Spring is coming – Popina

Popina

The spring of 2013 is probably one of the more exciting times to be a restaurant lover in Tel-Aviv. Restaurants are opening up in such a rate even we cannot follow. One after the other, like mushrooms after the rain, promising restaurants such as Hannoi, Taizu, Tiger Lili open up and give us the great opportunities eating some fabulous food. It is definitely the Asian cuisine that having its renaissance around town. Popina, on the other hand, a brand new Chef restaurant, is trying to give a different, unique experience. Oh and it does.

The setting, inside a beautiful classic old building, is combining well with early 20’s century village-like Neve Tzedek atmosphere with its exposed stone walls and interesting wine cellar. Nevertheless, its setting is probably the only “classic” or “old” around. Popina is a modern chef restaurant, focusing on innovative kitchen full of techniques and presentations. And it seems like they really know what they’re doing.

Shrimp “Burger”

Starters were somewhat Asian, and probably some of the best we ever had. A Shrimp Burger which came inside steamed bun with aioli sauce was a delicate, perfect dish, and was the star of the dinner. Goose spring rolls in steamed rice rolls and demi glaze weren’t any worse actually and kept a cohesive line of fabulous delicacy. Two other starters of Grilled Calamari with Root vegetables as well as Gin and Tonic Tartar made us feel we are having a really unique and original dinner.

Goose Spring Rolls

Grilled Calamari

The two main courses that came after were really exceptional. Braised Veal Check, a dish rarely seen in chef restaurants, was extremely tender and full of deep tastes, while Sea Drum and Scallop Cannelloni did not disappoint at all.

Braised Veal Cheek

Sea Drum

As it seemed the chef sat right by us on the bar, he noticed we are taking pictures. After asking us what we thought about the food, he did promise a surprising dessert. He actually added two desserts for the two we already ordered, and they were all really wonderful. Strawberries soup with tapioca, tiny lemon tarts, steamed mascarpone cake with berry foam and white chocolate with truffle (!) mushrooms ice cream were all amazing, no other word.

Strawberries soup with tapioca

White Chocolate & Truffles Ice Cream

So yes, we did get two free desserts and no, none of these praises are because of that. Popina is a truly unique place, an oasis of original food at a chef level. Yes, it is expensive for the size of the dishes, but sometimes it is just worth it.

Popina

The Check Please (4 people)

Gin & Tonic Tartar – 64 NIS
Grilled Calamari – 56 NIS
Shrimp Burger – 48 NIS
Goose Spring Rolls – 58 NIS
Braised Veal Cheek – 98 NIS
Sea Drum and Scallop Cannelloni – 115 NIS
Alaska – 44 NIS
Lemon Tart – 42 NIS
White Chocolate & Truffles – 0
Steamed Mascarpone Cake – 0
Coke – 12 NIS
Soda Water – 12 NIS
Tonic – 12 NIS
Water – 12 NIS
Coke X2 – 24 NIS

All in all: 585 NIS

Summary:

Food: Chef Restaurant
Price: Expensive
Location: Neve Tzedek

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

5 Forks

Contact Details: Popina

Address:  3 Achad Ha’am, Tel Aviv | Phone: 035757477
Opening Hours: Daily 18:00-01:00
http://www.rol.co.il/images/sites/popina/menu/english.html

The Disappointed Tourist – Herbert Samuel

Tel Aviv from the City Lookout Point of Azrieli

This year, birthday came early. As Inbar headed off to Spain for a business trip (wait for the post…) she decided to celebrate my birthday by doing a touristic tour in the wonderful city of Tel Aviv. Starting off at the city lookout point of Azrieli Towers, we had some great views of Tel Aviv, the neighboring cities and the sea. A bicycle ride throughout the Tel Aviv boardwalk led to the mystic Montifiore graveyard where all the famous Tel Aviv founders are rested. The final spot at that Friday morning was the chef restaurant of Yonathan Rushfeld – Herbert Samuel.

