Dear Arcaffe, you disgust me and your customer service sucks.
Dear Arcaffe,
Nearly every morning on my way to work I stop at the Jerusalem branch for a cup of coffee. I am always satisfied and your employees are always very pleasant and make a customized outstanding cup of coffee. However today, I am sad to say, I had a bad experience.
I received my cappuccino and after taking a sip I noticed it was lukewarm - barely hot at all. I don’t know if this is because the barman didn’t steam the milk properly or used an espresso shot that was sitting around for a minute or two. I mentioned to the barman making the coffee that it was not hot at all and he said sarcastically “not hot at all, huh?” and “he will warm it up.” He took the cup and used the device that steams the milk to heat up the beverage. I was in complete shock. Not only is this completely unhygienic and disgusting but it completely ruined the taste of the coffee.
There are no shortage of options for good coffee in Jerusalem, but I pay a little extra for great coffee at Arcaffe. I know the standards at Arcaffe are incredibly high and you pride yourselves on a great product and service. Please inform your management at the Jerusalem branch about this practice. I will not be returning to Arcaffe and will tell my friends not to patronize your establishment until I hear from someone that this problem has been remedied.
Thank you.
Sent to Arcaffe via their website on February 28, 2008. I have still not received a response.
Crossposted to Jerusalem.net: The Jerusalem Culture Guide.
Not one eggroll served in Israel today
During the second intifada Israel let in a massive amount of foreign workers in order to fulfill the work that Palestinians from the West Bank performed. Now that the Palestinians are back at work, the government is trying to crack down on foreign workers. This includes restaurant workers. Chefs included.
In 2007 the government granted 900 work permits to Asian chefs, this year just 500, next year - ZERO. Unless of course, restaurants want to pay an exorbitant “consulting fee.” That’s right. Your sushi will no longer be rolled by Shigeto or Masakior but rather Shlomi or Moshe Cohen. You see, Shoshana Strauss of the Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor (apparently an expert on all things culinary) believes “Everyone can make Chinese food it’s not impossible to learn.” This quote MUST have been taken out of context. I simply can’t imagine a representative of the government of Israel could have said something so asinine, so culturally insensitive, so f*cking ignorant. Shame on you Shoshana Strauss!
Restaurant owners are not going to take this sitting down. Today, not one eggroll or spring roll was served in Israel. And in two weeks time, they’ll be a sushi/noodles boycott.
Ok, I get the whole concept of protest, but why boycott a product at your own restaurant? Certainly there is a more effective way to combat this.
Source: Reuters
Red Kubbeh Soup (Marak Kubbeh Adom)
Back when I lived in Jerusalem I used to hit Mordoch in the Machaneh Yehuda market every Friday for a nice big hearty bowl of kubbe soup. Since moving to Modi’in, I go once every couple of weeks for lunch and certainly not as often as I would like. Now that winter has rolled in and we are experiencing our first cold weekend (well, at least cold for us) I can’t think of better time to make some homemade soup. Since I don’t have the hands, experience or time of a Kurdish grandmother I buy the kubbe (meat filled semolina dumplings) in the frozen section of our local supermarket. There are many brands and not all of them very good. I only go with Yasmin. Their kubbe are better than I have had in some restaurants, though not quite as good as the kubbe I used to get from my Kurdish neighbor many years ago. Since I don’t make the dumplings myself I put all my effort into the broth.
Red Kubbeh Soup (Marak Kubbeh Adom)
Olive oil, 3 Tablespoons
Onion, chopped
Tomato Paste, 3 Tablespoons
Chicken stock, 2 1/2 liters (most Israelis use water and add 2 Tablespoons of chicken bouillon)
Salt, 1 Teaspoon
Pepper, 1/2 Teaspoon
Sweet Paprika, 1 1/2 Teaspoons
Sugar, 1 Tablespoon
Swiss Chard, a bunch of leaves
Lemon Salt, 1 Tablespoon
You have a lot of options for vegetables. I’ve had kubbeh soup with zucchini, squash, celery, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrots and beets. Most include chard as well. Since it is now winter here in Israel, I really wanted a sweet and earthy taste so use a lot of beets, carrots and sweet potato. Chard is the most common green used in Kubbeh soup and its bitterness contrasts wonderfully with the sweetness of the vegetables.
