Like so many of her fellow restaurateurs, Rasner has re-engineered her menu to suit delivery. Thus, her trademark breakfasts are not on the menu – as Rasner says, “Eggs Benedict does not travel well” – but plenty of other tempting things are listed among the food menu’s six sections: Specials (NIS 48-172), Breakfast (NIS 46-172), Bagel & Biscuit (NIS 11-48), Sandwiches (NIS 46-68), Salads (NIS 46-48) and Desserts (NIS 14-125). There are plenty of vegetarian options, but fewer vegan ones.
The Specials category includes two interesting kits for assembling and preparing at home: American classics S’Mores and mac and cheese. Another specialty pack – heart-shaped treats for Valentine’s Day – is being added for a limited time.
NOLA’s Brunch Box is a collection assembled especially for delivery convenience. When it arrives, it is like opening a gift box. The contents are piled to the very top, each item wrapped minimally and everything packed with meticulous precision. (Note: The Brunch Box is a popular innovation, and if it is sold out for the day, it temporarily disappears from the menu.)
The major category represented therein is assembling your own bagel and/or biscuit sandwich, although the largest single dish is an American-style tossed salad: coarse-cut fresh, crisp, garden vegetables – cucumber, tomato, red onion, carrot, radish and sprigs of mint – dressed in a light, very pleasant vinaigrette.
The premium ingredient for your DIY bagel sandwich is smoked salmon (aka lox) paired with cream cheese, of course. Other fixings include a nice avocado spread, and tomato confit, with the most intense flavor I have ever experienced from that vegetable.
The biscuit– like the bagel, homemade by NOLA, and not commonplace in Israel – comes with soft butter and excellent strawberry jam. The entire Brunch Box is meant to be washed down with fresh-squeezed orange juice, which comes in a separately packed reusable glass bottle.
Finally, the brunch comes complete with dessert: two of NOLA’s all-American specialties – a chocolate chip cookie and a blueberry muffin, with streusel topping. Like all of the bakery’s sweet treats – cookies, pies, muffins and cakes (including a carrot cake rated among the best in town in the Hebrew media), many of which may be found only here – they reflect the best of America’s decadent traditions. And they are clearly the secret to NOLA’s longevity.
NOLA American Bakery
Not kosher
197 Dizengoff St., Tel Aviv. Phone: (03) 523-0527
Online delivery menu: wolt.com/en/isr/tel-aviv/restaurant/nolabakery