Famous chef Rushfeld, is the head chef of three different restaurants across Tel Aviv (Tapas Echad Haam, Yavne Montifiore and Herbert Samuel) and also appears as a judge in the Master Chef TV show. While we visited the other two restaurants, Herbert Samuel is considered as Rushfeld’s flagship, one of Tel Aviv best restaurants and a tourist favorite. That in mind, you can understand what were our expectations from the Friday birthday lunch.

Olive oil with balsamic vinegar

Though you can hardly have a view of the sea, the large glass font window allows nice lighting around the place, especially at the fabulous large bar facing the front. Arriving on Friday noon, we knew there’s a good option of an affordable fixed price lunch. The set menu named “Discover Herbert Samuel” includes five courses which we took along with a “regular” Friday lunch set menu.

Eggplant and Tulum Cheese

Throughout the lunch we felt the food was good. We can’t say anything bad about it, really. It’s just that there was very little special about it and most of the food can be found at the same quality in a handful of places around town.

Chopped Raw Grouper and Tuna

Take the eggplant and Tulum cheese starter for example. Yes, Tulum cheese gives a nice kick to a light starter. Even though, the Baladi Eggplant is such a boring starter that every restaurant in Tel Aviv serves that event the cheese couldn’t wow us in any way. The other starter, chopped raw Grouper and Tuna fish on top of eggplant cream, was better and had very delicate flavors, but again it was nothing special.

Soup of Jerusalem Artichoke, Chestnuts and Truffles

Things became way better when a foamy soup of Jerusalem Artichoke, chestnuts and Truffles arrived to the table. The surprisingly large dish was exactly what you would expect from a chef restaurant – original, bold and simply excellent, and emphasized the disappointment of the rest of the lunch.

“Torn” Pasta with Crystal Shrimps

Seared Grouper Fish

A “torn” pasta with Crystal Shrimps had some nice fresh zucchinis and tomatoes but was a little blend and didn’t exposed the quality of the Shrimps, which was a shame. Together came a seared Grouper fish that was cooked great, but was accompanied with a zucchini and garlic paste which lacked flavors and didn’t suit the fish at all.

Lamb Chops

The next two dishes came as we started to feel a bit full yet still looking for some fine courses. Again, it was just lacked a bit. A course of Lamb chops was OK but way (way) below the great Lamb Chops at Haim Cohen, while what was labeled as “Chopped Rib-Eye Steak” turned out to be just a burger. Luckily this burger was very good and was accompanied with a very tasty red wine sauce.

Chopped Rib-Eye Steak

The dessert was a joy to the eyes and the palate. A Pistachio ice-cream and fresh chopped tropical fruits accompanied with Mascarpone sauce filled Baklavas and Pistachio was a very cheerful and refreshing dish.

A Pistachio ice-cream and fresh chopped tropical fruits

Herbert Samuel might be the tourist culinary showcase of Tel Aviv and Israel. The food is good, we can’t say it isn’t. Even though, as a gourmet dining choice it is definitely not the best one.

Note: only days later we discovered the restaurant billed us for a bread basket brought to the table while it was never mentioned nor they asked us if we would like it.

The Check Please (2 people)

Bread – 19 NIS
Friday Set Lunch – 88 NIS
Discover Herbert Samuel – 160 NIS
Pepsi X2 – 24 NIS
Soda Water X2 – 20 NIS
Pistachio Dessert – 42 NIS

All in all: 420 NIS

Summary

Food: Chef Restaurant

Price: Very Expensive (though an affordable Friday Lunch)
Location: Hayarkon Boardwalk

The Cizer Kobrinsky Scale

3 Forks

 

Contact details: Herbert Samuel

Address: 6 Koifman st. Tel Aviv | Phone: 035166516

Expensive Taste – Jaffa Tel Aviv

It has been a while since we have visited an elite chef restaurant in Tel Aviv. We do get excited by food, but generally speaking, chef restaurants usually just don’t pay off. Though we have tried Messa restaurant (and though it received a very high score), we still haven’t tried many restaurants in that level such as Herbert Samuel, Refael, Mul Yam or Yoezer Wine Bar. It was rather the new restaurant of celebrity chef Haim Cohen, Jaffa Tel Aviv, that drew us for a visit.

