Meat and Eat

About

Meat and Eat is part of a chain, whose Jerusalem franchise is owned by Rami Ran and Ben Ashkenazi. The Jerusalem restaurant opened during Sukkot 2014. Our host, the manager, Kfir Edri, came on as manager in January, having owned the Buffalo Steak House on Emek Refaim and a catering company. After walking through the patio with wood tables to seat 18, one can walk down a ramp (making it handicapped accessible) to a glassed-in room which seats 36 at wood tables or go up two steps into an area and take a peek into the glassed-in kitchen. Opposite the kitchen are seats for 10 at tables and the bar with stools for 6. A low wall with lit candles separates the room with a most interesting wall where wine bottles are place on diagonal shelves, and there are seats for 35. The back room could provide a venue for a private party and seats 28. The rest rooms and washing station are all on this level, also on one side of this back room. Chef Scott Cooper, a charming, single, 37-year-old, is originally from Denver and then Orlando. He made aliyah in 1999, after having grown up Chabad, although he had been coming to Israel off and on since the age of 12. Arriving with a three-year degree in hotel management and marketing and as a chef from the Culinary Institute in Miami, he began working in various Tel Aviv restaurants such as Carni Bar, Boya and "Norma Jean," the largest whiskey bar in Israel. Feeling he needed a change and wanting to return to Jerusalem, he was hired by Meat and Eat and became chef in January. Although the menu is fairly uniform at the restaurants, Chef Cooper says, "each chef has an open hand to do specials, which change every few days, including soups, which are constantly evolving." There will be a new menu for summer after Passover although the restaurant will open for Passover with Passover menu. On a busy night, Chef Cooper remarks that this Meat and Eat can "put out 300 meals in two to three hours." They try to accommodate customers as much as possible a