David Adahan spent most of his career as an insurance agent. But along with his wife, Brigitte – who is, as he says, “an amazing and special cook” – they decided a few months before the war to open a kosher meat sandwich bar on Beit Lehem Road.
They spent three months remodeling what used to be a picture framing store and were ready to open in early October. Then October 7 happened. But people still need to eat, so they decided to go ahead.
“There aren’t a lot of people who open businesses in their 60’s,” he told me on a recent visit. “But I love interacting with people and seeing them enjoy our food.”
On a recent afternoon, he struggled to keep up with the lunch rush as the small shop filled with hungry customers and other orders came in for Wolt deliveries. The menu, written on a chalkboard, is small, but everything I tried was delicious.
What's on the menu at Babado?
First of all, the shwarma, which you can order in a pita (NIS 54) or a baguette (NIS 58). It is veal entrecôte and each day he puts up a 15-kilo stack of meat on a spit. It’s crispy and delicious, and it often runs out during the day, so if you want shwarma, get there early.
Then there is my personal favorite – corned beef. Brigitte makes the corned beef, which is then heated up in a frying pan whenever it is ordered and served on a fresh sourdough baguette (NIS 59). I was “lunching” with my friend Dorraine Gilbert Weiss, who is always game to try new places.
“This is corned beef like you get in NY,” she said.
I agree – although Ben’s Deli in NY doesn’t serve their corned beef with optional sides of pickled lemon, schug and amba.
We also tried the meatballs (NIS 59), which were good, although not as good as the shwarma and corned beef. There is also a vegetarian soup of the day (NIS 28) – on that day, zucchini – that was excellent.
On Wednesdays there is fricasee (NIS 16) small Tunisian fried sandwiches of tuna, hard-boiled eggs and harissa. David says they also plan to start offering takeout food for Shabbat.
And where does the name Babado come from? Apparently, it is a Moroccan nickname for David, whose mother made aliyah from Morocco when she was pregnant with him.
Definitely worth a visit.
- Babado
- Derech Beit Lehem 49
- Hours: Sunday-Thursday 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.
- Kashrut: The meat is all Badatz Beit Yosef, the restaurant is Rabbanut Mehuderet
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.