Jaffa Tel Aviv

Jaffa Tel Aviv has opened its gates about a year ago, when Haim Cohen came back to the chef restaurant scene after years of absence, generating a lot of expectations and buzz around it. Finally, along with our newly wed friends, Keren & Samuel, we went to check out how a chef restaurant is really like.

The Open Kitchen

At first look, it is indeed expensive. Very expensive. The starters will cost you between 55 and 65 NIS while for a main course you’ll spend between 90 and 180 NIS. Is it worth it?
The ambiance is definitely our kind. There is a lot of noise around the restaurant, the kitchen is widely open for you to see anything, and generally the atmosphere is not super serious (no white table cloths). The food is somewhat unstable, counting in the price. Some dishes really justified it, and some really didn’t.

Red Tuna Fish Tartar

Take a starter of Red Tuna Fish Tartar for example. According to the menu, the tartar includes eggplants and “swims” in “off-road” tomatoes. Unfortunately the only taste we could feel of was the tomato paste. You could have removed the fish and the eggplant and no one would have noticed. The paste itself felt as if we could have made it at home, so generally, it was really a lousy dish.

Beef Carpaccio

From that point it was rather an uphill as the other starter, Beef Carpaccio with, again, “off-road” tomatoes (didn’t notice the difference with cherry tomatoes) and black-eyed peas, was very good. The beef itself was very good and together with on-the-house excellent focaccia bread, we liked it.

Gnocchi and Spinach with “Hameiri” Cheese

The main courses started giving a great fight to the prices as every bite brought out some enjoyable sounds. A dish of Gnocchi and Spinach with “Hameiri” Cheese was very good but was very small. The Filet of Beef, which was escorted by cauliflower cream, black lentils and bone marrow was delicious. The beef itself was from an excellent quality and grilled to the perfect level, and the cauliflower cream was very special.

Filet of Beef

Lamb chops, pilled figs, eggplant and fresh Za’atar

It was rather the third dish that drew the most compliments (maybe because we took two of it). A very Israeli main course of Lamb chops, pilled figs, eggplant and fresh Za’atar was simply amazing. Unlike those “off-road” tomatoes, this truly felt as an off-road dish, coming from the Galilee Mountains. The Lamb chops were the best we ever had, and the combination of figs and fresh Za’atar caused some pleasure reactions around the table.

“Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate”

We really wanted the desserts to drive us forward the hill and continue the climb but it was the ups and downs that carried on through the last part of the dinner.
On the one corner, a dessert called “Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate”, which contained a Makaron Chocolate cookie, Chocolate fondant, Chocolate ice cream, Chocolate chunks and, of course, Chocolate sauce to dip it all. It was very sweet and very good. Recommended for Chocolate enthusiasts.
On the other corner, we took the waiter’s recommendation – Coconut Crème Brule. The Brule was very boring and didn’t top any of the other Brule’s we had around town.

Coconut Crème Brule

It is very tough to rate Jaffa Tel Aviv according to that dinner. On the one hand, the main courses were superb and gave us a true chef restaurant feeling, allowing us to overlook the price for a few minutes. On the other, the starters and the desserts were a series of ups and downs that such a high class restaurant simply cannot take. We agreed that although a good restaurant, we won’t go back soon.

