half eaten burrito near my laptop, I'm not gonna finish it anytime soon, I'm not really hungry, but thinking back of Zika makes me drool.

The only thing better than great food is great food you don't have to pay for

Anyhow, that visit after my birthday ended real quick. We ate fast and took two cabs home. I was drunk after heavily celebrating and for a moment I woke myself up snoring.

The food just drop-kicked me, well, the food and all the booze, I mixed all sorts of crazy; arak, Feigling (fig vodka), lots of hard cider, beers and a few glasses of Baileys. 

That was sure a fun night out.

 

Golden fries

 
The other visit was something else altogether.

I wanted a Zilber roast beef sandwich so we were heading to the Jaffa Port market.

On the way we ran in to obstacles in the form of aforementioned tourists, slow-walking families, people taking bike rides on the sidewalk, all over the pavement and the boardwalk. 

There was also an international photography festival going on, so lots of hipsters with pro \ vintage cams, fashionable folks, pseudo artists with modern haircuts and just your average curious crowds, sitting all over the place, making it impossible to get around.

A taste of the good life

We swiftly changed course, Shipudey Zika wasn't far away; we were sure that Zika Hamdan's place will have a table just for us. That wasn't the case, but we got a table after about four minutes, which was pretty good for such a packed day.

The party started.

Om nom nom

The friends we came told us that it was quite a while since they last visited a place of this sort.

Perhaps it was the fact they aren't much fun and they treat food as something functional, just an action you do and then go on with your day. They said they rather save up or spend their money on trees instead of what they called "wasting".

We on the other hand tried to explain how pampering yourself with new tastes improves your mood, how the way is just as important and  filled with experiences as the eating, and that memories of fun times are surely more important than bong hits.

 

Beef on the skewer and lamb on the plate

At that point we got our food, so the conversation died and the eating began.

I recall mocking my friends in my thoughts while chewing,  and later losing my train of thought when the grilled eggplant arrived to the table.

It was amazing, look at it, it's here, below. Served with tahini, soft chickpeas, paprika, olive oil and fresh parsley.

Grilled eggplant, tahini, soft chickpeas, parsley, paprika and olive oil

It was a good day in Jaffa. We passed by a church and the bells tolled, later we heard the muezzin singing form a nearby mosque and at some point we saw people dancing with torah books (it was the Simhat Torah holiday, when people take the holy scriptures out of the synagogues and walk around the building to celebrate the end of the torah and the beginning of reading it anew).  

The wind was chilly even though it was still mid-summer, there were happy dogs, cute kids, horses, and people seemed happy.

Too bad it was the last holiday for quite a long time.

All things that are good

Zika is a place  you can always go back to. The food is great, great and  affordable, the location is comfortable, there's parking and nearby bus stops, and it's a close walk from the port which is near the beach which is kinda near everything else. You don't even notice how you get back to Tel-Aviv by food.
People are nice there, in Jaffa in general and especially at Zika, going there you can easily start thinking of peace and coexistence, after all it's easier to like people when they make awesome food. 

Consistency is god: 100 Chicos fail to deliver

I wish this was a happy tale, but instead I bring disappointments.

The story is quite simple: I visited 100 Chicos again, ordered the same sandwiches I had last time and was served something something similar, only it wasn't the same product.

Left to right: beef short rib, chicken satay, Moroccan style eggplants, fries

Beef short rib asado: this time the meat wasn't pulled, nor there were there large chunks, and there were no charred and smoked "ends", just thin slices. But that wasn't the deal breaker. In the past the sandwich contained sweet gravy. Several times it was served dry, but that was okay since the meat was fatty and juicy, and there were vegetables to moisten things up - this time mustard was added, a great condiment but it wasn't a good combination.

Chicken satay: the meat was thinly sliced, almost like shawarma, unlike the big bite size nuggets of past.

Morrocan eggplant: the ingredients were all minced together to a coarse paste, where previously there were bits and slices and pieces. To me it was an unpleasant surprise since the texture snuck up on me while I was expecting a chew-able bite, but the flavors were still the same. 

Some might say I'm just like to complain, others might suggest that they're still working on the sandwiches, adjusting the menu - which was what I was told by the owner, but personally I find it very important for foods to stay the same. It prevents unpleasant surprises and customers sending their dishes back (which I didn't). 

The owner is a nice guy so I had the chance to talk to him about this freely, and he wasn't defensive at all, he said that at this point they're still trying new stuff, taking notes and adjusting according to customer's input.

I really appreciated the fact he was so open, and that they truly care for other people's opinions instead of just forcing the creative vision of the person behind the menu.

I left feeling pleased, which I discovered is actually better than just being a hater and walking home angry.

All well that ends well.

Roast beef sandwich with a side of corned beef

About a week ago I went to the market at the Jaffa Port. A modern building complex with lots of various stands and variously sized restaurants and cafes. I ate at Zilber's Deli and I'll tell you all about the place in some other post, probably in one of the "Search for Tel-Aviv's Perfect Sandwich" posts. This is just a short one.

the best roast beef sandwich ever

I was slightly drunk (a pint of Westons cider and another one of  Liefmans while walking in the hot sun) and very hungry. We went straight for the sandwiches (one vegetarian friend chose hummus instead). 

