May 2009
When I suggested to friends who live in Modiin that we meet at the new Masik restaurant, they couldn't have been happier. Though the restaurant is open only three months, they knew the restaurant and were thrilled at the prospect of doing another round. Praise for this restaurant was coming from different directions, so we decided to visit the restaurant ourselves.
In an earlier incarnation Masik was a non-kosher gourmet restaurant in Kfar Ruth. But time and world economies did their thing, the Kfar Ruth restaurant closed and the owners opened a more approachable and kosher Masik restaurant in Modiin.
 Q. What restaurant dares put the name of its chef on its logo?
A.
A restaurant where the owner and the chef are one and the same. It is even better when the chef is the legendary Eli
Mizrach, known for many famous non-kosher restaurants like Katit, the kosher gourmet 1868, and the first Masik restaurant. We actually met celebrity chef Eli Mizrachi on our visit to this restaurant. What a treat!
It takes clever restaurateurs to adjust their restaurant concept to its clients and the times. Chef Eli and wife Tami Mizrachi have cleverly targeted Modiin's young and young-at-heart community. The new kosher Masik is a modern restaurant with comfortable table seating around a large glistening bar. There is plenty of modern music and sport events broadcast on flat screens. The feeling is here-and-now with plenty of action.
The menu offers a range of foods with something for every dining preference and every pocketbook. In addition to a fine selection of starters and main courses, there are sandwiches, salads and even children portions. Several of the signature gourmet dishes from the original Masik restaurant sit alongside less expensive crowd pleasers. The restaurant does specials like the Happy Hour when you can have a hamburger and a drink for just nis 50.
Our company of four aimed to taste a variety of Eli Mizrachi's creations. The restaurant gets your appetite started with the house bread, warm and crispy with two dips. The netilat yadayim stand is in easy access.
 We had no trouble finding 4 different starters, suited to each of our tastes. Chicken wings are a must, and the stickier they are the happier we are. The sauce was sweet and spicy and the wings were finger-lickin'-good.
Shipudei salmon - cubes of skewered salmon with cherry tomatoes served with a baby mix salad.were delicious. The fish was crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. This combination is Eli Mizrachi's calling card.
Shipudei pargit - skewered de boned dark meat. on a bed of greens and sprouts were juicy and excellent in a sweet sauce.
Non meat-eaters will enjoy the crispy vegetable tempura served with a dipping sauce on the side. We also recommend the grilled eggplant with techina and a sweet red pepper sauce.
We did not have to ponder our choice of main dish. In addition to the tempting mains on the menu, our waitress suggested a number of specials of the day. The crispy beef with a sweet onion sauce was the highlight of these choices. One of Mizrachi's specials, the chunks of beef are slow cooked till the meat falls off the bone. The meat is soft but crispy when served covered with onion sauce over sweet soft mashed potatoes. Yum!
The fish main course is served with techina on a bed of delicious fresh cooked vegetables. This was a very nice twist. If Oriental food is your thing, you will enjoy the
Patai stir-fried vegetables with flat rice, noodles and chicken so soft it melts in your mouth. The dish is flavored with Teriyaki sauce, red and green peppers, red cabbage and onion and crisp fresh string beans. This dish is served in an attractive stylized bowl.
You don't need to spend a lot of money to be satisfied at Masik. On their previous visit our friends had chosen the salad for NIS 41. The salad was very large and it contained strips of chicken. They considered it a single-dish meal.
 Here's a dessert that you have not seen yet; Pavlova is a traditional New Zealand and Australian cream and meringue fruit dessert. The name Pavlova, was chosen in honor of the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, who toured both New Zealand and Australia in 1926. Eli Mizrachi's Pavlova is a delicious mound of rich (parve) cream on a meringue base dotted with delicious ripe strawberries. This is a wow dessert, not to be missed.
Dinner for 4 with a bottle of wine came to nis 600.
Getting There:
As you approach the Yishpro Center
there is a traffic circle. Drive around the traffic circle, toward the left and down the hill. Turn right toward the supermarket. Park along that street.
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