The Check Please (4 people)

Bread – OTH
Sira Châteaux Golan Red Wine (bottle) – 205 NIS
Beef Carpaccio – 52 NIS
Tuna Tartar – 65 NIS
Gnocchi – 90 NIS
Filet of Beef – 170 NIS
Lamb Chops (X2) – 360 NIS
Soda water – 12 NIS
Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate – 50 NIS
Coconut Brule – 40 NIS

All in all: 1044 NIS

 Summary

Food: Israeli Fusion
Price: Very (Very) expensive
Location: Yigal Alon Street

The Cizer Kobrinsky Scale

3.5 Forks

 

Contact details: Jaffa Tel Aviv

Address: 98 Yigal Alon st., Tel Aviv | Phone: 03-6249249

An Island – Elba

Once every few months, a new restaurant opens in Tel Aviv creates a massive buzz around it, with promising chef, some fine reviews and intensive PR. Elba, opened just a few months ago has created just that. It helped that Elba was founded at the floor of one of the new meant-for-rich 20 stories at the corner of Ibn-Gabirol and Shaul Hamelech.

Looking at Elba from the outside it does reminds an island (Elba is an Island in Tuscany, Italy), and not necessarily in a good way. Ibn Gabirol is somewhat a hectic street and the large glass windows showing the white table cloths make it feel almost as an aquarium. But on the other hand, this whole tower is some kind of an unrelated island in the middle of the City. Maybe the outside seating planned soon would combine Elba with the street a bit more.

Roasted Bread and Adyghe Cheese Salad

In a way Elba’s food seems also as a unique scene in the city. It’s not that it is extremely original as it simply manages to step out of the city’s trendy-but-boring dishes. Take the roasted bread and Adyghe cheese salad. It is very easy to go with types of tomatoes as many other restaurants would do. Elba has decided to put white and greed asparagus with it, which along with the unique cheese gave it great crunchiness. Perfect.

Pickled Mackerels with White Wine and Avocado

Calamari Bruschetta with Mustard Leaves and Salicornia

Pickled Mackerels with white wine and avocado, as well as Calamari bruschetta with mustard leaves and Salicornia were both unique dishes but ones that did not rise above OK. One would still appreciate the originality and fearlessness of choosing such dishes for the menu. The Calamari a la plancha, was unfortunately slightly disappointing, especially after the other starters.

Calamari a la plancha

Even though, we didn’t stay disappointed for much long as the main courses soon arrived. A Seabass on top of tomato cream sauce with semolina and roasted green onions was executed perfectly. Eating that dish with a spoon, absorbing the sauce in the semolina that, in its turn suited well with the fish, was exceptional and showed what can be done with simple ingredients.

Seabass on top of Tomato Cream Sauce with Semolina and Roasted Green Onions

The other main courses were not far behind as well. A burnt Tuna steak with lemon vinaigrette and Kale salad was dreamy. The Tuna was bloody red inside and quite thick, which made it feel as a real fleshy steak, while the sauce had great sour taste in it (though one needs to like lemony sauce). Another dish of fried Sweetbreads with Zucchini pure was extremely “corrupting” and fatty and reminded me how much I like sweetbreads.

Burnt Tuna Steak with Lemon Vinaigrette and Kale salad

Fried Sweetbreads with Zucchini Pure

Two heavenly desserts of sweet & bitter oranges with coconut ice cream and Panacotta with watermelon ice cream concluded a great dinner we would definitely remember.

Two heavenly desserts

The Check Please (4 people)

Bread – 13 NIS
Water – 13 NIS
Calamari a la plancha – 47 NIS
Calamari Bruschetta – 45 NIS
Pickled Mackerels – 57 NIS
Roasted Bread Salad – 53 NIS
Burnt Tuna Steak – 95 NIS
Seabass – 93 NIS
Sweetbreads – 77 NIS
Sancerre whine (bottle) – 160 NIS
Panacotta – 37 NIS
Sweet & Bitter oranges – 37 NIS

All in all – 727 NIS

Summary:

Food: Mediterranean
Price: Expensive
Location: Ibn Gabirol / Shaul Hamelech

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

4.5 Forks

Contact Details: Elba
Address:  36 Ibn Gabirol st. Tel Aviv | Phone: 03-5467905 |
Daily (currently evenings only) |
no webpage

Turning Tables – HaShulchan (Table)

A while ago, three months ago to be precise, Adi, Elad and I have decided to check the “Table”, the new restaurant of the young and promising chef Omer Miler. I admit, it has been a while but I can still remember the good and the bad.

