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Israeli
Kosher Veggie Café is a “dream come true”
By Lyn Payne
Associate Editor
On the Wednesday before
Passover, a new eatery opened its doors on U.S. Highway
17-92 north of Maitland.
The Ole Gourmet is an Israeli Vegetarian café owned and operated by
Gideon and Ruth Rubina, whose previous restaurant experience includes
running the North Park Deli in Winter Park and a Manhattan Bagel outlet.
But the Israeli couple,
which came to the U.S. 14 years ago, always had a dream of setting up a
place that would offer kosher Israeli fare.
They deliberately
selected a location away from the I-4 tourist corridor in order to be
able to develop relationships with their local customers.
And the Israeli crowd has already made the Ole Gourmet a
neighborhood hangout. On a recent Wednesday morning, Ronny Shisgal, an
Israeli living in Central Florida, and her sister Ofer Halperin,
visiting from Israel, enjoyed breakfast with Shisgal’s 18- month-old
daughter, Shiri. “It’s
like a little bit of home” Said Shisgal.
“Finally we have a piece of heaven around.” “All the
Israelis are talking about it,” she continued.
The local Israeli population, she said, had heard about the
restaurant well before it opened, and had been eagerly anticipating it.
Halperin, who plans to
return to Israel in a few months, spoke of how “refreshing” it was
to “have a place like this that’s really close.”
And Shiri showed her approval by eating a cheese and tomato
omelets, a food her mother says she normally does not like.
Everything is under the
kashrus supervision of Florida K
Kosher Services, provided by Rabbi Sholom B. Dubov of Congregation
Ahavas Yisroel, the Chabad synagogue with which the Rubina’s
and their six-year-old son Naddav are affiliated.
The menu includes dairy
and vegetarian items such as Omelettes and tuna melts for breakfast;
sandwiches, Panini, fish and chips, and salads’ Mexican dishes such as
Quesadillas and Taco Salad Ole; Nova lox; salmon, and tilapia; and, of
course, a variety of Israeli signature dishes such as Hummus Champignon,
Burekas (potato-filled pastries served with hard-boiled eggs and Israeli
salad), Mallawach (Yemenite flaked dough) and a Sabich sandwich (tahini
fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg and banana pepper).
Also on offer is a soup of the day, pastas, pizza, wraps, pies
(including the Pies Du Jour, a surprise pie that varies each day),
chocolate cake, cheesecake, flan, ice cream, and a variety of beverages.
The café also offers catering services.
The Israeli atmosphere
is completed by lively Middle Eastern recorded music, and regular
Israeli television broadcasts. Ole
Gourmet will also have a concession stand at the upcoming Yom HaAtzmaut
Israeli Independence Day celebration to be held Thursday, May 4, from
5:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Lake Lily Park in Maitland.
The response from the
public has already been “overwhelming” said Ruth Rubina.
Her husband added,
“It’s a dream come true.”
Ole Gourmet is located
at 7800 South U.S. Highway 17-92, on the west side of the highway in the
main street square, anchored by a Winn Dixie supermarket.
The café is open for
brunch and dinner on Sundays and for breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday
– Thursday. It closes
early on Friday afternoon and reopens one hour after Shabbat ends on
Saturday night.
For more information,
visit the café’s Web site at www.kosherfoodinorlando.com,
or call 407-834-OLE (653)
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