Heat the oil in a soup pot and cook the onions, once cooked to your satisfaction add the beets and carrots. Marvel at the color the onions mixed with the beets. Cook for about five minutes and add the tomato paste stirring in order to prevent burning. I usually add the paprika at this point as well.
First fruits
We received an olive tree sapling as a housewarming gift four years ago.
Today, I discovered the very first olive. That made me very happy.
Good times in little Tokyo
I just got back from an unbelievable meal at Sake Bar Hagi, an unassuming Izakaya on 49th street. You wouldn’t expect to find such an authentic joint so close to the always overbearing Times Square. The food was ridiculous. Just amazing. Uber-authentic Japanese food and not a piece of sushi to be found. We chowed down on an absurd amount of yakitori, karaage, udon, and edamame. My favorite dish was probably fried sardines and daikon. However, we wimped out on the yam jelly. Its a texture thing. All the food was washed down with copious amounts of sake (the kind we had was advertised as “peculiar in taste” - how can one not order that?) The meal was finished with green tea and a red bean pancake with red bean and black sesame ice cream. Best thing about the meal was both the price and the leisurely pace that the food came out. Highly recommended.
Humilated at Starbucks
I went back to Starbucks today for my green tea latte. I pulled up to the drive thru speaker and ordered with confidence this time.
Me: “One tall green tea latte please with an extra shot!”
Barista: “Extra shot? Of what? There are no extra shots in a green tea latte!”
Me: “Oh. I’m confused. Because yesterday I said I wanted a green tea latte but would like it stronger and the barista told me to ask for an extra shot.”
Barista: “Extra shot? Silly man. You don’t ask for an extra shot in a green tea. You can ask for more powder. But not an extra shot. Shots refer to espresso.
Me: “Ok. Thanks. I appreciate the clarification.”
I pull up to the window to pick up my beverage.
Me: “I feel humiliated. This can be very intimidating.”
Barista: “Don’t feel humiliated beverage ignoramus.”
Me: “I hate myself.”
Barista: “You have a cute baby.”
Me: “Thank you. I hope she doesn’t remember this.”
Making a pastilla in nine easy steps
Pastilla’s are always big hits at Moroccan restaurants. It’s a delicious combination of savory and sweet flavors that is pretty much unlike anything I had eaten before. I really enjoyed it and decided to tackle it in my own kitchen. I was very happy with the results, but as you read on, you’ll see that not everyone was thrilled.
Step 1.
Slowly stew chicken in vegetable stock, chopped yellow onions, parsley, garlic, ground coriander, turmeric, salt, white pepper and ground ginger. Throw some fresh coriander in there as well.
Step 2.
Blanch and toast almonds.
Step 3.
Place almonds in a food processor with cinnamon and sugar.
Step 4. Remove chicken from bone. Scramble some eggs combined with some liquid from the stock. Toss cooked chicken with egg mixture.
Step 5.
Put up a photo of a confused ostrich.
Step 6.
Grease and line a pan with filo dough. Layer the meat filling and the almond mixture. Cover with more filo dough.
Step 7. Bake. Before serving sprinkle with cinnamon and powered sugar.
Step 8. Watch with disappointment as your wife is nauseated by something that tastes like sugar coated chicken.
Step 9. Eat the pastilla for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next three days.
The Date-ing Game
The municipality of Modi’in did something uber-cool this year. There are dozens of palm trees lining the boulevards of the city which every two years produce thousands and thousands of delectable dates. This year the Department of Gardens and Landscaping of the city harvested the fruits and offered them to city residents for free. Ziva, the munchkin and I headed over bright and early this morning and got more than enough dates to make date jam, date cake, date ice cream and date pudding at least twice each when they ripen in 3-4 months. What follows are a few photos from the days events.