Though we came time, the restaurant wasn’t ready for us. After several minutes of waiting to the hostess (that didn’t give us too much attention), we were seated in a “Table”.

We start with Egg Schnitzel – the restaurant most famous dish – Eggs coated in bread crumbs and pan fried as a schnitzel. The egg was served with Garam masala, shallots, green onion & lime vinaigrette dressing. I have a weakness for soft boiled egg with liquid yolk; as such this dish should have been the perfect match for me – but it wasn’t. I can’t say the dish wasn’t tasty but in my humble opinion the flavors did not really combine together.

Egg Schnitzel

In addition we took “Iceberg Salad” – In this case, the chef decided on a broad interpretation to meaning of salad as we were only served Iceberg lettuce with some sauce on it.

Grilled Calamari & Cheese Tortellini

For main course Elad and I took the same dish – Grilled Calamari that wasn’t very remarkable. Adi took Cheese Tortellini which according to the menu should have contained mushrooms; in practice the mushrooms weren’t there at all. The waitress response was “it’s there – you just can’t notice it”.

Strawberry & Malabi

For desert we took fresh strawberries that were served on top of mascarpone cheese; we have received complimentary Roseta Malalbi that was served with date honey, palm and almonds. Both of the deserts were light and tasty.

When summarizing our visit, although it was a while ago, I would say that big disappointments come from high expectations. Omer Miler has set a high bar but in our opinion did not pulled it off.

The Check Please (4 people)
Egg Schnitzel – 28 NIS
Iceberg Salad – 44 NIS
Grilled Calamari – 2X68 NIS
Cheese Tortellini  – 62 NIS
Colombia Gewurztraminer – 110 NIS
Strawberry – 36 NIS
Malabi – 36 NIS (on the house)
Espresso – 10NIS
Cappuccino – 12 NIS

All in all – 438 NIS

Summary:

Food: New Israeli Kitchen
Price: High
Location: Rothschild

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

3 Forks

Contact Details: Table

Address:  73 Rotchild st., Tel Aviv| Phone:  03-5257171 | Daily 12:00-Late

Social Justice – The Mizlala (Eatery)

The summer of 2011 will (hopefully) be remembered for the uncompromising fight of the middle class in Israel against the economic policy of Prime Minister Netanyahu, that caused Israel to have almost the biggest gaps between the rich and the poor in the western world. The people of Israel demand social justice.

Adoni in Action

The Summer of 2011 will also be remembered as the summer in which Meir Adoni opened the Mizlala – his middle-class restaurant. Adoni, well recognized and appreciated chef had become famous after cooking at the top fine-dining restaurants in Israel (Including Catit).

Peanut & Salt on the Bar

When Adoni opened this restaurant he stated that he aims to get to the young middle-calss crowd in Israel serving good food in reasonable prices. When we arrived to the restaurant we have realized we were the only couple that fits his measures.

As a place that suppose to act as an eatery (Mizlala), one would expect to encounter a loud and dense place with a chaotic atmosphere. Nevertheless, the design of the Mizalal is quite “clean” and sterile. Eatery with a high level design. To our surprise, Adoni was standing right behind the bar constructing our dishes.

Palestinian Tartar

We started with Palestinian tartar – if this is the meat you can get in Gaza, we can’t wait to have peace… Chopped rump beef, Tehini, Pine nuts, Yogurt, Burned eggplant paste & Cumin (just too much of it).  Great twist on the traditional tartar that usually comes with a French scent.

Mullet Ceviche

We continued with another starter (Although the menu is not divided to entrees and main courses) – Ceviche of Mullet fish that was served on top of some kind of Asian salad. This dish was good but had resembled to too many other dishes we have eaten in the past in restaurants such as the Thai House and The Officers Club.

Seared Chicen Liver

For main course we have shared (not too big of a dish) the Seared Chicken Liver that was served on top of Polenta, Forest Mushrooms & Asparagus. This dish was amazing and we felt as if it was melting in our mouth.

