David Adahan had been an insurance agent for most of his career, but he and his wife, Bridget, who he described as “a wonderful, speciality cook,” decided to open a kosher sandwich bar on Beit Lehem Street a few months before the war.
They spent three months renovating the former picture frame store and had it ready to open in early October. Then October 7th came around, but people still needed food, so they decided to open.
“Not many people start a place in their 60s,” he told me during a recent visit, “but I love interacting with people and seeing them enjoy our food.”
On a recent afternoon, the tiny spot was packed with hungry customers and struggled to cope with the lunchtime rush, with Wolt delivery orders coming in. The chalkboard menu is small, but everything I tried was delicious.
What’s on the menu at Babado?
First of all, shwarma can be ordered with pita bread (54 NIS) or baguette (58 NIS). This is veal entrecote, 15 kilos of meat skewered and grilled daily. It’s crispy and delicious, but it often sells out during the day, so if you want shwarma, get there early. Babado (Photo by David Adhan)
And my favorite is the corned beef, which Bridget makes for me, warming it in a frying pan and serving it on a fresh sourdough baguette (59 NIS). I was having “lunch” with my friend Dorene Gilbert Weiss, who is always trying new places.
“This is corned beef like you get in New York,” she said.
I agree, except that at Ben’s Deli in New York, the corned beef doesn’t come with any side dishes like pickled lemon, shug, or amba.
We also tried the meatballs (59 NIS) which were tasty, although not as good as the shwarma or corned beef. There was also the vegetarian soup of the day (28 NIS), which on this day was zucchini, and was very tasty.
On Wednesdays, the restaurant will serve “fricassees” (16 NIS), small Tunisian fried sandwiches filled with tuna, hard-boiled eggs and harissa, and David says they also plan to start offering takeout food for Shabbat.
So where did the name Babad come from? Apparently, this was David’s nickname in Morocco, where his mother emigrated while pregnant with him.
Definitely worth a visit.
Babadderek Beit Lehem 49Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday 11:30am to 9pmKashrut: All meat is Badatz Beit Yosef, restaurant is Rabbanut Mehderet
I was a customer at the restaurant.
