Balaboosta - Israeli tapas in a warm place

If Shira told her grandmothers in Israel she was preparing a home cooked meal for guests or making up a guest bedroom with clean sheets, she would say Shira was a "balaboosta" -meaning someone who was  making my home cozy and welcoming.  That's exactly the kind of atmosphere Einat Admony creates at her new restaurant in soho by the same name.

From the moment we spoke to a maître d' who called to confirm our reservation on Saturday, we felt welcome. Because the liquor license hadn't been taken care of he suggested we bring our own bottle of wine to enjoy.

Video Review: Ruby’s - Burgers so Delicious, Even a Vegetarian Couldn’t Resist a Bite

Yesterday our solution to the conflict of gorgeous weather and a dire need for office furniture was resolved with a decision to walk what felt like the length of Manhattan to Seaport Village then hop onto the free water taxi to Ikea.   Getting somewhat lost somewhere below Canal Street, the journey downtown turned into a two-hour walk in the sun.  The serene boat ride was followed by the usual chaos of navigating the mega store, muscle-powered lugging of our findings back onto the water taxi, and finagling of a cab from Seaport with our belongings.

At 4 p.m. our stomachs alarmed us that the slice of pizza shared among three women was not cutting it.    To quench our huge appetites, a friend suggested Ruby’s in Nolita – “supposedly the best burgers in New York” she said. 

Check out our video review after the jump.