Vanilla Brulee

For desert, we took Vanilla Brulee that had nothing to do with Brulee. It was a thick layer of Vanilla that was topped (and not burned) with a layer apricot that was topped with layer of Crumble. This layer was also topped – with a scoop of berries ice-cream – Too Much!! when the bartender asked us if we enjoy the dish we had to answer that this was the least good dish in that dinner. The bartender replied that this is Adoni’s interpretation to the Creme Brulee -we thought he was too creative.

Summarizing this experience we were a bit confused. It was (mostly) a good meal in a (sort of) reasonable price, nevertheless we could not identify the middle class people among the crowd. So where is the social justice?

The Check Please (2 people)
2 X Gewurztraminer – 72 NIS
Palestinian tartar – 55 NIS
Mullet Ceviche – 63 NIS
Seared Chicen Liver – 53 NIS
Vanilla Brulee – 41 NIS

All in all: 284 NIS

Summary
Food: Israeli Chef Restaurant
Price: Medium-Expensive
Location: Nachlat Binyamin

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale

4 Forks

Contact Details: Mizlala
Address: 57 Nachlat Binyamin st, Tel Aviv | Phone: 03 5505 566
Opening Hours:  Sunday – Saturday 19:00-01:00
http://www.mizlala.co.il

Disestablishmentarianism – Toto

About a month ago we got married for the second time. In oppose to the first time, when we got married by Rabbi Gilad Kariv from the Progressive Judaism movement, this time we only did it for the official stamp of the Rabbinate. When the ceremony was done, all we were looking for is a good place to eat non-kosher food that will help us to forget the old-fashioned establishment. Luckily, Toto was just 10 minutes’ walk from there.

The Bar

Toto is a chef restaurant from the kitchen of chef Yaron Shalev, a young and premising chef. The restaurant is located near the court in Tel Aviv, which makes it a popular place for lunch among lawyers and business men. Although Toto is a very expensive restaurant, it offers fixed menu for lunch – for 98 NIS you will get an entrée and a main course.

Calamari Salad

For starters Inbar took the Calamari Salad – fresh combination of grilled Calamari, fresh onion and fried onion, two different kinds of Cherry tomatoes, green pepper, chick-peas and herbs. This kind of dish have become a must have dish in the menu of every Tel Aviv restaurant that respect itself. Nevertheless, it was not disappointing and did manage to top over the average Calamari Salad.

Pickled Anchovy

Grilled Eggplant

Shahar took the pickled Anchovy that was served on top of lentils & yogurt, green pepper, tomatoes and onion – spicy and fresh dish. Benny & Zipi took the Grilled Eggplant that was served with tomatoes seeds, radish, labaneh,  onion and herbs. This dish came in two different sizes as one of them was part of the fix menu and the other wasn’t. Shaul took the Gazpacho soup that was excellent.

Pappardelle Ragu

For the main courses we weren’t so much versatile as in the entrees. Benny, Shaul & Inbar took the Pappardelle Ragu –stew of veal, chestnuts and root vegetables that was cooked for hours and served with homemade Pappardelle. Shahar & Ronit took the Shalev’s legendary dish – Chestnut Gnocchi with Truffles butter – a dish that although is quite “heavy” you just can’t get enough of… heavenly dressed fluffy gnocchi. Zipi Took the Black Pasta that was cooked with Calamari and Shrimp and was also a good dish but not very special.

Chestnut Gnocchi

Black Pasta

Picking Toto as the dessert of our unnecessary wedding was a good choice for the beginning of our shared life (according to the state if Israel) & helped us to quickly forget that anachronistic establishment.

The Check Please (6 people)

Vital Water – 28NIS
3X Lemonade – 36NIS
Soda water – 11NIS
Calamari Salad (Fixed Menu) – 15NIS
Grilled eggplant (Fixed Menu)
Gazpacho (Fixed Menu)
Grilled eggplant – 48NIS
Pickled Anchovy – 58NIS
3X  Pappardelle Ragu (Fixed Menu) – 294
2X Chestnut Gnocchi – 164NIS
Black Pasta – 98NIS

All in all: 752NIS

Summary:

Food: Italian Chef Restaurant
Price: Very Expensive
Location: Weitzman, Curt house, Tel Aviv Arts Museum.

