Sufganiyot, deep fried jelly donuts, are the traditional Israeli way to celebrate Hanukkah. Like Latkes, the oil used to fry the Sufganiyot is a symbol of the miracle of Hanukkah. They are an obsession in Israel.

These tasty treats are available in several flavors at Mizrahi Grill this week. Today they had strawberry.

iblock9 wrote:Sufganiyot, deep fried jelly donuts, are the traditional Israeli way to celebrate Hanukkah. Like Latkes, the oil used to fry the Sufganiyot is a symbol of the miracle of Hanukkah. They are an obsession in Israel.

These tasty treats are available in several flavors at Mizrahi Grill this week. Today they had strawberry.

Nice to know. I think we'll stop in this week.

BTW, does anyone know if the landlord will ever produce a permanent sign for Mizrahi Grill? It's been months and they still only have flimsy banner tied to the building. If I were them, I'd be very upset by this because it makes it virtually impossible for a driver-by to even know it's there if they don't already know. Even for those who do, on a first visit, if you're not familiar with the area, such inadequate signage would be a real impediment to finding the place. These guys deserve a real sign for their business.

=R=

iblock9 wrote:Sufganiyot, deep fried jelly donuts, are the traditional Israeli way to celebrate Hanukkah. Like Latkes, the oil used to fry the Sufganiyot is a symbol of the miracle of Hanukkah. They are an obsession in Israel.

These tasty treats are available in several flavors at Mizrahi Grill this week. Today they had strawberry.

I visited on Christmas Eve when they had strawberry Sufganiyots, too.



Thanks for highlighting this!

Regards,

ronnie_suburban wrote:BTW, does anyone know if the landlord will ever produce a permanent sign for Mizrahi Grill? It's been months and they still only have flimsy banner tied to the building. If I were them, I'd be very upset by this because it makes it virtually impossible for a driver-by to even know it's there if they don't already know. Even for those who do, on a first visit, if you're not familiar with the area, such inadequate signage would be a real impediment to finding the place. These guys deserve a real sign for their business.

Drove by Mizrahi this morning--unfortunately, I did not have time to stop, as I was on my way to the dentist.... However, I did note that they now have a permanent sign--red letters indicating Mizrahi Grill affixed to the building itself. The letters are not exceptionally large, so it's still rather hard to spot from Skokie Blvd. if you don't know what you're looking for....

I had a nice dinner there this evening. Excellent falafel plate.

For the life of me - what was the name of the Italian joint in the same space one or two restaurants ago?

Dave148 wrote:I had a nice dinner there this evening. Excellent falafel plate.

For the life of me - what was the name of the Italian joint in the same space one or two restaurants ago?

Was that Dancing Noodle?

=R=

Hi,

It was indeed Dancing Noodle, which was owned by a friend's son. For reasons I cannot explain, I never went. I did go to the subsequent restaurant which had a woman Chef of Polish extraction. Can't recall the name presently, though I liked it the few times I was there.

Regards,

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Dave148 wrote:I had a nice dinner there this evening. Excellent falafel plate.

For the life of me - what was the name of the Italian joint in the same space one or two restaurants ago?

Was that Dancing Noodle?

=R=

Bingo! You win a prize Ronnie. Cathy - you get the second place prize.
I will sleep better tonight knowing this useful piece of information.

I've been eating at/carrying out from Mizrahi about once a month and it continues to grow on me. Tonight I ate in-house with my son and we had a really great dinner (sorry, no camera). The intensely-flavored turkey-lamb shawarma on my shawarma plate was juicy and nicely browned, with lots of crispy edges. The accompanying IDF Eggplant salad was rich and delicious. The grilled veggies -- brightly colored bell peppers, onions and zucchini -- were fantastic, too. This was a gigantic plate of high-quality food that I couldn't even come close to finishing.

Hummus was nicely balanced -- rich and lightly acidic. It's more fluffy than creamy -- a style I don't normally favor -- but it really works.

