Eric Greenspan, (Mare, Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese, The Roof on Wilshire, The Foundry on Melrose) recently opened Fleishik’s on Beverly Blvd. just north of LA’s original farmers market. Fleishik is Yiddish for “meat” and as I read up on the restaurant, I became interested in the fact that Greenspan wanted to create a unique take on a Jewish deli.
My cousins joined my wife and me for lunch that day. Given that it is located in a busy section of town, we were fortunate to find parking nearby. As you walk in, you are immediately greeted by someone behind the counter ready to take your order.
It appeared that some sandwiches were in Yiddish, but my knowledge of the language is limited to the words “chutzpah” and “oy veh”. I couldn’t determine why these sandwiches had these names; particularly “Babasooey” and “Teddy Hertz”. These sound more like colorful characters from a TV series.
The Jaffa – caraway falafel with roast peppers, orange, cucumber, harissa mayo, avocado hummus
The Hot Mess – pastrami with 1001 island dressing, crispy onions, lettuce, jalapeno tomato relish
Israeli Salad with cucumbers, tomatoes and red onions
My wife ordered the Hot Mess which is actually their pastrami. I had The Jaffa (falafel) and my cousins ordered the Babasooey (lamb) and the Teddy Hertz (chicken schnitzel). Each sandwich is wrapped suitable in foil and then wrapped in paper. While this is great if you are taking the sandwiches to go, it’s a bit more work peeling off the two wraps instead of having the sandwich served unwrapped on a plate.
Babasooey – rotisserie lamb with date lemon relish, fried chickpeas, roast peppers, spinach, pistachio parsley pesto, and harissa mayo
Of what I tasted, I think my favorite was the Babasooey because the lamb was prepared well. Date lemon relish, fried chickpeas, roast peppers, spinach, pistachio parsley pesto, and harissa mayo made the sandwich exceptional.
Greenspan’s modern take on pastrami is to avoid the traditional use of rye bread. Many of his customers fiercely took exception to this and it quickly led him to begin offering rye bread as an option. Unfortunately, they were out of rye bread the day we were there.
Customers that would like a sandwich “their way”, can order the “Make your own Mess”. This includes single meat, any spread and up to 3 veggies. The Whole Mess is “whatever you want” for $18
Fleishik’s is certified Kosher by the Rabbinical Council of California. A Mashgiach oversees the food so that it is handled and prepared according to Kosher rules. They observe the rule of having a hand-washing sink in the dining area for those that observe that ritual.
The list of beverages is quite unique. Yes, they have sodas, but they also have almond milk egg cream, a few bottled beers and spirits such as tequila, rum and whiskey. I had a Fat Tire IPA and my wife had a Belgian white.
Take notice that they observe Shabbat on Saturdays. On Saturdays, they open 1 hour after sundown and remain open until midnight. If I were you, I would visit on another day.
Brown Butter Ice Cream
For dessert, we literally walked next door to Sweet Rose Creamery where we ordered ice cream. I had the brown butter and my wife ordered the rocky road. Of the two ice creams, we both enjoyed the brown butter.
Fleishik’s, 7563 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA
https://www.fleishiks.com/
Sweet Rose Creamery, 7565 Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles, CA
https://www.sweetrosecreamery.com/