Coffee Shop Madness Part 2

Being a resident of the greater Modiin area I am lucky that I don’t need to travel so far just to get good meal. And when it comes to coffee shops like any sizable city Modiin has plenty. My favorite is Kapulski. Located on Emek Haella in the Shimsoni section of town, Kapluski is a large and airy restaurant with seating inside and out, which is really nice when you have a small children including a stroller.

The Menu options range from an assortment of salads, sandwiches, to pasta and fish dishes, reasonably priced but by no means cheap. Because we are always looking toward the waistline when ordering my husband had the Kapluski salad that was baby greens with grilled salmon, mushrooms and seeds. It was great salmon was cooked well and the salad was fresh with a light dressing on the side.

I had the stir fry which was unfortunately exactly what I expected good bt kinda greasy with limp veggies. My daughter upon entering the restaurant told me she wanted pasta with cream sauce, which was delicious but what isn’t good with a ton of butter, cream, and cheese.

Although I didn’t eat any my family said the cake was great and I really enjoyed the coffee. Overall Kapulski is a solid restaurant with consistently good food and locations around the country. I love the one in Modiin most of all because its across the street from a huge park which my kids love.

Coffee Shop Madness Part 1

Happy Fourth of July, well belated fourth of July because I live in Israel where there is no fourth of July. But BBqing is a national sport here, therefore, I have decided to feature different coffee shops for the month of July. Why? Because when I go out I find the healthiest options at a coffee shop. Take last Thursday afternoon when shopping at the shuk in Jerusalem. I realized I was sooo hungry.

Now the shuk is a great place for food, hummus, falafel, sawarma, and meurav (soo yummy) but all of those come with a hefty caloric punch. So I turned to aroma, relatively new at the shuk and I figured well I can get a salad. I was a little surprised they had so few salads, but we (husband and daughters) ordered the house salad and the low calorie sandwich. I always appreciate it when they post the calories. The Salad was good, loved the green beans, but plain and the sandwich could have used some fresh vegg action not just the flame roasted. The meal was decent and reasonably priced. And that’s how I feel about Aroma in general its decent.

In its defense the location was a pleasant place to sit down and watch the hustle and bustle of the shuk. I walked away knowing I didn’t have the best meal at the shuk although I did feel good that I had made the right decision calorie wise.

Gosh its been awhile

So the resturant blog has not been in line with the new diet (no blog posts but lost 4 kilo, so I think I am ahead int he game) but I am back and with new resutrants well sort of.

I have been frequenting a very interesting spot in Jerusalem, its not exactly a restaurant more of a soup kitchen. No I am not homeless and this is not a charity endeavor, although I venture to say it doesn't make too much profit. A man in Nachlaot decided to open his home twice a week (mondays and thursday) to hungry people looking for good healthy food. His name is Asher and his cuilinary delight are self entitled "Carpathian Mountian Food". A mixture of Macrobiotic, eastern european and middle eastern food that is served buffet and seated family syle. The food is simple but delicious and when you walk out you dont feel saturated with oil.

Last time I went I had brown rice with curried veggies, buckwheat panckes, freash veggie salad, homemade bread, root vegetable soup and yummy apple cake.

Ashers place is a great little place in the center of town to get a bite to eat and not feel like you put on a ton of wieght. Plus with it costing 20 seks a meal its the cheapest in town too. all around Ashers is great if you dont mind an informal and unassuming meal served with a smile

The biggest problem is I dont know his address. I know he lives on Gilboa street and i knwo the house my memory, but I will update in the future

Rosh Chodesh Adar: Eldad Vezehoo

Shims and I have been talking for awhile now about starting a blog about restaurants in Israel. Why? Because we love food and we love going out to eat. Back in the stone ages when we were first dating, We began a tradition of going out every new month to a new restaurant. Although there have been short lags, usually after a kid was just born, or the month of Av , we have faithfully kept this up for over six years and have been better off for it.  We thought of starting it last month but we didn't want to start off with a negative review. 

This month we went to Eldad Vezehoo, recommended to us by some friends. The restaurant is located in Jerusalem's Fiengold Square. When walking in, I was surprised by the homey and kitschy decor, and the very open kitchen. Shims says he always like an open kitchen so there is nothing to hide but I was not impressed with the clean but not chic look. However I did realize during our meal that the scent wafting from the kitchen definitely added to the experience. While deciding on what to eat i was almost confused by the clash of decor with upscale menu choices and table settings i did not know what to expect.

On the recommendation of the waitress we started with the Fois Gras grilled in Calveros sauce . We almost always ask the waitress for suggestions because  i feel they would know what is best on their menu. For the main course, I chose the hanger steak and shims went for the veal fillet with portobello mushrooms and port sauce. 

The fois gras was cooked perfectly, lightly seared on the outside while still creamy in the middle. The sauce was quite good although on the sweet side I felt it needed a bit more acidity, since the liver itself has its own natural sweetness. For some reason the liver was served over some kind of coconut cake, akin to almost a macaroon. Needless to say it was pretty disgusting so we refrained from eating it. 

Along with the appetizer came fresh hot rolls and  a trio of salads: beet, carrot, and sweet potatoes. The beets were under-seasoned, the sweet potatoes were decent although typical, but the carrots were  surprising.  They were blanched then dressed with a acidic ginger sauce which was very unexpected and delicious.  Shims was disappointed that no spreads were served with the bread but I enjoyed eating it with the liver and its sauce. 

The main courses came and thank g-d they did not overdo shims steak. My husband likes his meat extremely rare and you cannot believe how many times restaurants overcook a steak which he has ordered as blue, bloody or simply moooo. To my disappointment my steak was cooked exactly how I ordered it "rare". I like my meat medium rare but have been burned too many times in the past when ordering medium rare and getting medium (more on this in another post). My hanger steak lacked a nice char but was definitely a good piece of meat, which I enjoyed.  However, the sauce that was served on the side was disheartening, it was thin, flavorless, and all around did nothing to add to the steak. Although I enjoyed my meal on the whole, it paled in comparison to the veal fillet that was served to my husband. Shims steak was fabulous and the port sauce, infused with cinnamon only accentuated the meats inherent tenderness and sweetness while not overpowering it.  As an accompaniment to the steaks they served baked fries and a medley of root vegetables. The potatoes were superb and the veggies were quite good, however I was unimpressed that the same exact side dish was served for two very different steaks and sauces.  

Since this was a rosh chodesh meal we indulged in dessert. We ordered the "french lemon cake" and the trio of sorbet. These were good, but nothing to write home about. It is rare to find incredible desserts at a meat restaurant in Jerusalem since most places buy their desserts from a third party rather than make them (ill talk more about this in another post).

The service was good and the waitress steered us right on the menu. All in all we had a good time and enjoyed the food. I would rate this restaurant a C+ and Shims gives them a B,  but he says I judge to harshly (more on this in a future post)