We spotted these Burekas in the window when we walked past Gazala Place 709 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10019, a Druze restaurant. After just eating at Taboon, I was about to get educated on more Israeli food. Loosely defined, Burekas are pastries with a filling (often cheese and/or spinach and/or herbs), and topped with sesame seeds. In concept, they kind of remind me of the Spinach Pie Roll we had in Corfu (which we then tried to replicate).
Here, they had three or four different fillings. We chose the spinach and feta, and brought it home, since we just ate. We heated it up in the oven, just as recommended, and it just wasn’t impressive. The spinach inside was sour. It seemed intentional, but we weren’t fond of it. The pastry itself was just mediocre, and here’s the major kicker; it was $8.13, a total rip off.
Lon has had Burekas before so he assured me that I would like them when we found a good one so if anyone knows where to get good Burekas in NYC, let us know!
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I’ve been enjoying your blog for awhile and thought I’d say hi! I remember eating at Gazala Place when I was in NY. I thought the food (beef and lamb kebabs, tebbouleh, falafel, hummus) was delicious, and loved their rosewater custard dessert. Don’t let the bad Burekas turn you away from trying this restaurant out if you haven’t already! Of course, my favorite Israeli place is definitely Azuri Cafe in Hell’s Kitchen (falafel heaven!).
yikes… sour spinach does not sound fun…
Hi Tracy, thanks for sharing your experiences. I definitely want to stop by Hell’s Kitchen more often. The number of restaurants there has grown so dramatically!
That’s also bigger than most burekas that I’ve seen. Or maybe that’s normal & i’ve only seen mini
We shared a burekas stuffed with an omelette served with several sides including fries and hummus at Gazala Palace for brunch on June 20th. It was wonderful. The dessert was great, a kind of custard made with sweet yoghurt and a thin crust of cake. The mint tea was the perfect finish. The waitress from Tel Aviv was adorable.
I’m in Tel Aviv, enjoying a bureka this very moment. I’ve never seen one with spinach or an omelette in it… The most popular kinds in Israel from what I’ve seen are potato and cheese (some sort of feta-like white cheese), and the ‘normal’ size is a little bigger than my outstretched hand. I’ll definitely be checking out the places you all are recommending when I get to NY though!
We’re fans of Taboon too.
We just shared a Veggie Mezze plate at Gazala Place yesterday. We didn’t care for the unleavened(?) bread, but it worked fine for scooping up the excellent bagaganoush, labanaee and Turkish Salad. The cegars were filled with spiced potato, not cheese, and were excellent. Falafel and grape leaves were first rate. We’ll definitely be going back. Even found a parking space across the street with no problem.
Today we reheated the spinach and feta burkea we’d brought home from Gazala Place and thought it was delicious. We last had bourekas in Croatia where we didn’t take to them at all.
David, how was the rest of the prices? I still think $8.13 for a bureka is super expensive.