/997 Summer

etuteete Sedat

at 74 ?wade*

The Premier Retirement Community That Has It AIL'
24111 Civic Center Drive Southfield, MI. 48034

TuEsdAy, July 1ST
Phil GRAM ANd His ORCHESTRA

Kosher Bites

Taste of Israel earns high ratings for its array.

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER

was

TUESdAy , July 8Th
RAy TAyloR ANd his BANd

PANCIliTO

TUESdAy, July 15Th
ANd His LATIN BANd

TuEsdAy, July 22Nd
SAM BARNETT ANd His ORCHESTRA

TuEsdAy, July 29Th
JOE ViTAIE ANd His BANd

All Concerts begin at 2:00PM and are

open to the public

For More Information about our Concert Series
please call Libby at

810.352-0208

Our CD'S
PLAESTAR
■
Don't play
Music, but could
be Music
to your Ears

Its.-
11L–._ BANK

Member F.D.I.C.

THE DE TROIT JEWISH NE WS

One Year Certificate

100

5.87%

A P Y

Phone number: (248)-338-7700 or (248)-352-7700
2600 Telegraph Rd.•Bloomfield Hills•MI 48302

This is a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured account (FDIC). A minimum opening
deposit and balance of $500.00 is required to obtained the stated Annual Percentage Yield.

* Annual percentage yield when compounded quarterly. Rate is accurate as of
7/8/97. Penalty for early withdrawal from certificate accounts may be assessed.

art ment

W24.

a little nervous about ac-
cepting Ofer Ohana's offer to
have our staff taste the food
from his catering establishment
for one major reason: spice.
People at The Jewish News
seem to give higher ratings for
food ifit's 1) chocolate, 2) ice cream
or 3) creamy and loaded with fat.
In fact, a combination of the three
qualities can put just about any
food over the top in a taste test.
Not that the food from Taste of
Israel would not be good, I
thought. It just wouldn't be fat-
tening chocolate ice cream and
may do dismally in the fork rat-
ings.
But, what the heck. It was my
last week as a staff writer for The
Jewish News; what did I care if I
offended someone?
Bring it on in and lots of it, I told
him. And he did.
From matboohah to Moroccan
eggplant, from kafta to kabobs, we
sampled and sampled until almost
three platters full of the food were
nearly gone. One particularly slim
staffer confessed to eating two full
plates of different salads and sand-
wiches; another chucked her sal-
ad from another middle eastern
outlet and, in an ominous tone,
asked me to personally inform her
in advance of the subject and time
of the next taste test.
Mind you, this was not creamy
chocolate ice cream. I admit it; I
was wrong about my colleagues.
Although all of the food was out
of this world, the price list was a
bit astronomical as well. For ex-
ample, the vast majority of pre-
pared entrees are $8.95 per pound
or higher. I know it is kosher and
therefore is more expensive be-
cause of the higher food cost, price
of supervision, etc, but feeding a
family of four could almost break
a budget.
"I would definitely buy it," said
one staffer. "It is expensive but
worth it."
The Taste of Israel is supervised
by the Council of Orthodox Rab-
bis of Greater Detroit (Vaad
Harabonim) and is located in
Lakewood Specialty Foods in the
Royal Shopping Plaza at Green-
field and 696. Their phone num-
ber is (248) 967-6020.
The Rating:
Chicken Kabobs

`Delicious, just like Jerusalem."
—Julie Wiener
"Wonderfully tender with great
veggies."
— Shari Cimino

Beef Kabobs

"Passable. Better when dipped
in matboohah."
— Julie Edgar
"Burnt but tasty."
— Julie Wiener

Kafta (ground beef and
lamb, spiced and chargrilled)

"Wonderful. Nice flavor and yet
the spices are not overpowering."
— Susie Sherman
"Very good, perfectly spicy."
— Lonny Goldsmith

Matboohah (cooked toma-
toes and peppers with spices)

"Delicious tomato mixture, sim-
ilar to salsa but much chunkier."
— Sandy Rockind
"Good accompaniment to chick-
en — lots of spice and flavor. New
Jewish Mexican flavors!"
— Karin Indig

Tahini

"Really different tahini."
— Heidi Brandemihl
"Delicious with the falafel. This
made the meal."
— Jill Davidson Sklar

Hummus

"Very good! Nice and garlicky."
— Ellen Finn
"Good consistency and not too
strong but lots of flavor."
— Todd Shiba

Moroccan-Style Eggplant

`Too greasy for me and the con-
sistency was kind of slimy."
— Michelle Weyh

"Good, didn't mind the greasy
stuff."
— Heidi Brand emihl

KOSHER BITES page 108