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December 3, 2004/Kislev 20 5765, Vol. 57, No. 14
Restaurant offers kosher cuisine
STEPHANIE N. HENSCHEL
Staff Writer
Alexandra Shakarov busies herself about her glatt kosher kitchen, preparing fresh borscht for today's customers.
The fashionable Shakarov - in her leather pants and Calvin Klein T-shirt - and her husband, Alex, are owners of Bon Appetit, a new kosher restaurant that opened in early November in the heart of the Bucharian community.
Aside from the sign indicating its kosherness, one may not expect such things from the eatery located next to a pizza and subs shop. Everything from American junk food - including hamburgers, fries and Italian beef - to Middle Eastern and Russian fare make up the tasty menu.
The couple, from Uzbekistan, moved to the Valley five years ago. In Russia, they had owned a kosher restaurant as well.
Upon arriving in the Valley, Sharakov went to work at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix. She knew her husband wanted to open a restaurant, but she wanted to learn about the industry here first.
"Before when we came it was too hot for me," Sharakov says. "It was too different."
According to Rabbi David Rebibo of the Greater Phoenix Vaad Hakashruth, the owners wanted to open the restaurant in the summer, but he convinced them that would not be the best idea.
"We have an idea of the community and summer is not a good time to start a restaurant," Rebibo says.
So, in late October, the place was closed to prepare it for a kosher kitchen.
"It takes time to educate and train," he says.
Rebibo informed all rabbis in the area of the new venue and invited them all to help out.
And, as a glatt kosher eatery, Rebibo says the "products are the highest standard we have in the community."
Sharakov said many in the community had been looking for such a thing.
The response has been good.
"We've received a number of compliments as a result of this move," Rebibo says. "It's again responding to the kosher consumer.
"People say they are extremely cordial and nice, very service-oriented. They feel it's a place to hang around, not just eat."
Sharakov says they have had a fair number of customers, and had distributed fliers to area synagogues to inform the community of the grand opening on Nov. 23.
The restaurant, along with its regular menu, also offers Shabbat take-out, with a packaged meal for small families (up to four people) and large families (up to eight people). Catering is also available, and the eatery can be used for parties of up to 40 people as well.
"We try to make like food in Israel," Sharakov says, using spices typically found in Israeli cuisine. "We try to make happy everybody."
Bon Appetit is located at 1133 E. Glendale Ave., Phoenix. Call 602-274-9010.
Contact the writer here
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