I picked the roast beef, it was fresh out of the oven, pinkish and succulent, over Italian whole grain bread, with mustard, jalapeno sauce and a tad of BBQ sauce, with lettuce and tomatoes.

FYI, Zilber serve the best roast beef sandwiches I've ever had the pleasure to place in my mouth.

warm, thinly sliced, delicious corned beef

Being drunk-ish and very hungry I decided it would be ingenious to get a side of warm smoky corned beef. It was delicious and complimented all the other stuff (sandwich, pickles, carbonated lemonade). 

I did grab a slice of pizza moments later from some other stand, and a few more drinks.

Unfortunately at that point photography was not something I could indulge in.

Thank you for following my simplistic tales.

The Search for Tel-Aviv's Perfect Sandwich: 100 Chicos

100 Chicos is a new conceptual sandwich place that opened a month ago instead of  Mikoni, another concept restaurant. While Mikoni claimed to fuse Brazilian and Japanese cuisines and place every type of dish into a sushi like roll or a plain roll or a bowl - 100 Chicos simply offer one hundred sandwiches.
Now think it over a bit, some places offer one great sandwich, other offer several good or mediocre ones, some places just serve horrible food. A hundred sandwiches are a lot to live up to.

Top to bottom: short rib, chicken satay, roast beef

Located at the corner of Ibn Gabirol and Kaplan makes the place's potential clientele pretty obvious, during the day the area is a hot spot for hundreds of soldiers looking for a lunch, people from nearby offices and stores and the people walking the busy street.
During the night the area is filled with party goers, drunk clubbers and again - people roaming the area.
I've visited the place quite a few times and it's never empty.

Three types of beef and one type of chicken

The menu holds what the name suggests, 100 sandwiches. All served in an almost bite size but (white or whole wheat) with meats (cold cuts, grilled dishes, meat curries, meatballs hot dogs), fish, dairy, egg dishes, vegetables and even dessert sandwiches. It's pretty safe to say there's something for everyone, even vegan options. There are also salads and fries, and all in a reasonable price. One can easily get a complete meal with drinks and side dishes for under 50nis (sandwiches cost between 7-13nis). I don't know how you eat your food, but a 100 Chicos sandwich is about 2-6 bites, the bun being usually around 13 centimeters (about 5.2  inches). 

Beef short rib asado sandwiches

I'm far from trying the whole menu, but my personal favorites so far were the asado short rib sandwich, the chicken satay, eggplant and smoked cheese, roast beef,  salami, spicy eggplants and several schnitzel variations. I have to point out that there wasn't one bad sandwich, there were good ones and several great ones. The ultimate favorites would be the satay with it's amazing peanut sauce and grilled chicken  and the beef short rib with it's juicy meat, glazed with wonderful gravy, finger licking good.

Grilled eggplant, smoked cheese, fresh basil leaves

The service is quick and the employees seem genuinely happy. There are two taps - one with beer and one with *hold for it* lambrusco! The design is modern, simplistic and clean. You'd be a fool not going in to sample those cheap delicious sandwiches. Just look at the roasted eggplant and peppers sandwich below!

Drilled peppers and eggplants sandwich with a side of fries

The only bad thing I can think of was the fact that several sandwiches varied from time to time. An order should taste and look the same each time, that's a basic. Having said that, I do realize that the staff was just learning to make each dish, the place is brand new and they haven't completely reached the formation and the formulas they seek for. I'll give them some time, but the current product is still great.

Rib meat on the left and I can't recall what on the right

So as I've said, cheap delicious mini sandwiches? Hell yes! You might even find your perfect sandwich right here, hiding in the vast menu. Don't forget to try the lambrusco, it goes great with everything.

The Search for Tel-Aviv's Perfect Sandwich: Delicious Deli

I was told that Delicious Deli Bar have an amazing hot pastrami sandwich, which made me think a visit is due. I was also told their burgers were superb, but burgers aren't my cup of tea so I really didn't care.
It was but a matter of time.

It was a Saturday night. The Delicious Deli Bar, located at the Tel Aviv Port Market was one of the few stands still operating, most people were busy eating ice cream on the boardwalk, in the almost cool air of the sea.

400gram NY hot pastrami sandwich

Sriracha bottles on the counter and a soda fountain with various colorful syrups were a nice touch. This went great with the smoke (baked and with cajun seasoning, not sure about actual smoke) potato wedges I ordered along with the sandwich. There was also a mustard based sauce involved, it was epic.

I ordered the NY hot pastrami sandwich, which is just like their plain hot pastrami sandwich, but with 400 grams (0.88 pounds) of meat in it. My sandwich was mistakenly served to a lady sitting at the counter next to me, but the issue was soon rectified and I was able to strike.

