Archive for Food
Cafe Ne’eman Opens up in Bet Shemesh – Cafe Aroma has some serious competition
Posted by: | CommentsThe long awaited opening of Cafe Ne’eman has finally happened and those that read this blog know that I am a big fan of Cafe Aroma, but they do have some serious competition.
My first thoughts where Wow! Huge selection (as you can see from the pics below) and the place was imaculately clean. Of course they just opened, but the place looked great. They have both seating inside and out and they have a much larger menu then Aroma with an assortment of Breakfast specials, pastas, salads and sanwiches. They also have ice coffe in XXXL size for under 10 NIS that was just as good as Aromas, but about 7 nis cheaper.
Ne’eman also carries a Mehadrin hechsher which is a huge plus. I was also very happy with the customer service. I ordered an omlet sandwhich to go and when ten minutes passed and it wasn’t ready they came out with a small plate and started asking me what pastries I wanted on the house since they were having some problem in the Kitchen. After another few minutes passed they gave me an extra Ice Coffee for my wife. That was very impressive.
In anycase I am sure they will do well if they keep the place clean and the food fresh. They are opened from 6:30am till midnight which is another plus. So why not stop by, they are in the main road in the industrial area by the new PAZ Gas Station across from HaShamein. Post in the comments your thoughts!
New mall is opening, what kind of food is secondary to what is really important
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- Image via Wikipedia
I saw this on one of the Bet Shemesh Email lists today:
Have your say and eat it! Choose today what food will be served in the Dolev
Mall
Y&G Surveys, designers of consumer and public opinion surveys, invite you to
rate your food preferences:
Which eatery would you be interested in having in the new mall on Nachal
Dolev? (Rank between 1 ? 5, where 1 is of greatest importance.)
Coffee Shop
Burger
Pizza
Pita, Felafel
Ice Cream Parlor / Fresh Juices / Crepes
Now I am as excited as the next guy for havine some new places to eat in Ramat Bet Shemesh, but they are asking the wrong questions or focusing on thewrong things. In my 7 years so far living here I have seen many retaurants come and go and have never been excited about any of them besides Aroma and now Hashamen for great Shwarma.
Lets take an example. Asking us if we want another pizza place in this community, well if it will be anything like the existing 4-5 places we have I would say no, don’t bother. But what if it was a Pizza Hut or Sbarraos with a Mehadrin Hechsher? Or even a branch of Giant Pizza from Modiin? Well then I would be excited and welcome it. What if it was a Pizza Place with a choice of 15 different toppings, a full salad bar and perhaps some pasta dishes or Heaven Forbid Eggplant Parmajan and Cheese Fries? Well then I say who cares what the name is, bring it on!
Now if I had to choose one place I would like, I would have to say a coffee place, A mehadrin version of Aroma with a bit of a different meny would be most welcomed. But will it have the speed and cleanliness of Aroma?
Another falafel place I don’t think is needed and the falafel in town is pretty good. Another burger place is also not something I think is so needed. A separate ice cream store can also just be combined with a great coffee shop or deluxe pizza venue.
How about asking us for our own ideas? Not sure if it would succeed or not, but an American style fast Chinese place would be great, something like they have in Malcha Mall or Center 1.
In anycase I think what people in this community in the Dolev area is looking for is:
- Mehadrin Hechsher
- Cleanliness
- Speed of order
- More options on the menu
- Unique menu
- Free Delivery
What type of food being served is secondary.
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Businesses In Israel charge more for convenience
Posted by: | CommentsBusinesses of all types should be concentrating on how to make their customers life easier and for less money. If they can fous on these two things while maintaining their profit margins then that will lead to success.
I believe I wrote about this in another post on buying Tuna in Israel and how they charged you more money for a package of four cans then if you bought four separate cans. And I remember hearing that if you buy in bulk in Israel you end up paying more money. One of the reasons behind this is that if you buy in bulk then you may come shopping less often which means less impulse buying. The stores want you to keep coming back.
Seems like most companies in Israel charge you for convenience. If you want something delivered it will cost you money. If you buy in bulk it will cost you money. If you want to private park it will cost you money.
Here is an example that I saw today. I was at ACE today helping out my cousin who just made Aliyah and I was a bit thirsty but did not have any cash on me. I saw the soda machine took credit cards and I was thinking about spending the 7.5 NIS for a bottle of ice tea (very expensive in it’s own right) and then I saw that they would charge me .60 more if I used my credit card briging up the price of a small bottle of ice tea to 8.10 NIS.
Now I understand that it costs more to the vendor when you get a credit card order instead of cash, but you are already paying a lot for the drink. And .60 is about 8% higher for the product and it’s only costing them 3% or less for the credit card charge. I know in the United States it is illegal to charge more for paying by credit card, but I guess that law does not yet exist in Israel.
