I was intrigued by Oy Vey from the very start. I'd never been to a Jewish restaurant before, and…read morewanted to see what flavors I could discover. After eating here, I realized that I had completely underestimated this particular cuisine. The title of this restaurant may be alarming at first, but believe me, "oy vey" will be the last thing you say after tasting these delicious dishes.
My family and I got two Reubens, Chicken and Rice soup, Borscht soup, Chicken Shawarma, South African Sweet Potato stew, baklava, and latkes all for about 59 bucks. And pretty much everything was homemade. Because of the great quality and quantity of all these items, I ended up stuffed and satisfied.
We start off with their Reuben. I had heard much about this dish from other reviews, and it definitely did not disappoint. The corned beef was well-seasoned, and the sauerkraut was tangy and fresh.
The Chicken and Rice soup was good, but could have used a little bit more seasoning. This is compared to the other items, though, so the expectation might have been set too high for this soup.
Unlike the Chicken and Rice soup, the Borscht soup was firing up my taste buds with its deep tangy flavor. This dish is vegan, but Oy Vey definitely didn't compromise the flavor due to that classification. And along with the soup came a few pieces of a homemade flatbread that was soft and delicious as well.
The Chicken Shawarma was pretty good. Again, the flavor was just a little lacking when compared to some of the other dishes. None of this is enough to take away from my 5-star rating, though. These are just little things that I think could be improved upon.
I had the South African sweet potato stew as a side to my Reuben, and wow, was it good. The sweet potato blended perfectly with the mix of spices. This may have been the most flavorful stew I have ever eaten.
Now, before I talk about this baklava, I ask you to erase anything you seemingly already know about Greek honey baklava from your mind, because that's not what this is. This baklava was entirely different, and even more scrumptious, in my opinion. Instead of your classic honey topping, this baklava was smothered in a cinnamon sauce. Like I said, a completely different experience, but one that was great in its own way.
Last, but definitely not least, we have the latkes. These small, round potato pancakes were also different from the latkes I knew. And again, they were just as good, if not better. They sort of reminded me of fried mashed potatoes. There was also a side of applesauce that came with the order for dipping. The applesauce was also delicious.
All in all, our experience at Oy Vey was delectable and filling. Though improvements could be made on some select items, Oy Vey really brings the flavor! So the next time you're in or around Terra Haute, stop by. Your taste buds will be very glad you did!
