Ra'anana anglo supermarket serves goods hot and fresh

Established nearly 20 years ago as Pieland, the original owners offered high-quality meat pies which became an instant hit among Ra’anana’s Anglo community. From there it was a logical step to start supplying the meat used for the pies, and Pieland turned into Meatland and has never looked back.

Seven years ago, popular South African-born cookery teacher Lisa Brink joined the staff (whose members are all native English-speakers by the way) and brought her cheerful expertise to help customers find just what they were looking for. She also oversees the production of ready-made dishes which are now very much in demand.

We tried a selection of these recently, and can report that the standard is high and the food lives up to its homemade label in taste and presentation.

Having picked up what amounted to a three-course meal with several main course options, we sampled the food over several days.

We started our Meatland meal with its famous fish balls (NIS 145 a kilo), a dish that is popular in all Jewish communities, but especially in those where the Sabbath seems to go on forever, like Glasgow in August. These were made mainly from hake, Lisa told me, and they were really good – fried but not oily, and not overpoweringly fishy either. They were well flavored, with a solid texture, yet not stodgy, and made an excellent opener to our supper.

Next up was the lentil vegetable soup. Lisa pointed out that all Meatland soups are parve except for the chicken soup. This one, heated to near boiling in the microwave, was a real winter treat, wholesome, thick with chopped vegetables and grains in a tomato base (NIS 39 a liter).

For our main course at this meal we chose the beef curry, as we had managed to find the elusive mango chutney needed to enjoy a curry dish, also at Meatland.

While not especially spicy, the chunks of meat were soft and chewy, and the basmati rice perfectly cooked (NIS 32).

The other main dish, meat balls in tomato sauce, had a definite Italian edge, with the nicely chubby meat rissoles embedded in a basil- and oregano-flavored tomato sauce (NIS 79).

For dessert, Lisa insisted we try the lemon and almond pie, egg-free and, in fact, vegan. It was exceptional, a dessert that was not oversweet but offered a combination of flavors and textures that really worked together. Highly recommended (NIS 39).

According to Lisa, no artificial ingredients or preservatives are used in Meatland takeaway. Door-to-door delivery is available for all fresh and frozen food. Ready-made Passover food is in the works and is kitniyot-free.

“Most of our customers are Ashkenazi and Anglo,” says Lisa,” so naturally our cooking tastes are geared to them.”