Mey Eden vs. Tami4 – Out with the old and in with the new
Posted by: | CommentsBefore I made Aliyah on the very first Nefesh B’Nefesh flight in July 2002 I told my wife that I had 3 conditions for me making Aliyah.
- Air Conditioning
- High-Speed Internet
- Spring Water
With those three things I could probably live anywhere, but those are my basic necessities.
This post is about #3, Spring Water. Since my Yeshiva days in Neveh Zion I have been a big believer in not drinking Israeli tap water. Actually I first learned about my fear of Israeli tap water when I spent the summer of 1988 on Achva, but when I was in Neveh I made it my mission never to drink the tap water unless it was mixed in a huge garbage can with petal and sulfuric acid; the acid obviously killing any germs, bacteria or anything else living in the garbage can and the petal could kill the taste of virtually anything.
So when we made Aliyah one of the first things I ordered was Mey Eden bottled water and for the last 6 1/2 years that is what I have been drinking.
Now to be clear I really do love Mey Edens water and was very happy and impressed with the service, but then something happened that made me raise an eyebrow.
About 6 months ago during one of the deliveries the Mey Eden man told us that since we always take 5 bottles of water we should really be on the 5 bottle plan and not the 3 bottle plan where the 4th and 5th bottle are a lot more expensive. You see, when we made Aliyah it was just my wife, our one child and I and so we got ourselves on the three bottle plan. Somewhere between the 3rd and 4th kid we starting drinking about 5 bottles of water consistently, but it wasn’t in Mey Edens best interest to switch us or suggest that we should be on the higher plan ever though we had been drinking 5 or more bottles a month for 4 years!
So this irked me just a bit…
So with the economy being what it is and the need to try and save money I decided to move over to the Tami4 company.
I had seen Tami4 machines around town, but it wasn’t until we got it for my office that I really took notice.
Out with the Old
In my office we also had Mey Eden water, but we were not happy with it as the counter version didn’t let the water pour out very fast and a couple of other issues like they would always deliver the water at 7:30am when we did not open the office till 9am. So somoene had the idea to get a Tami4 machine since it was less expensive and we would never need to deal with someone coming each month etc.
The Tami4 machine worked great, always had instant cold and hot water and the taste was great, so after a month of drinking it in the office, I decided to make the move and get it for my home.
Now when making any serious descision like what type of water you are going to put in your body and those of your loved ones you need to weigh the pros and cons.
So first the Pros of making the switch:
- 82 NIS/month for Tami4 vs 350 NIS/month for Mey Eden
- No men coming once a month at 7:30am to drop off water
- No need to worry about ever running out of water to drink
- Frees up space in the kitchen where we can now put a beautiful garbage can
- No Shlepping heavy bottles or worrying about collecting empty bottles and making sure they are outside for when Mey Eden comes
And the cons:
- Can’t use it on Shabbos since it runs on electricity so need to fill up bottles before Shabbos
- Takes up counter-space
- Water bill will go up
- Kids (and myself) will play with it more because it is so cool
- Need to change filter every 6 months
- Need to change a bulb once a year
In with the New
The Pros outweighed the cons for us and so we made the move, but not before Mey Eden tried to put up a fight. I called them to cancel my order and have them pick up the machine. They tried to talk me out of it, but I was pretty firm. The next day I got a call from them and again they tried to change my mind and again I said no and confirmed that my account was closed. A week later the Mey Eden man came for the last time, but refused to take the machine. He said he couldn’t take it and that I needed to speak with them and he was just a small guy taking orders. A couple of hours later Mey Eden called me and by that point I was a bit upset, but then he made me an offer that I could refuse. He said that times are tough economically and so he would be able to cut my bill in half! Instead of paying on average 350 NIS/month I would now only pay 168/month. Now this was a great deal and I strongly suggest anyone who has a Mey Eden account to call up and get this deal, but for me it was too little too late. Why not offer me this deal months ago? Why did you wait for me to cancel my account before you made this offer? Is it fair that a neighbor up the block should be paying 1/2 of what I paid when we are getting the same thing? When I have been a loyal customer for more then 6 years?
So we now have the Tami4 machine in our kitchen and yes I love pushing the cool blue glow buttons and having delicious cold water come out.
Yesterday I took a very rare vacation day to go rafting down the Jordan river about 5 minutes from Kiryat Shemona. There were two trails, one that took about an hour and another that took 3 hours. My buddy and I took the shorter trail as we were acting as chaufers for a school.
The rafting was nice and relaxing. When they gave us instructions and told us how careful we have to be at the rapids we were a bit excited. That is until we reached the “rapids” and it was about a 2 foot vertical drop that was over in about 2 seconds. What a feeling of adrenilin going fighting nature like that! Seriously though it was very pleasant and the next time I’m going to go with my family since I think my older kids would enjoy it better.
The best part though is when the school decided to stay and play in the ajoining park for a couple of hours. That left me and my buddy Raviv a couple of hours to check out this mehadrin restaurant in Kiryat Shemnoa called Aish Beish just about five minutes away. This place was great!
