The Boston Phoenix
January 15 - 22, 1998

[Food Reviews]

| by restaurant | by cuisine | by location | hot links | food home |
| dining out archive | on the cheap archive | noshing & sipping archive | uncorked archive |


Café Aviv

A quiet slice of Israel in Brookline

On the Cheap by Joanne Hinkel

At Coolidge Corner's newest kosher kitchen, the slogan on the menu says it all: "When you miss Tel Aviv, Come to Café Aviv." In this small, spare room, furnished with tables and a few paintings, a steady crowd of Brookline-Israelis gathers over the spices of home-style Israeli food.

The canonical Israeli eats are all on the menu, shawarma and kabobs included. But the really special dishes are less familiar to American palates. The most delicious is Ziva, a huge swirl of Yemenite phyllo dough filled with ground beef, minced potatoes, onions, and a subtle blend of black pepper, parsley and paprika; it is served with salad, rice, and beans ($12.95). An array of beef or chicken shish kebobs and schnitzels are available. And vegetarians have an unusually hearty option with the stuffed-vegetable entrees: a huge cabbage, pepper, or eggplant filled with rice and spices ($9.95).

As for snacks or appetizers, Café Aviv offers more unconventional pita-toppers than just baba ghanoosh and tabouleh. Try the Moroccan eggplant salad ($4.95), eggplant marinated in oil and red pepper; or the Matbucha salad ($4.95), mushy tomatoes and garlic.

Café Aviv, located at 14A Pleasant Street (Coolidge Corner), in Brookline, is open Sunday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., on Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (because of Shabbat), and on Saturday from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Call (617) 731-9780.


The On the Cheap archive


[Footer]