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.

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

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.