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.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich @ QuickCafé Tel-Aviv

While going out for a much needed work brunch yesterday, a friend suggested we try the food at a nearby QuickCafé branch.

Surprised by the fact they offer actual food (a variety of noodles, rice based dishes, poultry, pasta and fish) and not just the sandwiches and pastry displayed on the counter, I decided a grilled cheese sandwich with tomatoes would suffice, especially since there was an additional salad.

Grilled cheese sandwich, and a freshly chopped cucumber, tomato, cabbage and carrot salad

The food was delicious, and there was an additional mini-dipping-bowl of mustard based vinaigrette that suited both the salad and the sandwich. I also asked for some tahini and they brought it in a shot glass which I found kinda funny.

The priced seemed a bit high at first, but when I got the plate I realized that it wasn't your ordinary panini.

All and all - a positive experience.

Bottom line:
Location: clean, well lit, nicely designed, but quite loud - being on a main road intersection.

Staff: courteous and helpful.

Verdict: will gladly return.

Read this post in Hebrew

Another BLT from Dixie Grill Bar, Tel-Aviv

Quick update:

Since the previous BLT from Dixie was so good -  I ordered another one, it turned out to be even better!

That is all.

Portobello Mushroom Sandwich w. Bacon @ Moses TLV

2am sandwich at Moses, Tel-Aviv: slightly roasted bun, arugula mayo, lettuce, tomato, grilled portobello mushrooms and a side of bacon. Also at hand - a plate of fries with BBQ and chili sauce.

Although this sandwich was supposed to be a vegetarian take on BLT (Moses call it PLT on their menu) I could not resist my urges - thus the bacon.

In light of my previous disappointments with this location and the chain in general (great dishes replaced with mediocre ones and prices being jacked) this sandwich was amazing, affordable and quite a nice companion to their late night discount on booze.

The service war horrible, but the food was great and the ambiance was generally pleasant.

The so called PLT is very much worth returning for.

BLT from Dixie Grill Bar, Tel-Aviv

Ordered this beauty over the phone and hoped for the best; luckily I got much more that I bargained for.

A fresh ciabatta bread, crunchy lettuce, a delicious tomato, mustard based mayo and a large amount of thickly cut bacon, both crisp and juicy.

That lovely sandwich and a side of fries, my lunch was pretty epic.

BLT from Dixie Grill Bar, Tel-Aviv: bacon, lettuce, tomato,mustard mayo, ciabatta

The order arrived in less than 30 minutes, it was wrapped neatly and contained everything we've payed for (don't you just hate it when items are missing or arrive with a topping you asked to remove?).

It was one of the most efficient deliveries I've seen in quite a while and the tip was high enough to show our appreciation. 

This was a total 10/10, with top notch food and service.

I will gladly order from Dixie again.

Habima Neighborhood Café | Round three

So I took a day off; always a good idea.

I made (begged) my girlfriend come with me to a David Claerbout exhibition, and in return she made me go to Habima Neighborhood Café which is nearby - can't say I complained much as I wanted to explore it further.

This tiny place is a one story structure, four walls with several windows and one display wall with lots and lots of sandwiches.

Sliced hard-boiled egg, asparagus and arugula; herring, sour cream and green onions, egg salad, truffles and spinach, grilled cheese with tomatoes and butter, grilled cheese with artichoke, grilled emmental cheese with ham, butter and tomato slices; several cold cut variations and a wonderful combo of spicy turkey and cheese with sun dried tomato paste along with fresh pesto.
Also, don't forget the jambon sandwich I covered earlier.

The missus ordered  the hot turkey and cheese (with pesto and sun-dried tomato paste). It was pretty good, I know cos I helped her finish it. The tomato paste was rich and very sweet, the pesto was very fresh and did not lose its flavors after the heating of the sandwich. The stringy cheese and the moist turkey were a great combo.

My grilled cheese with ham and and butter (and a few tomato slices) wasn't that bad either, but it lacked some depth.

The side of olives wasn't much help as I hate most olives (too bitter) and these weren't exceptional.
The fact they use string and paper to prevent the sandwich from falling apart and later to protect it while grilling it was a nice touch to both preparation and decoration.

All and all it was really a great experience; such mad variety of sandwiches is always appreciated and I was told that they're experimenting with more new sandwiches, depending on the ingredients, mood and day of the week. Such an approach can't be bad.

Also great: hot pretzels.
We took several to go - we had a long day ahead of us (we actually took several bites when they were still warm - delicious!).

Tel-Aviv's Sandwich Bonanza | Habima Neighborhood Café

Sometimes you just feel like you've hit the jackpot.

Continuing my coverage of Habima Neighborhood Café, I tried one of their grilled cheese sandwiches.

This variation is quite simple, but extremely delicious.

Just look at it!

Two huge slices of white bread, fresh pesto with whole pine-nuts thrown in the mix,  cheese and thinly sliced tomato halves. Simplistic yet amazingly interesting to taste.

Since it's really is huge, one can order only half, for what at that point seemed like a reasonable price but now I can't recall. 