 The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

4.5 Forks

Contact Details: Toto

Address:  4 Berkovits st, Tel Aviv | Phone: 03-6935151 | Opening Hours:  Sunday – Saturday 12:30-00:00 | | http://www.toto-rest.co.il/

Expecting the extra – North (Tzfon) Abraxas

There are few chefs around town which you must check their places. Eyal Shani, Timeout Tel Aviv’s Chef of the year, is definitely one of them. Having few successful places as the Saloon, Hamiznon (the Buffet) and North Abraxas, his performance as a judge in the famous TV show “Master Chef” has given him a lot of publicity. We decided to visit his trendy North Abraxas which is located on the popular crossroads of Nachlat Binyamin & Lilinblum.

North Abraxas

The restaurant is divided to two. The one part is the bar, which is located in front of the open kitchen. If you can, we would suggest sitting there as it is a nice experience watching the cooks in action. The sitting part on the other hand, is quite dull and is used also as an entrance to the adjacent Abraxas club. Note that the dishes on North Abraxas are not arriving on plates but rather on papers, a unique touch, but not quite a “green” one. As appose to that, many of the ingredients of the place are organic, such as the not-so-tasty grape juice (no sodas but Soda water at North Abraxas).

Melting Into Itself - a Whole Mini Cauliflower

As starters we took a classic dish of Shani – a whole mini cauliflower “melts into itself” – and weren’t disappointed. The cauliflower was baked in the oven (probably with some butter) and had a wonderful taste. We also took Beet Carpaccio (not beef…). This time the dish wasn’t as good as expected. The beet was a little tasteless, and only the Crème fraiche that came along with it, managed to save the dish somehow.

Beet Carpaccio

Going through to the entrees we also took one classic of Shani – The Shrimps Pita bread. Though it seems quite weird to combine a street food like Pita bread with Shrimps, the dish is no less than marvelous. Quality Shrimps dressed with tomatoes and hot peppers sauce that drips through the whole fresh Pita bread was simply delicious.

Shrimps Pita Bread

Unfortunately we couldn’t give the same praises to the other dish – a European Seabass Chraime. Though the fish itself was quite good, the very hot tomatoes and peppers sauce was boring and didn’t give the fish the extra taste it needed. In addition, the fish was full of bones which made it quite hard on eating it as the sauce hid the fish.

European Seabass Chraime

Though we heard good things about the desserts, we decided to skip and head home. On the way back we agreed that North Abraxas is not a bad place at all, but it definitely didn’t raise to the expectations we had from Eyal Shani.

The check please (2 people)

Beet Carpaccio – 34 NIS
Cauliflower – 34 NIS
Shrimps in Pita Bread – 68 NIS
European Seabass Chraime – 92 NIS
2 X Soda water – 20 NIS
Organic grape juice – 16 NIS

All in all: 264 NIS

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

3.5 Forks

Summary:

Food:  Trendy Chef Restaurant
Price:  Medium-Expensive
Location: Nachlat Binyamin & Lilinblum

Contact details: North Abraxas
Address:  Lilinblum 40, Tel Aviv | 03-5166660|
Opening Hours:  Sunday 18:00-04:00 | Monday – Thursday 12:00-04:00 | Friday- Saturday 13:00-04:00
No Webpage

The Rich and Famous – Messa

Lately, we had a one night chance to feel like the high society of Tel Aviv. Inbar had won a coupon to one of Tel Aviv’s most expensive restaurants – Messa. The coupon was quite generous and included two starters, two entrees and two deserts along side with two hot and two cold drinks – a full dinner (excluding the alcohol).

