Grill House

Linda Bladholm12/13/2011

Grill House is the newest kosher eatery on Miami Beach’s 41st Street. Owner Shimi Alon, a master chef who trained in Israel and France, runs the spot with his cousin Edith Shalom. Both are Israelis who now call South Florida home. They spent four months renovating the old Oasis space, making it kosher to appeal to the Orthodox Jews in the neighborhood. Every morning a mashgiah, or rabbinic supervisor, inspects the kitchen.

Grill House specializes in meat, from kebabs, rib-eye steak, and lamb ribs to burgers, Moroccan meatballs and Hungarian goulash, so there is no dairy on the menu. Creamy dips include tahini and baba ghanoush served with pita and an array of complimentary salads and spreads like spicy eggplant, roasted eggplant “liver” with lentils, corn with dill, potato salad, coleslaw, chickpea salad and Turkish-style tomato and onions in olive oil.

Eggplant is considered the national vegetable of Israel, although it is native to India and was introduced to the Mediterranean by Arab traders in the Middle Ages. Grilled eggplant shows up in the “sabich” sandwich with hard cooked egg, cucumber, and tomato and as baladi, served whole on a bed of tahini sauce with olive oil and parsley.

Other popular dishes are the Middle East platter with falafel patties, Israeli chopped salad, cracked green olives, hummus and vine leaves stuffed with herbed rice. There’s also beet salad with greens and crunchy croutons, sweet and spicy glazed chili chicken with sesame seeds, tender slow-cooked beef short ribs with beer-battered onion bread, whole baked snapper with herbs and salmon crusted in walnuts with mango salsa.

End with mint tea and a chocolate soufflé.