This is a waste of a hot pastrami sandwich

I wish this was the tale of the perfect sandwich, of a lost treasure, the discovery that will change my life, something I could share with joy and recommend to all my beloved carnivores, but it's not, it wasn't.
The meat was dry and chewy, with a taste you'd not even expect from supermarket leftovers.
It just wasn't good. There was even a large  blood vessel chunk visible in the heap of meat prior to my first bite which was kinda gross.
I ate some of it, but most of it went to a nearby dog that appreciated it. I just ate the potatoes, the bread which was pretty good and drank my lemon soda, allowing the disappointment fill in the room I saved for food. 

The menu offered the above mentioned hamburger and another type of sandwich, but I didn't want to play this game anymore. I've had my share, learned my lesson, walked away.
Perhaps this was just a bad day at Delicious Deli Bar, it might have been anything actually, but for me it was a horrible first impression that made me feel as if all of the raving recommendations were nothing but PR and unjust hype.

Corned beef sandwich for lunch

A bun with a baguette-like crust made the perfect bed for hot corned beef, served with tomatoes, cucumber slices, a dressing of mustard and tahini, at Rothschild Cafe.

Add some friends from work and a cold soda (carbonated water) with slices of lime, and you get a fun break in the midst of an unpleasant day.

Although in a perfect world this sandwich would offer more meat, I found it to be quite satisfying and just in the right amount to make my hunger magically disappear - yet not leaving me bloated and sleepy.

The original sandwich was supposed to have sauerkraut in it, and mayo instead of the tahini, but I made my choices. This composition seemed somewhat better, and I was right.

Food porn: all kinds of good

Lots of corned beef, a slice of aged goat gouda cheese, some BBQ sauce and a tad of sweet mustard. It was simple, delicious and since both the meat and cheese were at room temperature - they just melted in my mouth.

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Argentinian style rib area beef.

It was soft and juicy, with one side covered in fat that sort of melted upon touch but was also fun and crispy in some bites. You can see the rib bone on the bottom.

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Fava beans over white rice. They're cooked with crushed tomatoes and lots of confit garlic cloves. This was easy to make and a pleasure to eat.

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A slice of pizza I grabbed at some remote location. It was amazing, with this old-school flavor to the sauce, and the cheese was creamy and soft in a manner I've yet to encounter.

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Open pit asado style BBQ chicken. It was a smoky heavenly deliciousness. There was some rub involved but it wasn't really coated in a way that traditional American BBQ is.

Food porn: all things that are good

The city offers too many temptations.

I try to resist but I really love these good times out and about with friends and food.

This is another chapter in my diary, hope you like it.

A hot plate of goulash stew over white rice. I was really sick  that day and had very little ability to taste. The only thing I really recall is that I felt there wasn't enough meat.

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A lovely plate of deep fried cauliflower. I actuallyate a pretty good steak afterwards but this was the dish to remember. The dip was an aioli based on pickled lemons. A real delight.

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Just a pepperoni pizza from Domino's, simple and delicious. The pepperoni was spicy and crispy, there was lots and lots of cheese on the pizza and it wasn't dry (nor too wet with sauce).

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This is from one of the controversial places in the area. They're too cheap to be real, but there are plenty of disadvantages. The place operates like so: You choose whatever meat you wish and pay for it. You take the raw skewers and go to the BBQ area where you give your food to a person that prepares it for you.
In the meanwhile you can go and buy fries, hummus, a jar of homemade spicy pickles, a variety of breads (the most popular is laffa), and some other stuff. Some of the sauces are free and there's a huge container of salad that is free. The place is minimally designed - like you would imagine a warehouse. It's not really clean (but the dishes are) and no one bothers to be nice. This is quite an experience.

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Stir fried beef with eggplants in a sweet and spicy sauce over white rice with egg drops. It was pretty good.

Food thoughts: Italian stuff and sandwiches

Something is terribly wrong with the way Domino's make cheesy bread around here. It's dry, not cheesy enough and the dips are not that great either. At first I hoped it was a one time thing but after a few orders I realized this is just the way they prepare it and that sucks.

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I was stuck at work and hungry as hell. Someone said they're ordering from a place I hate - there was not choice, it was either that or starving. I went for the pasta deal, hoping it will suck less than the other stuff I've tried. To my surprise it was pretty good, the salad was fresh and its vinaigrette sauce was heavenly; the pasta was cooked to perfection with a sauce that resembled a home made sauce with rich flavors of fresh tomatoes; there was freshly bottled lemonade, a bun that came in handy for the sauce that was left, some butter and a lemon muffin for desert. The grated parmesan was fresh and rich in flavor (I used it on both the pasta and the salad), and there was even a stick of butter that also complimented the bun. As if that wasn't enough, it wasn't even expensive!

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Pesto and mustard, corned beef, in a sweet sesame roll. There were bits of kabanos (Polish smoked dry sausage) on the side, and some disgusting olives. The sandwich was okay but I was promised this places is incredible. It wasn't. 

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Just some roast beef in a baguette with tomatoes and mustard. Nothing special to look at but sure felt good in my mouth.

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This pizza was dry, with a taste of burned even. The roquette and arugula mix was not fresh at all, it might have been just old or overheated in the oven. This pizza was an epic fail.