The laffa shawarma sandwich my son ordered was utterly fantastic. He ordered it fairly plain, with hummus, tahina and french fries. Here the end result was so much greater than what I expected. Something about those fries (along with the other ingredients) made the sandwich completely irresistable. This was also enormous and he only got about half-way through it, even with me taking a couple of bites.

The only thing I'm not really digging at MG is the hot sauce, which definitely has some heat but not a ton of flavor. Still, that's not going to keep from returning with greater frequency in the future. These guys seem to be really hitting their groove and I'm glad it's so nearby -- about halfway between my house and my office.

=R=

Cathy2 wrote:It was indeed Dancing Noodle, which was owned by a friend's son.

Hal Axelrod, right?

I go there at least once a payday. LOVE the morrocon cigars as well

Based on my last couple of (very good) meals at Mizrahi Grill, I decided to grab lunch there today but it was a bit of a let-down. Shawarma was fairly tasty but not even close to the quality at my last meals. This time around most of the meat was in the form of little crumbles (instead of small slices) that were completely devoid of any crispiness. The meat on the spit in the restaurant looked great but what made it into my lunch barely resembled it. Today's serving had clearly been cut in advance and allowed to sit for some amount of time. It almost had a steamed quality to it. I did carry out, which might explain some of the issue but still, there was a huge gap between this meal and my last couple at MG; one that seems unlikely to have been caused by the 10 minutes of transit time between the restaurant and the office. I should have asked for meat freshly cut from the spit but I was with a business associate, we were chatting and I wasn't able to supervise the making of my lunch in that detail. Oh well, it happens. I'll definitely be back but for now, the 'excited-about-it' factor has dissipated.

=R=

Just ate there yesterday and the schwarma was great, also to go. I also noticed they seemed to have expanded their menu a bit. Do you happen to know if there is any benefit to signing up to their fan club?

funny, i did a side by side schwarma comparison yesterday between Mizrahi Grill and Pita Inn. I found MG to be its usual self and the PI version was dry in the way ronnie described mizrahi today. MG continues to cost twice as much as Pita Inn for what i feel is a far superior schwarma.

I do prefer the blazing hot sauce from Pita Inn and I like their Kifta Kabob. I give everything else to Mizrahi except price.

iblock9 wrote:funny, i did a side by side schwarma comparison yesterday between Mizrahi Grill and Pita Inn. I found MG to be its usual self and the PI version was dry in the way ronnie described mizrahi today. MG continues to cost twice as much as Pita Inn for what i feel is a far superior schwarma.

I do prefer the blazing hot sauce from Pita Inn and I like their Kifta Kabob. I give everything else to Mizrahi except price.

Yeah, it's pricey but when it's on, I tend not to think about it.

Today, however, I was thinking about it . . . 3 sandwiches + 1 entree + 2 soups + 1 hummus + 1 baba ganoush + 1 order cigars = $87

=R=

I think so - I signed up for the fan club and have received one email with the following coupons - buy one falafel sandwich get 50% on second, free soda with any sandwch or entree purchases, and $5 off orders of $25 or more -

ronnie_suburban wrote:Yeah, it's pricey but when it's on, I tend not to think about it.

Today, however, I was thinking about it . . . 3 sandwiches + 1 entree + 2 soups + 1 hummus + 1 baba ganoush + 1 order cigars = $87

As a point of comparison, I ordered the following last week at Pita Inn for a meeting of 9 people:

36 falafel balls + 1 kefta kabob entree + 1 chicken schwarma entree + large hummus + large baba + quart of tabouleh = $47

Alas, the falafel, though fried to order, were unbelievably salty; the schwarma was dried out; the baba had way too much yogurt in it; etc.

I'm generally irked by Mizrahi's prices--I believe many of the dinner plates are in the mid-20s, right?--but they do put out a better product than PI.

chezbrad wrote:I'm generally irked by Mizrahi's prices--I believe many of the dinner plates are in the mid-20s, right?--but they do put out a better product than PI.

