Friday, December 05, 2014

Revisiting Cafe Rimon, Fleishig, Meat

The other day, Isramom and I treated ourselves to a lunch out. We decided on a meat meal in "Cafe Rimon," which has undergone all sorts of "reincarnations" over the almost half century since we've known it.

Even though the menu and staff are bilingual, their site is only in Hebrew. They must count on various English restaurant sites to get their information out in English. Here's the basic information using google translate, which is rather humorous in its choice of words. The Hebrew word for "grenade" is pomegranate, so don't get scared:

Cafe Rimon Jerusalem / Pomegranate Bistro
Luntz 4, Jerusalem tel. 1599-50-10-30 / 054-3077918 Fax: 02-6252199 Coffee operating hours grenade Sunday to Thursday: 08: 00-23: 00 Fri: 08: 00 to an hour before Shabbat Motza"s: half an hour after the Sabbath hours of operation Bistro grenade Sunday to Wednesday: 11: 15-00: 00Thursday: 11: 15-01: 00 Motza"s: when did you return to 01:00

We wanted a quiet place, so we could talk. It was so quiet, that they forgot to bring the bill, and I wanted to see if they'd catch us walking out without paying. But Isramon wasn't willing to be chutzpadik. We finally went searching for someone in charge when the time came to leave. They also didn't bother asking if we wanted dessert when they cleared the table, nor did they try to get us to buy the reduced price soup which came as an option with the lunch special. The staff was polite, but obviously the marketing training was poor. Our service for the meal was quick, but people sitting nearby who came later complained of very slow service. Apparently there was a shift switch, and the afternoon staff wasn't as good as the morning one.

We were given this simple salad, spreads and bread as a starter. The bread was very special, and since there wasn't much for two people I had some. The techina was excellent.

Most of the choices were salads with meat/poultry, which seemed good for my low carbohydrate diet. I took the Turkey Lite, which wasn't bad.  There were seeds and nuts with the salad, which I liked. But I have a feeling that the sauce came from some ready-made or mix. I would have been happier without the sauce. A short while after eating I began to feel salt burn in my mouth, even though I requested "no salt added." It was too salty and sweet for me. I finished everything but the olives. There were too many for my taste.

Isramom was happy with her choice of "pargiyot," chicken and French Fries, as we call the "chips" in the "old country." The restaurant filled up as we sat there, and many people ordered all sorts of lovely salad and vegetable meals.

Considering the restaurants in downtown Jerusalem, it wasn't bad, but next time I'd like to try a different meat place. If you have suggestions, please let me know in the comments, thanks.

2 comments:

Saul Mashbaum said...

Noya (on Shlomzion HaMalka, near Binyan Generali/Misrad HaPnim) is terrific. Great food, excellent service, large portions with left-overs happily packed for taking home. More expensive than Cafe Romon, but affordable. I like Cafe Rimon, and have eaten there dozens of times, but if you're looking for an alternative, think of Noya.

Batya said...

Saul, thanks, I've never eaten there, but it may be worth a try some time. How expensive?