Israel needs more
restaurants like Delicative - restaurants specializing kosher New York style
delicatessen. The deli menu was put together by an ex-New Yorker, and he
knew what he was doing. Though this restaurant specializes in meat, the menu
is varied enough so that all members of the family can find something to
enjoy, even the vegetarians among us.
Delicative is located
in the Ayalon shopping center, in Ramat Gan at the juncture of Bnei Brak
and Tel Aviv. There is a large parking lot at the mall, but it is busy so
you may have to look around for a space. Delicative is right next to the
Super Pharm entrance. You'll see the Super Pharm sign outside near the door.
The seating in Delicative
is a bit unusual. There are not many tables, so at lunchtime you may have
to wait for a table for a few minutes. The tables are high, and seating is
on stools rather than chairs. The tables are also small, just large enough
for two, so several tables have to be combined for families.
Delicative specializes
in the delicatessen meats from Tirat Zvi. They stock meats like corned-beef,
pastrami (I mean real pastrami, made from beef, not turkey), tongue, chopped
liver and roast beef that I wish I could get in the supermarket. But the
menu has character, not just meat: combo sandwiches and double and triple-decker
sandwiches on rye bread or on French rolls (the closest that they can come
to Club rolls). The Delicative sandwiches have New York names like the Reuben,
Times Square, The New Yorker, Deli Delight, etc.
I could not resist
the temptation of a corned-beef and pastrami sandwich, the Reuben. I have
had it at Delicative before on the baguette roll, but this time I had it
on rye. I was a bit disappointed in the rye, which was dark bread, not quite
pumpernickel. It was served with a small bowl of cole slaw, a pickle sliced
lengthwise and crisp French fries. The sandwich was thick, with generous
portions of meat. To my surprise, there was a layer of sauerkraut in the
sandwich, something I don't remember from New York. Mustard and ketchup were
on the table. What can I say? The combination of flavors was heavenly, though
next time I'll have the sauerkraut on the side.
I had this sandwich with a can of Dr. Brown's root beer, making this a real
nostalgia event.
There is a separate
hot dog counter at the entrance to the restaurant. The hot dog counter has
turkey hot dogs, beef hot dogs and wurst hot dogs, all large to extra-large
and available with all the trimmings. The only thing missing is the ball
game. Prices for hot dogs range from NIS 11.50 to NIS 15.90. If you are really
hungry you can get a 130 gr wurst hot dog - the largest in the house - for
NIS 18.90.
Delicative's fare
is not limited to delicatessen meat. They make Eastern European dishes as
well, just like we had in New York. The European menu includes several kinds
of chicken, chopped liver, gefilte fish, ptchah (calves foot jelly), krepelach,
and kugels. Kishkeh and cholent are available on Thursdays and Fridays. There
are also more exotic dishes, such as the chicken breast in rosmarin with
peanuts. I took that home for Shabbat, and it was delicious.
All of these can
be had at the restaurant, and are even part of the business lunch, which
is NIS 49.90. The vegetarian menu business lunch is NIS 41.90.
In addition to the
table service, Delicative has a very complete take-out counter that offers
all of the delicatessen meat, the European dishes and Israeli salads. You
can get sandwiches to go, sliced delicatessen by weight or dishes for take
home. The prices are not cheap. You'll pay NIS 85 per kilo for chopped liver,
and NIS 9.90 each for gefilte fish. But you'll get value for your shekel.
Delicative will deliver to locations in North Tel-Aviv, Ramat Gan and Bnei
Brak. The minimum order is NIS120. Delicative also caters events.
If you are looking
for New York style delicatessen, delicious and tastefully served, then I
suggest that you visit Delicative. |