I am sure the owners of Mizrahi would like to be more price competitive but they have chosen to be strictly kosher which means they have to pay higher prices for their ingredients particularly meat - but I am very pleased they are not cutting quality - still maintining an excellent product that I would compare to anything in the chicago area -

chezbrad wrote: 36 falafel balls

This isn't directed at you in particular chezbrad, but LTH (and the world) in general.

Why do people say falafel balls? First of all, it sounds stupid. Second, and most importantly falafel only comes in "ball" form as far as I know, so to say "falafel ball" is redundant.

Falafel is falafel. It's both singular and plural. You ordered 36 falafel.

End of rant. But happy to start up again if anyone F's with me on this point.

Habibi wrote:This isn't directed at you in particular chezbrad, but LTH (and the world) in general.

Why do people say falafel balls? First of all, it sounds stupid. Second, and most importantly falafel only comes in "ball" form as far as I know, so to say "falafel ball" is redundant.

Au contraire. Meet the falafel burger, available at GNR Wiener and Still Champion. I do, however, agree that the phrase "falafel ball" sounds stupid. When I order, I usually just say, "Give me 8 falafels." It sounds much better to my ear.

When I think of all those poor falafels running around without their balls it makes me very sad.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:When I think of all those poor falafels running around without their balls it makes me very sad.

=R=

But at least they can still sing in those nice high voices.

If it wasn't for the price I would go 2-3x a week. Instead of 1 schwarma at $12 they would get a lot more repeat business from me.

Had a beautiful shawarma from Mizrahi recently -- straight off the spit (I believe the Hebrew term is trompo), crispy, juicy, full-flavored. I've also gotten uninspiring renditions from there; like with other conical delights, the key seems to be to catch them at off hours. That, or ask to get yours freshly-sliced -- they're really nice about accommodating customer requests.

I was surprised to see cultural foods in the north suburbs when I saw Mizrahi Grill by my gym in Highland Park. It's normally burgers and fast food up here. I guess it's been here a while but never noticed it until a couple weeks ago. Went in finally yesterday! Honestly it is the best Shawarma and Falafel that I've ever had. I got the large shawarma, it is serious business! It's the size of my arm! The falafels are nice and soft with a crunchy exterior. Normally the falafels that I've eaten in the past have been real dry, it's perfect here at this Highland Park location.

I think these guys have really stepped up their game (although I'm still not a huge fan of this style of falafel). When they first opened, I liked the place and thought the quality of ingredients was good but I also felt like some of the items were bland and lacked a little punch. A recent meal here was much more enjoyable than what I remember from my last few visits, which were at least a year ago.

Hot sauce and hummus, for example, were both excellent. The hot sauce benefitted from a tanginess that it had lack in the past, when it was hot but somewhat flat. The hummus offered a nice punch of acidity to balance out its richness. IDF Eggplant Salad and Israeli Salad were both nicely balanced, as well.

Chicken Kabobs (boneless thighs) were moist, tender, well-seasoned and tasty. Unfortunately, the shawarma, which is quite flavorful, was pretty dried out and seemed like it had been held for some time after it had been sliced. It had lost quite a bit of its moisture.

Our meal for 3 was about $65, which is not inexpensive, especially in this category. Because the restaurant is Kosher, pricing is definitely higher than at other, similar spots but there's no question the quality is high here and the portions are generous, too. And service has always been friendly. That remains a huge selling point.

=R=

Mizrahi Grill will open at 3037 N. Clark St. in the spring, said owner Eli Mizrahi.

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2017021 ... tball-hero

Dave148 wrote:

Mizrahi Grill will open at 3037 N. Clark St. in the spring, said owner Eli Mizrahi.

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2017021 ... tball-hero

Clark St location closed. Replaced by Cafe Istanbul Mediterranean Grill.
https://chicago.eater.com/2019/1/4/1816 ... inter-2019