Monkey Cake
Been busy. Will return soon.
My favorite eateries in Israel
Much thanks to tafka for letting me coerce her into”tagging” me to write about my favorite restaurants in my beloved country. You’ll notice I like cheap ethnic food. I also love foi gras, but I don’t go to upscale joints that often, so I decided to keep it real.
The rules:
1. Add a direct link to your post below the name of the person who tagged you. Include the city/state and country you’re in.
Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
ML (Utah, USA)
Lotus (Toronto, Canada)
Andi (Dallas [ish], Texas, United States)
Todd (Louisville, Kentucky, United States)
miss kendra (los angeles, california, u.s.a)
Jiggs Casey (Berkeley, CA, USA! USA! USA!)
Tits McGee (New England, USA)
Kat (Ontario, Canada)
Cheezy (London, England)
tafka PP (Jerusalem, Israel)
Harry (Modi’in (The City of the Future), Israel)
Mordoch, Agripas, Jerusalem: The Mordoch family are Kurdish and serve the best kubbeh soup in the entire country. Kubbeh soup is a meal unto itself. At Mordoch you can get three varieties - red, green and “kubbeh shel pa’am” - Red kubbeh soup is made with chicken stock, beets, tomato paste and swiss chard. Green (commonly known as Chamutzta) is a really sour soup made with swiss chard, zuchinni and a ton of lemon juice. “Kubbeh shel Pa’am” is basically the same as broth as the Chamutzta but with a ton of garlic. The star of all of the soups however is the Kubbeh itself. Kubbeh are seminola dumplings filled with meat and spices.
Batya, 197 Dizengoff, Tel Aviv: This place has been open since 1941. Check out this origin. It used to be a watermelon stand. The customers quickly became more interested in the food that Batya was bringing her husband than the watermelon and hence Batya was born. This place is old school. You can get even order a side of shmaltz to spread on your rye bread. Their chopped liver is absolutely mindblowing and their chicken soup can cure cancer.
Moshiach Ben David, Frenkel street, Tel Aviv: Shai, of the once awesome and now defunct blog, Shaister, introduced me to this place (I still owe you five shekels) last year and I have returned several times since. It’s homemade Bukharin food. You can look at the menu all you want, but the proprietor will let you know what she decided to make that day. I’ve had incredible soup that was somewhere between a traditional Ashkenazi chicken soup and wonton soup, fried rice with chicken, stuffed vegetables with meat and more. It’s uber-delicious and uber-cheap. It’s not the cleanest establishment, but hey, that’s part of the charm.
Ta’ami, Shammai street, Jerusalem: Hands down, the best hummous in Jerusalem. I have nothing else to say. Go now and let Motti serve you.
Ethio-Israel, Jerusalem: My love affair with Ethiopian food started about two years ago. Until last week I’ve been eating it at every joint in the city except Ethio-Israel. Huge mistake on my part. Ethio-Israel is by far the best Ethiopian restaurant that Jerusalem has to offer. Ethio-Israel is located right behind Jaffa street not far from Kikar Tzion in an area which is quickly becoming “Little Ethiopia.” The food is outstanding, filling and super-duper cheap. I recommend their variety platter which features four vegetable dishes and one meat dish for only 35 shekels (about 8 bucks)!
Ofer Falafel, Modi’in: You wouldn’t expect great falafel in Modi’in. Since opening about two years ago, Ofer Falafel has become my preferred falafel stop, although I greatly respect both Yemenite Falafel and Moshiko in Jerusalem. What makes Ofer so special? Well, for one, the falafel is self-serve. You order your pita, they put in the hummous and you put in your own salads, chips and falafel balls. Falafel joints like this are few and far between. The falafel is always fresh, it never sits around in the oil for hours. Ofer Falafel is also immaculately clean and the service is great. Ofer and his merry band of teenage workers serve with a smile.
I don’t really have any friends who have blogs so I’m not going to tag anyone.
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