My Bat-Mitzvah

One of the main reasons I have not been good about updating my blog the past few months is that, though by no means 12-years-old, I decided to have a bat-mitzvah. A bat-mitzvah is the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony and a Jewish woman officially comes of age at 12. However, when I was 12, for various reasons, there was no celebration or ceremony. But this year I finally wanted to have one, which meant I read from the Torah for the first time, also reciting an Aliyah, a blessing, over it. I also chanted the Haftorah, a reading from the Prophets that the Sages decided years ago goes well with the particular Torah reading of the week.

Needless to say, there was quite a lot of eating going on as well. My Orthodox, Kosher family came in from New York, so we tried out many different Kosher restaurants in the area. A brief synopsis:

Friday afternoon, we went to the Milky Way, a Kosher Dairy restaurant owned by Leah Adler, Steven Spielberg's mother. Leah explained to us that she has two duties: welcoming guests and telling them her specials and she does both beautifully. The restaurant is known for its Potato Pancakes, Cheese Blintzes and Cheesecake, all of which we tried and all of which were wonderful. Also notable was a Pistachio Pasta that I had, which was Rotelli Pasta with a Sauce made of broken-up bits of Pistachio, Soy Sauce and Garlic.

Saturday, we bought catered food for an Oneg Kiddush, the big, festive meal you eat after Saturday morning services. We bought food from Nessim's--Lox, Barbecued Cod and other Smoked Fish, Baba Ghanoush, Egg Salad, Tuna Salad and various accompaniments such as Tomatoes. Everything was great and beautiful. We bought our baked goods from Delice Bakery, a Kosher French Bakery with wonderful Tarts, Cakes, Challahs, Rolls and Cookies. They were also absolutely charming.

Sunday afternoon, we reunited with our family living in California and had a big party in Beverly Hills at BBC Cafe, a French-Moroccan restaurant. They gave us a private room and, while the food was good, the company was even better. We had salads (which included fresh Pears and Strawberries), fried Meat Balls and Tuna Rolls, Marinated-Grilled Vegetables and a platter of Meats, many spicy, some salty, but all good.

All in all, it was a very delicious weekend.

The Milky Way
9108 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035

Nessim's
8939 W. Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035

Delice Bakery
8583 W. PIco Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035

BBC Cafe
8620 Wilshire Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Food and Drink and Restaurant and Catering and Los Angeles and Beverly Hills and Dairy and Meat and Kosher and Bat-Mitzvah