Smokin'! Wood Smoked BBQ, Kosher Certified by Rabbi Shelaim Furst

Smokin'!

currently under the kosher supervision of Rabbi Shelaim Furst of Beis Medrash Or Simcha, Valley Village's yeshivish synagogue. We have decided to save money in the current economic downturn, and so we have decided we will not continue under the RCC (see below).

Take-out, Sit-down, Catering

12514 Burbank Blvd.

Valley Village, CA 91607

Tel: 818-752-6866

email: craig@ganeden.com

(last modified 11/12/09)

Even though we're currently closed as a restaurant, we're still doing catering. We did smoked turkeys for Thanksgiving, and sold our whole sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie, trays of corn pudding, trays of cornbread, bulk quantities of any of our sides. We can do anything, from trays of ribs to our smoked boneless turkey breasts. We did a dinner for 50 with more than they could eat of smoked brisket and chicken, cole slaw, potato salad, sweet potato pie and cornbread, complete with 2 kinds of homemade bbq sauce and margarine for the cornbread. It was $20 per person, delivered.

As it stands now, we believe we will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays, but will try to be open Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Of course, we'll be available for catering anytime, except Shabbos and major Jewish holidays. Keep in mind that we do smoke and sell whole turkeys around Thanksgiving, by special order, and can smoke any kosher meat and poultry available.. Also, we are happy to provide any sides in any quantities, from whole sweet potato pies or trays of corn pudding or cornbread, to whole chocolate cream pies or pecan pies for dessert, also by special order. And if you need ribs in bulk or whole briskets or lots of smoked chicken, don't hesitate to order those, too, at any point in time. While Im just beginning to move quickly enough on my knee to take care of a restaurant, catering can be scheduled at a more leisurely pace, so my wife Jennifer and I can do it almost anytime, no problem.

We have decided not to keep the RCC. Even that small monthly savings is useful and necessary at this time. We have had a good relationship with the RCC, but I daven with Rabbi Furst, and he has been with us since the inception of the restaurant, and there's probably no good reason to have 2 hashgachas. In the end, with no mashgiach temidi anyway, it remains a question of trust in my own ability to implement kashrus decisions, not really the trustworthiness of the hashgacha. Both the RCC and Rabbi Furst are trustworthy hashgachas with similar, but not necessarily identical shitas (Rabbi Furst, for instance, allows checking of leafy vegies for bugs, while RCC does not, thereby limiting our sources for such things, both require glatt meat and pas yisroel baked goods- in the past, we've gone with the most strict of the hashgachas on any question (for bugs and vegies, it has been RCC).

We are trying to figure out a way to offer delivery "over the hill". Our previous proposal had no takers. We welcome suggestions: tel: 818-752-6866, email: craig@ganeden.com

I'd like to do much more catering. I know that many people who want catering want full service on-site catering, and that's not necessarily something I'm currenly capable of doing. But I am capable of piling delicious food into steam table pans and delivering meat and sides for a pretty inexpensive kosher experience. At your next soiree, wouldn't it be great to provide a couple of juicy ribs, cole slaw and sweet potato pie for around $15 per person? Why do the stuffy, formal sit down thing at multiples of the prices we charge for drop-off catering of BBQ? Is the grilled chicken breast on a bed of lettuce really an improvement at twice the price? If you have 10 or 20 or 100 or 500 people, and know in advance, we can set you up with delicious informal fun food. Available for brissen, rehearsal dinners, vorts, sheva brachos, simchas beis hashoevas, world series or superbowl parties, family reunions, Shabbos dinners and lunches (smoked chicken works well), you name it. I'm please to do any traditional-style (but kosher) BBQ, not limited to the spicy Texas BBQ we typically serve at the restaurant, and can even prepare unsmoked roasts or chickens, if BBQ is not what you are looking for. Note that I typically smoke turkeys for use around Thanksgiving, so I'm now taking orders.

After having relocated to SoCal, and finding myself predictably out of work, and having nothing better to do with my time, I began a great love affair with BBQ. In 2005, seemingly every food publication was talking BBQ. I learned that BBQ is not grilling, but instead is "low and slow" roasting in the presence of wood smoke. Turns out I had never had real BBQ in my life, but rather sauced meat that people called BBQ. But with everyone talking about it, it must be compelling. So I began doing it, to see why everyone was talking about it, to see why it was compelling. It wasn't just the ambience of the BBQ restaurants, because as I learned, there is no ambience. BBQ was frequently served in dirty, smoky holes-in-the-wall, charming in their way, but devoid of the props (fine china, white tablecloth, great table service) that propel many of us to try new restaurants. Instead, it's all about the food- solid, masculine, smoky meat, with sides like you'd get at home from your grandma if she had grown up and learned to cook in the '30s or '40s, Settlement Cookbook style. I'm talking about macaroni and cheese (obviously not on my menu), cole slaw and potato salad, baked potatoes, various vegetable casseroles, etc. And of course, Barbecue is typically served on paper, with a minimum of fuss.