We ordered 2 orderes of meat empanadas to get started with. They were two empandas for 18 NIS. Twice the portion and 7 NIS cheaper then what you would normally get at El Gauchos. Personally I felt EL Gauchos was a bit tastier, but Raviv liked these better. In anycase the price and quantity made it more than worth it.
We then went to the main dish where we ordered a 500 Gram Entrecote Steak and an order of Lamb Chops. They each came with a salad and a choice of one side dish. So we took the rice and fries. The fries were way above average with some sort of crispy coating that made them stand out. Rice is rice, but they topped it with some sweet raisins and onions in the traditonaly Moraccan way that made it worth it.
The Steak was one of the best we had in Israel and easily was better then El Gauchos. It was grilled to perfection and tasted like heaven. The lamb chops was also a nice portion and were delicious.
A couple of complaints was that they don’t have Pita or lafa bread, just little baked loaves that you had to pay for and also when you sit down all they give you is a small shot glass of olives to munch on. If you wanted the standard set of salads you had to pay for it. When we asked for some techina to go with the lamb they charged us 7 NIS extra for it when really they should have thrown it in for free.
Other then that we had a great time. The atmosphere was amazing and the food was perfect. Can’t wait to go back again.
Segula for Parnossa: This Shabbos is Shlissel Challah Shabbos! Get your keys ready!
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There is a well known segulah (charm) for parnosa (making a living) that takes place this Shabbos. The Shabbos following the last day of Pesach it has become a minhag to bake Challahs either in the shape of a key or to actually insert your key into the Challah before baking (make sure to wrap it in tinfoil first). It is called Shlissel Challah. Hey, in todays economy it certainly can’t hurt. I believe the object to be that we recognize that parnossa comes from Hashem and we rely on him for our well being. Since Pesach is the start of the Spring time, it is now the times that crops should be ready after the winter. We have been doing it almost every year since we are married and I look forward to my wifes fresh Shlissel Chalah on Shabbos.
Please call me back in 5 minutes with your order, my cell phone is ringing
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Imagine you call up a restaurant and you are in the middle of giving your order and the guy taking your order tells you that you should call back in 5 minutes because his cell phone is ringing. Chutzpa you would say? Unbelievable perhaps? Perhaps, but also 100% True. This happened to a very close friend of mine and he was simply flabbergasted.
So he called back in 5 minutes, but the line was busy. It took him 20 minutes before he got a live person on the phone and by that time they told him it would take an hour and a half to get his order.
Only in Israel my friends, only in Israel.
I literally can’t pass this place with out stopping to buy a Shawarma
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Israel: In Israel, shawarma (Hebrew: ???????) is a very popular street food and is offered in meat restaurants. Originally introduced by native Arab and Jewish residents as well as Jews who immigrated from Arab countries,
the dish has become ubiquitous amongst nearly all of the country's
ethnic communities. Often the rotating skewer is placed at the front of
the fast-food stand, exposed to the street, so that patrons can view
the preparation process. Shawarma is served in a pita or a lafa and is
usually eaten with salad, hummus or french fries. In Jerusalem, the lafa is called 'esh tanur'. One of the condiments in demand is Amba. [1][2]
The Above is from Wikipedia on the Shawarma entry.
Every time I pass this gas station I pull over to but what is to me the best Shawarma in Israel. My love affair with Shawarma began with my post High-School yeshiva years when I attended Neveh Tzion in Tel-Stone. In those days the Shawarma of choice came from a place called Massov Burger at the Tachana Merkazit in Jerusalem. There was nothing like an Aish Tanoor filled with steaming lamb Shawarma, fried onions, Baba-Ganush, Chumas, Pickles & chips. Exspecially compared to Yeshiva food (when I wasn't the cook). Those were some of the best meals of my life.
This Gas Station on Route 4 brings back those memories. Such fond memories to the point where I can't drive by unless I buy one. Even if I'm not hungry I will buy one for lunch or dinner the next day. It's a good thing I don't pass by on my way to work 
Truth is I only average driving by about once every 6 weeks so it's not like a sick obsession and I would never drive there just for getting a Shawarma, but to me and I'm sure to many other out there it is some of the best Shawarma in Israel. Some of the things I like most about there are:
- They are open passed 1:00am every night
- You can be in and out in under 4 minutes even when busy
- They stuff it up good with everything you can want
- They have a big bowl of fried onions ready to put in
- They give you little containers, as many as you need, to fill with pickles, techina, onions and Amba sauce
- The price if pretty good
- The Shaarma tastes awesome!
There was one time I actuyally drove by and didn't stop in and that was because my wife was with me and we were on our way home from a wedding. Now coming home from a wedding where I stuffed myself does not break the rule of purchasing a Shawarma for the next day, but the face my wife gave me was enough to "accidentally" miss the turning point.
How about your business? What do you do to make it a must stop in or a must buy?
