It's not just the food and not just the price: the meat institution from the north is coming to Tel Aviv

Almost three decades of satisfied diners in Haifa have turned the "cowboy steakhouse" into a warm and delicious family home.

Its new branch wants to do exactly the same in the central area as well

In collaboration with the cowboys' stack

11/09/2022

Sunday, September 11, 2022, 08:00 Updated: 11:23

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leave with a smile.

The cowboy stand (photo: Anatoli Michaelou)

The first thing you see upon entering the Tel Aviv Cowboys Steakhouse is the funnest thing you can see with hungry eyes.

Piles of peanut shells wrap the legs of the diners' chairs, a reminder of the full bucket that is placed on the table as soon as they sit down, and the happy memories it leaves behind as soon as they get up.

The employees of the place sweep them up efficiently when the door is closed, and at the same time bring a new bucket for the meal that has just started, encouraging the customers to enjoy, crack, and throw the shells on the floor.

This happy "peanut dance" (as well as the hot bread and the plate of pickles that arrive at the table before you've even looked at the menu) is the essence of the cowboy steak experience - service and generosity that is rare to see in the city (and in the country in general), without taking focus away from the food.

Apparently, just peanut shells.

In practice, the whole world after cracking.

Must be a little "Israeli".

The cowboy stand (Photo: Yonatan Ben Haim)

A fair return - and more.

The cowboy stand (Photo: Yonatan Ben Haim)

"We wrap the customers with love", Yossi Tuchner described everything written above in one sentence, "from the moment you enter the restaurant, they will not leave you until you leave with a big smile and hugs to the staff. No one will receive you at the entrance with a sour face of whether or not you ordered First of all, we are happy to see you."

Tuchner, the founder of the Haifa Cowboy Steakhouse, looks around at the Tel Aviv branch and points with a warm smile to a table where he just sat down to eat.

"A family like this, of two parents and two children, sits down to eat anywhere in Israel, and no matter what you do, they will end up with 300-400 shekels, which is probably a non-negligible percentage of their monthly salary. I try to have them leave here with a smile, to feel that they received a fair return - and more."

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Family, warm, genuine.

The cowboy stand (Photo: Yonatan Ben Haim)

The cowboy club was born about 27 years ago, 12 thousand kilometers from Haifa.

Tuchner and his wife's jeep trip in the Arizona desert led them to a road inn built entirely from railroad ties.

"It was indeed a tourist place, and many groups came there, but the conduct was family-like, warm, genuine," he reiterated.

Upon his return home, containers of railway sleepers were located in faraway South Africa, and a special saw for cutting them was found in the fence.

"This smell came back with me to Haifa, and goes with me to this day," he smiled.

Accordingly, the menu was born as a local version of that Americana from Arizona, and was quickly improved to a fairly similar version of what is now served in Haifa and Tel Aviv.

"I realized from my experience - even then I had 15-20 years of restaurant experience behind me - that you have to introduce a little 'Israeliness'," he explained, "chopped salad, eggplant, hummus, falafel. I wanted families, people, a crowd, birthdays, and that everyone would find something for themselves Something on the menu. We have almost everything, and in good quality."

And there are also meat deals.

The cowboy stand (photo: Anatoli Michaelou)

A glance at the large menu backs up these statements, and it's hard to think of a person who would look at it without finding a good answer to a developing hunger.

The starters offer the same hummus and tahini "Naples", crispy onion rings with spicy mayonnaise and bloody eggplant salad, chopped chicken liver "of a bee" and cauliflower florets, and no less than six salads that will erase from the deep bowl all the qualms of conscience about what is to come next.

This other one starts with an "intermediate" size (although the "intermediate" of the cowboy steakhouse is clearly the "large" of Tel Aviv), with wings and cigars and also a collection of meaty and plump hot dogs.

Includes a generous business menu.

The cowboy stand (photo: Anatoli Michaelou)

There is no such thing as raw meat.

The cowboy stand (photo: Anatoli Michaelou)

The ambition of "something for everyone" continues with intriguing stir-fry dishes, including a vegetarian option and a fun match for salmon or veal filet, a children's menu that is much more invested than the standard, a traditional cooking section that highlights schnitzels and pan-sautéed chicken livers.

The fresh meat ("with us there is no such thing as not fresh") that comes from the Golan Heights presents a particularly challenging choice - in weight, in portion, in postponing satisfaction.

entrecote or sirloin?

Fillet or butcher's cut?

Fries?

Successfully.

All the answers are correct.

The menu continues with at least three sizes of lamb chops and three different mixes of kebabs, including Romani of course and chicken hearts.

A corned beef sandwich like in America?

you received

Half a chicken but without the bones?

there is.

A Jerusalem mix alongside Chateaubriand?

both.

Spreebs, a sloppy joe sandwich and a porterhouse by weight?

You got the point.

All this goodness allows for an extremely high modular capacity, but will also allow you to enter the mouth frequently without yawning or fearing boredom.

A generous business menu (again, the kind you don't see so much in the 03 dialing area anymore) will also neutralize worry about the wallet and meaty deals for a single, a couple or a foursome will make the experience even more exciting.

"Nothing will work without good food and a fair price."

The cowboy stand (photo: Anatoli Michaelou)

The Haifa institution has been bringing together a loyal local audience and countless diners from the center for almost three decades, and its new landing in Tel Aviv is really good news for carnivores.

"I'm a meat expert, an aging expert, and we know how to give the right meat, the right size, the right weight and the right weight," Tuchner explained, "It's important to me personally that people leave here satisfied, and it's just as important to me that they don't think I sold them Loksh."

According to him, "The cowboy steakhouse and the best and most reputable restaurants in Israel buy meat from the same supplier, and sell the same meat to customers, with the same level of effort and professionalism, only we do it for tens of shekels less. Why? We have no floor manager, no hostess, no bartender, no operator. These costs are saved from me, but also from the diners, and at the end there is a bill that reflects what you ate, and doesn't force you to pay for inflated staff and all kinds of things that are not so much related to the food on your plate."

Meat experts, aging experts.

The cowboy stand (Photo: Yonatan Ben Haim)

The right meat.

The cowboy stand (Photo: Yonatan Ben Haim)

The account manager of the cowboys' stand has been urging Tuchner for years to give up that "peanut dance" from above, and certainly the free bread and pickles.

In his generosity, he also offered a second option - to charge a few shekels for this welcome.

An overwhelming majority of restaurants and restaurateurs in Israel will laugh just reading these lines, but Tuchner and the "Cowboy Stack" are completely serious.

"The concept started as a home restaurant, a family restaurant, and we've maintained it all these years," he stated, "but nothing will work without good food and a fair price. This is us."

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