It was the legendary Meg Ryan who, while eating pastrami at Katz’s Deli, faked an orgasm in front of Billy Crystal, causing another customer to say, “I’ll have what she’s having.” Those who haven’t grown up on “When Harry Met Sally” or visited the famous New York deli are invited to experience the new Israeli version at MOB. While you might not have an orgasm, it will certainly delight you.
On the ruins of the Aroma branch, at the bustling corner of Allenby and Carmel Market, a new New York deli recently opened, bringing the homemade pastrami craze to Israel. The classic pastrami, based on chicken, was invented by the Romanians, whereas beef-based pastrami was created by Jews who emigrated to New York around 150 years ago with expertise in curing and smoking. There they found an abundance of beef that was relatively cheap and “invented” pastrami – seemingly a combination of pastrami and salami.
MOB is the opposite of its name - a meticulous, high-end deli rather than just another “food stall.” Behind it stand the Bar-Lev brothers: Amotz, who has over 15 years of experience in the restaurant industry, including restaurant management studies in Melbourne, Australia; and Haggai, who served as a chef for about 15 years in various fine dining restaurants in Israel (including “Shila”) and Europe (Berlin and London). In the last two and a half years, while planning the business and developing the recipes, Haggai worked at Schroitman Bakery to specialize in bread-making as well.
Everything here is made from scratch, including the bread and all the sauces. They also cure and smoke the pastrami on-site - brisket is cured for three weeks and then smoked for more than 20 hours; and the lox - cured for 12 hours and then cold-smoked for 16 hours. In short, it’s a divine sandwich, loaded with 130 grams of cured and smoked beef brisket, with deep flavors, mustard aioli, purple onion, and pickled cucumber. Half an orgasm.
MOB, Allenby 49, Tel Aviv (not kosher)
Under One Mushroom - Two New Mushroom-Based Dishes Added to BBB's Menu
Truthfully, it’s almost always delightful to visit BBB: it’s family-friendly and child-friendly (the branch in the Nes Tziona industrial zone is the friendliest of them all), the service is fast, and it’s nearly impossible to go wrong with the dishes. True, it’s not exactly Michelin - after all, it’s a burger restaurant, and still, everyone finds something to their taste and feels comfortable there.
Here’s another reason to feel comfortable: new dishes, some of which are not based on patties. We tasted the New York Brisket Salad, which looks wonderful: a smoked brisket slice is grilled on the plancha and served on a lettuce salad with cherry tomatoes, radish, and onion. It’s wonderfully seasoned and great for trimming down for the summer; the only problem is you can’t really fill up on it, and you might end up ordering a burger afterward (NIS 67). Other new dishes include: Mix with garlic and balsamic vinegar on arugula and Parmesan (NIS 49), Caesar Salad (NIS 65 with chicken), and Galilee Vegetable Salad with green beans and Kalamata olives (NIS 61).
In the burger section, we loved the Shimeji Burger - a beef burger with shimeji mushrooms, garlic, and Parmesan, served with mustard aioli, iceberg lettuce, pickled cucumber, and purple onion. A dish that is not only beautiful but also the mushrooms add a delicate sophistication to the flavors. Please skip the ketchup this time and indulge in the natural flavors (NIS 88, with fries). Also in the patty section: “The Indulgent” - two patties with cheddar, Gouda, smoked corned beef with a fried egg on top, and vegetables (NIS 88).
BBB, branches nationwide (some kosher)
From the North with Love
At the REWINE Festival at Yagur Nurseries, they will also host wineries under fire. On June 14-15, Yagur Nurseries will host for the first time the REWINE - the Northern Wine Festival: “Now more than ever, it’s time to support the wineries on the front line and host them, come disconnect for a bit, drink wine, eat well, and dance on the floor because life is stronger than anything.”
Visitors will enjoy no less than 40 different wineries from Israel and around the world. Among others, you will find in the huge complex Dalton Winery, Tel Shifon, Yatir, Carmel Winery, Tulip, Binyamina, Kishor, Senilovich, Barkan Beta, Ben David, Pelech, Tabor, La Baum, Maybach, Lolita, the Italian Masi, Sartori, Pori Porta, and many more. This time there will also be a special focus on wineries that are unfortunately on the front line and cannot host visitors in their complexes.
Guests are asked to come dressed in white, and there will also be a giant dance floor, a performance stage, a variety of food trucks with diverse dishes, artist stalls, and of course thousands of different types of plants.
Entry to the complex is free and open to all ages (unlimited wine tasting wristbands will be sold to those aged 18 and over). For details: 052-486-0200.