#borekas

Borekas are something special that you can’t get anywhere else. That’s because they were created by the people behind PSY Street Kitchen. The stuffed Israeli-style pastries are cousins to boreks, made with a dough that’s a cross between phyllo and croissant dough. It’s more decadent and buttery than phyllo dough.

Love how the borekas are served hot from the oven with pickles, a hard boiled egg, red schug, and tomato pulp. I found the tomato pulp to be bland, so I’ve always mixed the schug into the pulp – and apparently that’s what you’re supposed to do. Each boreka is sliced for easy dipping and/or sharing.

The menu is simple: 4 kinds of savory borekas (cultured cheese & za’atar; fungi, onion & truffle; potato & brown butter; spinach & cheese), 1 sweet boreka, beverages, and daily specials.

Cultured cheese & za’atar boreka ($13): a golden brown, warm, flaky, crispy, pastry with thin layers, stuffed with a soft cheese that they made in-house and dusted generously with za’atar…the cheese is soft and mild. Love the sides: crunchy, sour pickles, spicy tomato dip, and the hard-boiled eggs. It’s the perfect size for lunch or breakfast.

I’ve tried three of the four savory borekas and the spinach & cheese is my favorite.

This is their second location and it has parking in the back and a larger covered outdoor seating area. Order at the window.

Closed on Saturdays. If you want to pre-order, they accept orders over the phone.

5 out of 5 stars.

I’ve had my share of borekas, boreks, boureks, boregs, etc. but I haven’t had one quite like Borekas in Sherman Oaks. That’s because they created their own dough rather than using the usual phyllo dough. Their dough is described as a cross between phyllo and croissant dough. Imagine a giant flaky hot croissant merging with Mediterranean flavors and you’ll understand why Borekas has been selling out of their Israeli-style bourekas.

So you already know that Borekas makes their own dough. They also make their own cheese. And the bourekas are larger and fresh out of the oven. The bourekas are $12 each. There are four kinds: cultured cheese & za’atar; fungi, onion & truffle; potato & brown butter; spinach & cheese) come with a hard-boiled egg, pickles, tomato pulp, and harissa. They also sell beverages (e.g., Turkish coffee, ayran, soda) and pickles.

They thought of a way to improve and elevate traditional borekas! The boreks I’ve had in the past are small and cold, with thin layers of phyllo and a small amount of filling, typically cheese and spinach. They were usually dry as well.

Spinach & cheese boreka ($12): Let’s start with the crispy, hot, cheese boureka cut into five pieces (for easier dipping). It’s baked to a gorgeous golden brown color. The layers of dough are thin and crispy but the butter keeps the dough from being dry. The feta cheese wasn’t too salty and it oozed out. The spinach was fine – there wasn’t that much of it. Didn’t understand the tomato pulp since it was plain but I mixed their harissa into it and it was so good as a dipping sauce – lots of interesting spices and some heat. The hard-boiled egg was dusted with salt & pepper – made things more substantial but I would have preferred soft-boiled eggs. The dill pickle was crunchy & sour, a good contrast to the buttery, cheesy boureka.  

Borekas is a takeout window in a strip mall. The sidewalk seating is limited and no frills (the seats are milk crates). They open at 9 AM and close when they sell out. To avoid being disappointed, call and prepay. Service was friendly. It took a few tries to get through to them over the phone (would be nice if online ordering were available). I could smell the butter from over a block away. The food is kosher/ Cholov Israel.

Il était une fois le Borekas, un petit mets salé, fait de pâte feuilletée. Pur sépharade, né dans le lointain Empire ottoman, entre la Turquie et la Grèce d’aujourd’hui, il avait conquis le royaume d’Israël : aux champignons, aux pommes de terres, au fromage ou aux épinards, il était de toutes les tables, et les Achkénazes eux-mêmes ne juraient que par lui. Pouvait-on concevoir sans Borekas une fête au jardin d’enfant, la fin d’un service militaire, ou une réunion à la Knesset ?

Mais voici que la révolte grondait. Non, ce n’étaient pas les ménagères qui lui reprochaient les miettes qu’il laissait sur son passage. Ni les diététiciens qui s’indignaient de ses acides gras et de sa teneur en sel. L’attaque venait d’immigrants plus récents, imbus de nouvelle cuisine. Depuis quelques années, les pâtissiers français, par exemple, décrétaient la réforme des canapés. Finis les plateaux de borekas au goût pizza, place aux mini-quiches, aux navettes au saumon ou aux bouchées Pompadour. Rude épreuve pour notre cher ami !

Mais ne vous inquiétez pas, l’histoire finit bien. Un beau jour, un pâtissier, fier de ses racines israéliennes et heureux de son apprentissage francophone, décida d’allier les deux cultures. Voici qu’il créa toute une ligne de Borekas façon canapé, bien mis, bien alignés, et ce fut le grand retour du roi découronné. Sage pâtissier, qui avait compris qu’en bouturant les anciennes branches avec de nouveaux bourgeons, on permet à la cime de monter encore plus haut.