Surprising as it may be, we discovered that the Jewish community, especially the women, don't seem to respond kindly to paper. Consequently, we switched a while back to china/stoneware, inauthentic though it may be. More important to have customers. We tried to do some other comfort foods that we really enjoy, namely jook and pho. They didn't catch on, and they were time consuming and expensive to make, too expensive, that is, to have them go bad due to lack of sales. Problem is that only a few people tried them, though those people still request them.

Open Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday by appointment to pick up pre-ordered Shabbos take-out (order by Wednesday to be assured of having exactly what you want, since the smoking must take place Thursday), so please call or email at ganeden@ganeden.com on Sunday-Thursday. We will be happy to cater anytime, aside from Shabbos and Jewish holidays.

Hours: Lunch, 11:00am-2:00 pm, Dinner, 4:30pm- 9:00pm

If you can, take-out is better than sit-down, due to only 32 seats in the restaurant, and ordering in advance is better than coming in and ordering.

MENU

*Basic Menu, but changes occur frequently, and we often run out of some things, especially the less popular things, since we make less of them in the first place:

(All dinner orders come with a choice of 2 side dishes)

Smoked BBQ Dinners

Smoked Turkey: ¼ lb. = $9.95, ½ lb. = $15.95

Smoked turkey breast with Alabama white BBQ sauce, modified from Dr. BBQ's recipe. A favorite!

½ Smoked Chicken: $14.95

half a 3 lb chicken, dry rubbed and smoked, melt-in-the-mouth tender

Smoked Beef Back Ribs: 2 Ribs = $16.95, 3 Ribs = $24.95

dry rubbed and smoked, juicy and delicious. Served either dry or dipped in my sister's BBQ sauce recipe, when we have it in stock (we run out frequently)

Dinosaur Bone (long bone short ribs) or braised boneless short ribs: $29.95

Frequently out of this one, as the prices keep increasing and it's no longer a good value. Still, we keep trying, hoping to get some especially meaty short ribs like we originially were able to source. Lately, not a lot of luck, at a price that makes them worthwhile

Smoked Brisket: ¼ lb. = $13.95, ½ lb. = $21.95

Dry rubbed and smoked, served dry (BBQ sauce available at the table), we start serving the flat (first cut) first, until it gets dry, then switch over to the point (second cut) which is fattier and remains juicy

Sampler, Combo Plate: $23.95 (1 Rib, ¼ chicken, 3 oz. Brisket)

Lamb Breast, $21.95

Unfortunately, we rarely have takers for this, so we make it only occasionally

Smoked "Pastrami Cut" (beef belly meat): ¼ lb. = $9.95 , ½ lb. = $15.95

Homemade pastrami now, and maybe corned beef soon- I have some curing as an experiment.

Grilled Menu

Grilled Boneless Rib- Eye Steak: 12 oz. = $21.95, 14 oz. = $24.95, 16 oz.= $27.95 (cut to order from boneless ribeye roasts)

Hamburger on Bun with Fries $7.95, (Includes lettuce, pickles onion, tomatoes, and Thousand Island dressing.)

Hamburger on Bun with Fries, 2 patties $9.95

Homemade Sausages

Smokin' homemade sausage on bun with fries (1/3 lb) $9.95

Smokin' homemade sausage platter with 2 sides (1/2 lb) $9.95

Childrens' Menu (only 12 and under)

Hot Dog with Fries $3.50

Hamburger on Bun withn Fries $6.25

Side Dishes (Your choice of 2 with dinner), but additional:

Corn on the Cob (seasonal, of course) $2.25

Fries $2.25

Cornbread (4 pieces) $2.25

Cucumber Tomato Salad $2.25

Coleslaw $2.25

Potato Salad $2.25

Baked Beans $2.25

Green Salad $2.25

Corn Pudding $2.25

Sweet Potato Pie $2.25

Other

Soups when available: small $4.95, large $9.95

Individual pot pies, hopefully available soon

Individual pecan tarts, and other pies (often Chocolate Cream, occasioally Lemon Meringue): $6.00 ea., or in the case of large pies, $6.00/slice

Beverages

Soda, Water $1.50

Snapple, Perrier $1.75

20 oz. Snapple $2.25

Pitcher of Ice Tea $2.50

* Menu varies. All prices subject to change.