The dearth of variety of kosher food along Stirling Road frustrated Orlee Arfi when she and her husband, Mike, moved to South Florida five years ago.
"It's Israeli food or a steak house," she said of the nearby choices. The stretch of Stirling in between Interstate 95 and U.S. 441 is littered with pita huts and strip mall restaurants with large kosher signs.
Eat shwarma for two weeks straight and you'll understand how people who keep kosher -- a Jewish practice of consuming only foods that conform to a strict set of rules -- risk boredom.
"We're foodies," she said. "We wanted to not feel like we were eating in a kosher place."
So the pair took over a freestanding building near the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, gutted it, and repainted it neon green and gray.
They named it Eighteen Sauces for the dozen and a half concoctions you can choose for any sandwich, many woth hints of an Israeli genesis. There's curry mayo, teriyaki, and sweet chili.
Ordering is simple. Deciding is not. Pick among four kinds of sandwiches -- burgers, chicken, beef, and paninis -- then pick your bread and take your time deciding among sauces like green tahini, garlic dill mayo, and chimichurri.
There's a Labella Burger ($9.95) made with lamb as well as a Chica Pea Burger ($6.95) offered on a burger bun or a square ciabatta.
There's a chicken schnitzel sandwich, the Schnitzi, with thin strips of breaded white meat for $10.95 that can be had on a ciabatta roll or inside a wrap. The JAP ($9.95), short for Jewish-American Princess, is made with beef brisket pastrami and comes on a toasted panini.
"Sides" included lightly breaded cauliflower ($4.50) and a half-dozen chicken wings ($6.95). Both come with at least four sauces. The cauliflower, for example, leaves you with the enviable task of trying to pick among garlic and herb aioli, spicy aioli, a sweet chili sauce, and what Orlee called "Asian Fusion."
However, the most interesting part of the place is the drive-through window on the backside of the restaurant, though it wasn't clear whether it was in service during a weekday lunch.
They're looking to expand "somewhere in South Florida" but have yet to sign a lease on a second location.
"We live in Miami, so we would prefer something" close by, she said, but "we don't want to be in a shopping center."
Eighteen Sauces is located at 4251 State Road 7 in Hollywood. Call 954-256-6000, or visit eighteensauces.com.
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