There’s not much I miss from America after almost 40 years in Israel except good kosher deli. But I got both a pastrami fix and a wave of nostalgia with a visit to Shimmy’s in Modi’in that was far less expensive than a plane ticket to New York.
Situated right on Modi’in’s main drag Dam Hamaccabim, Shimmy’s, which opened just over a year ago, offers a menu of smash burgers, corn dogs, fried chicken sandwiches, and really good pastrami. [Smash burgers are thin patties cooked on a hot griddle, giving them a crispy edge and extra caramelization.]
The chef behind the menu (which is printed in red, white, and blue) is Todd Aaron, the first chef at Crave in Jerusalem and Bodega in Tel Aviv, who has cooked at the White House as well.
Food and décor
Before the food, let’s talk about Shimmy’s décor. With its black and white design and black stools inside, the small restaurant looks and feels like an American diner. The servers are high school kids who seem to be enjoying themselves, and the playlist is soft rock from the ’70s and ’80s.
Shimmy (short for Shimon Shain) made aliyah from Los Angeles in 2016 with his wife and five kids to the Golan. They’ve since added a sixth child and own six restaurants. Four of the eateries are burger places – one of which recently opened at the Mul HaHof complex in Hadera with the same menu as the restaurant in Modi’in.
“Modi’in is a very Anglo community, and all of our staff speak English,” Nate Reiss, the manager, told me. “A good restaurant is 49% food and 51% the vibe of service and hospitality. We want you to have a good experience.”
The servers clearly love the place. A few who weren’t even working that day came just to hang out with their friends. Reiss brought them out to meet me, looking almost like a proud father.
The menu focuses on American diner favorites like burgers (in this case, smash burgers) with toppings like vegan cheese and fake bacon; hot dogs, including corn dogs; a fried chicken sandwich; and a Reuben sandwich with pastrami.
The hot dogs and pastrami are made in a boutique smokehouse in Hod Hasharon according to chef Aaron’s recipes, while all the beef comes from the Golan Heights.
Shimmy visits each of his locations once a week and was there on the night I visited.
BECAUSE OF the relatively limited menu, my husband, Cliff, and I were able to try almost everything on the menu. We started with corn dogs and Dr. Brown’s cherry soda (NIS 42).
Kosher corn dogs can be tough, as the traditional batter is made with buttermilk, but it was delicious. The beef hot dog was excellent as well. Along with this came a large plate of vegan chili-cheese fries, which are not on the menu but are currently running as a special.
I am more of a purist with my fries and don’t like them drenched with anything, but Cliff was very happy with them. I was happy when the waffle-cut fries came later, which I enjoyed with just a little salt.
For the burgers, Cliff went with the double Oklahoma burger (NIS 66) with vegan cheese and lamb bacon. The burger is described as “an Oklahoma-style smash burger with onions, mustard, house sauce, and sweet pickles.”
I am somewhat onion averse, so I went with a single smash burger (NIS 42) with lettuce, tomato, pickles – sweet pickles that are made with the restaurant’s own recipe – and house sauce.
The burger was very good, but the southern fried chicken sandwich (NIS 55) was outstanding and was my favorite dish of the night. First of all, they use pargit (chicken thighs) instead of chicken breast, which sometimes can be dry.
The sandwich comes with smash mayonnaise, sweet pickles, and lettuce, and either a drizzle of honey on top, spicy Nashville sauce, or both. I chose the honey – and the combination of the sweet honey and the crispy chicken was unbeatable.
Shimmy confessed that it’s his favorite dish, too. There are also chicken nuggets made in the same way, which comes as a serving of seven pieces and two sauces (NIS 52).
One more interesting sandwich that I didn’t try (although I did ask for a taste of pastrami) was the Reuben (NIS 72), which is served with house-made New York-style pastrami, fried onions, sauerkraut, smash mayo, sweet pickles, mustard, and vegan cheddar.
I usually don’t bother with parve desserts at meat restaurants, but the soft serve vanilla ice cream with real vanilla bean and salted caramel sauce was surprisingly good and well worth trying.
Overall, I highly recommend Shimmy’s for very good food and reasonable prices.
- Shimmy’s
- 28 Dam Hamaccabim
- Modi’in
- Phone: 055-310-9080
- Hours: Sunday-Wednesday, noon-10 p.m.;
- Thursday, noon-midnight; Saturday night, an hour after Shabbat ends.
- Kashrut: Modi’in Rabbinate
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.