The only negative note from this visit was that they were out of carbonated water.

They have many more sandwiches to cover so I will return for them, but for this one as well as it is well worth it.

Corned Beef Heaven: Tal Bagels and a Side of Fries

This is going to be a short one.

The Missus brought me a differ in the form of this sandwich:

• Poppy seed bagel (don't argue, this is a bagel, they bake them thick and with almost no hole so stuff won't fall out).
• Spicy mustard.
• Corned beef.
• Pickles.
• Lettuce.
• Fresh cucumber slices.
• Tomato.
• Grilled eggplant.
• Deep fried eggplant slices.
• More spicy mustard.

There were fries.

That's all you need to know.

Habima Neighborhood Café

I'm not a big fan of coffee shops, nor am I a fan of hipster infested places, venues packed with people aching  to be seen or just trendy spots.

Eating is something I rather do without people staring at me and talking loudly around me.

I also dislike long queues. 

All of the above are a great reason to avoid Habima Neighborhood Café, but they have so much amazing sandwiches that I just couldn't.

The sandwiches change on a daily basis, but follow a similar line. There are "bite" sizes (cheap and still big enough), grilled cheese sandwiches with meats and vegetables, all sorts of cheeses and cuts, salads and other interesting twists.

The ingredients vary depending on availability and creativity of the staff.

I'll try to cover as much sandwiches as possible, but until then, here's a starter:

.Jambon, cheese, mustard, mayo and arugula

I took my chance with this one since I'm not a big fan of mayo, it was really worth it.

The sandwich was on the cold side (Cafe Habima have three temperature levels: fresh, cold and grilled), but still, the flavors were amazing and the temperature was just right.

The cheese was of a Swiss variety (they usually indicate what cheese is used but not this time), and the jambon was crispy and flavorful. Fresh leaves and just enough spreads to keep the sandwich moist but to not wet the sweet bun. A great experience.

A moment of honesty: I took the sandwich and ate it on a very remote bench.

Amazing sandwiches are still not a good enough reason for me to suffer while eating.

Liking this blog on Facebook could be an easy way for you to stay updated.

More to follow soon.

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

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: Ruben

Ruben is a place that you can easily get addicted to its produce. They have several branches yet they're able to keep the original ma & pa look and feel, kind service and most importantly - incredible sandwiches.
Ruben, which sounds like Reuben and kinda looks like it too - is not your classic Reuben.

The pictures below were taken in the Carlebach \Yehuda Halevi branch, it's the closest one to where I live and I ate quite a few sandwiches there. You can smell the cured meats outside the store, and when you walk in the serving counter is right in front of you, there are bar stools to sit on and look out the huge windows. There's a second floor, with more stools and windows, and even a balcony.

Juicy, moist, thinly sliced corned beef, sauces, gherkins, a frosty Dr. Pepper

The menu is quite simple. Three sandwich sizes, two types of sliced bread, there's beef, there's turkey, sauces and vegetables, just name your ingredients and it's made in front of you while you drool. You might even get a few slices of meat to snack while you wait. Each sandwich gets a side of two delicious, crispy gherkins.

The fridge is packed with all the usual drinks, plus Dr. Pepper and several types of Dr. Brown's. There are also  two taps of beer (and pitchers if you're that thirsty).

Now for the sauces: there's a superb horseradish sauce, mustard, mustard cut with date syrup, herb aioli, and a hot sauce. The vegetables are pretty basic: tomatoes, lettuce, onions and pickled cabbage with onions.

A perfect corned beef sandwich

The sandwiches are of the kind that makes you come back again and again. Tender, smoked, moist meats, fresh and delicious everything, it's a foodies wet dream. The prices are reasonable and there's always good music playing in the background.

The only bad thing I can think of would be the opening hours, this place should operate 24/7.

If you're a fan of sandwiches - Ruben is a place that you must visit.

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.

Vegetarian cocktail wiener sandwich

A short post about a sandwich that is easy to make, delicious, colorful and full of awesome. As always, you can use this as a recipe and name your sandwich after me or just use the instructions as inspiration.
This time I actually have no name for it, although I thought of naming it after some country combining the colors of the sauces (i.e. Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Camroon, Republic of the Congo, Grenada, Guinea, Lithuania, Mali, Senegal).

The ingredients are:

• A rustic style grain baguette.
• Sriracha.
• Wasabi sauce (Sandwich Pal).
• Yellow mustard.
• Vegetarian cocktail wieners.

You don't have to be a genius to make this sandwich, just apply the sauces to your liking, add your wieners and that's about it!
Notice that I baked mine, I prefer the taste. The wieners get a different taste after a good sear, even though it's not meat they're still just somehow better after being heated.

Close your bread and you are ready to go.
I could have added vegetables, but there were none to be found in my fridge at that point. It was a late and on a weekend and I ate them previously, but forget about my excuses, throw in some tomatoes, lettuce, even some pickles (not just cucumbers, ginger would make a great addition), or even a slice of cheese.