By Jacob Kamaras
LA JOLLA, California — Where’s the beef?
The famed commercial catchphrase is precisely what San Diego’s kosher consumers have long asked regarding their local restaurant scene. (My sincerest apologies for dropping a Wendy’s slogan in an article about kosher food — I just couldn’t resist.)
This situation was particularly dire after the former Israeli meat restaurant (Place Cafe) at the Lawrence Family JCC closed due to the difficult circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, paving the way for Botanic Burgers. The vegetarian spot offered a creative array of Impossible Burgers, but it still left the Jewish community wondering, where’s the beef? (There I go again…)
Yet recently, the somewhat-frightening reality of San Diego being devoid of a kosher meat restaurant was put to rest, for now, with the opening of the Mediterranean-themed Harissa under the same ownership as its preceding culinary establishments at the JCC.
I had the privilege of dining at Harissa with my friend and San Diego Jewish World’s challah savant, Lizzie Rubin. We shared the chicken shawarma plate — because who visits a kosher Mediterranean restaurant for the first time without trying the shawarma? — and the “arayes” appetizer (grilled half pita bread stuffed with Jerusalem-style kebob meat), while Lizzie added an Israeli-style lemonade for herself.
“The shawarma meat was warm, juicy, seasoned perfectly,” Lizzie reports. “The Israeli salad was fresh, and the cucumbers were crisp. The pita was fluffy and airy. The plates carry a lot of food and could be easily enjoyed by two people. The lemonade was a perfect balance of minty, sweet, and tart. Lemonade is a perfect summer drink and Harissa makes it well.” (That feedback on the pita is nothing to sneeze at, coming from a challah savant.)
On the shawarma, I must concur with Lizzie. The seasoning was ideal, and the abundant infusion of sauteed onions made it stand out from your garden-variety shawarma. For this particular lunch experience, the shawarma needed to be the star — and it certainly delivered.
Arayes offered an interesting alternative as an appetizer. Perhaps I didn’t understand, from the description on the menu, just how fried the item would be. But it was novel, and tasty.
Let’s face it: If you’re prioritizing ambiance, then whichever restaurant has occupied the real estate in the JCC lobby over time won’t exactly knock your socks off. The prices, meanwhile, are essentially what you can expect from a kosher meat restaurant these days.
Really, all of this analysis is beside the point. We yearned for a kosher meat restaurant in San Diego, and Harissa answered our prayers. That alone is cause for celebration — and for a visit to Harissa. Mercifully, our kosher restaurant-goers no longer need to ask: Where’s the beef?
For more information, check out https://www.harissasd.com/
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Jacob Kamaras is editor and publisher of San Diego Jewish World.