Glatt Kosher In Today s Economy Why Gamble? Stick with the Best! ROOTS music is playing; the walls are decorated with posters of Masada, and the cuisine is Mediterranean. Moroccan couscous, babaga- noush, falafel, chicken shish- kebab, baklava are all on the menu. So is a specialty of the house, the Masada mix. "It's chicken shish-kebab and lamb mixed together on a grill and served with rice," ex- plains Israeli owner Yigal Schact, who presides over the oldest glatt-kosher restaurant on the East Side, which open- ed over eight years ago. It's a cheerful, unpreten- tious place frequented by doc- tors from Memorial Hospital across the street, neighbor- hood regulars, and sometimes celebrity patrons, too, like ac- tress Julia Roberts and her fiance Jason Patric, who usually order chicken shish- kebab. Over on the West Side, at 141 West 69th Street, Levana also gets its share of celebrities. Sex therapy maven Dr. Ruth Westheimer is a fan of the restaurant; comedian Jackie Mason has dined here, so has Giants quarterback Phil Simms. Israeli diplomats often stop in when they're in town. They can dine on specialties like venison pate, quail with wild rice, rack of lamb with pesto sauce, sweetbreads, rib eye steak and cornish hen. "Our cuisine is innovative American style," says manager Joann Makovitzky, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America. "We're always looking for new ideas." Innovative indeed is the venison. "We raise our own fallow deer at a game farm in upstate New York," says Avrum Kirschenbaum, one of three brothers who are co- owners. In 1990 Levana sold more venison dishes than any other New York restaurant. Sliced medallions of veni- son, scallopini and varioli venison, stuffed breast of venison with apple pecan stuffing — are just some of the venison specialties of the glatt-kosher restaurant. They're prepared by chef Tony Salsarullo, former chef for the Plaza Hotel. Desserts are another specialty. Levana's pastry chef, Michael Allen, prepares all the desserts — as well as bakes the bread — right on the premises. He does it without using a drop of milk or cream — but with generous portions of ingenuity. The ice cream flambe, for example, is a cognac parfait made with non-dairy cream, frozen and covered with meringue. Other tempting desserts in- LUXURY PASSOVER VACATIONS OUR MANY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE GUARANTEES YOU THE - FINEST HOTELS, FOOD AND SERVICE AT AFFORDABLE PRICES GIVES YOU A SPRING BREAK From $799 S RATES UCED! 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