At the beginning we were looking for an occasion to justify this dinner. Unfortunately, our next celebration is set to April 11^th, when we will mention 3 years of dating (which will be just two weeks before our marriage). Therefore we weren’t patient and decided to go without a special occasion.

This was the first time we have visited Messa and it was a good chance to take a quick peek to the place of the rich and famous in Tel Aviv. In the center of the place located two high, long tables that serves groups of people or couples that are willing to share their table with others. Alongside the tables there are open areas that contain “regular” tables. We were sat in one of these areas. We use the quotation marks from the regular since our table was a round and very large piece of marble stone. The chairs were quite big and were similar to a couch rather than a chair. The strange setting, that was define by the waitress as one of the most desirable tables in the restaurant, made us feel like strangers in their first date since we were quite far apart from each other.

Goose liver with white "Valerhona" lemon sauce

After we ordered the food, we were served a gesture from the chef – two small cups of tomato soup covered by a fried tortilla. The soup was not special at all and quite worried us regarding the upcoming courses. Luckily, the soup was not a good representation of the rest.

Jerusalem Calamari

For starters, we took the famous seared goose liver with white “Valerhona” lemon sauce served with a shot of “naughty” chocolate. This course was not less than perfect. The liver was tender and dissolved. The chocolate shot added a light sweetness and fitted the course in a perfect way. The other starter was “Jerusalem Calamari” – labaneh crème, za’atar, sesame and grilled tomatoes. This was a good course, although it was served with fried eggplant that was a little too fried.

Beef fillet in chestnut & balsamic stock

For the main course we took Beef fillet in chestnut & balsamic stock. The beef was very good and was escorted by amazing sides – smooth puree and delicious mashed chestnuts. We also took Seafood Risotto in blue crab broth. Though the dish was good, it didn’t meet our expectations that came from its name and price (151 NIS).

Seafood Risotto in blue crab broth

For a sweet ending, we took the Strawberry crumble and vanilla cream with almonds, which was a good-looking, sweet dessert. We especially liked the strawberry mousse on top of the crumble. The other dessert was quite a surprising one – Sizzling Chestnut was served in a small burning pan escorted with blue cheese and burned herbs which gave it a good and interesting smell. The combination of cheese, herbs and chestnut was truly exciting and refreshing.

Strawberry crumble and vanilla cream with almonds

For a closure of the interesting meal, we drank cappuccinos while agreeing that each phase of the dinner revealed one unusual course and one that was “just” as good as other good restaurants in town.

Sizzling Chestnut

We will be back, only when we will be a part of the rich and famous…

The check please (2 people)

2 glass of white wine – 64 NIS

Courses prices

Goose liver with white “Valerhona” lemon sauce – 84 NIS
“Jerusalem Calamari” – 58 NIS
Beef fillet in chestnut & balsamic stock – 148 NIS
Seafood Risotto in blue crab broth – 156 NIS
Strawberry crumble and vanilla cream with almonds – 48 NIS
Sizzling Chestnut – 48 NIS
Soda Water – 11 NIS
Coke – 13 NIS
Cappuccino  - 14 NIS
2 glass of white wine – 64 NIS

All in all (lucky us) 654 NIS

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

4 Forks

Summary:

Food:  Chef Restaurant
Price:  Very Expensive
Location: Ha’arbaa

Contact details: Messa
Address:  19^th Ha’arbaa St. Tel Aviv | Phone: 03-6856859|
Opening Hours:  Sunday- Saturday 12:00-15:30; 19:00-23:30
http://www.messa.co.il/site/master.html

It’s a Zebra? It’s a Bird? No, It’s Zepra

Let’s start with the bottom line. Wow. That is the one word which describes best our fabulous visit at Zepra (Herbew combination of the words Zebra and Bird) – a Southern Tel Aviv restaurant owned by Avi Conforti, who owned the mythic Chimichanga restaurant, just a few hundred meters away. Conforti opened this Asian style restaurant back in 2007. This was the first time (and definitely not our last) we have been there, with the invitation of Shahar’s parents.

Zepra

It starts with the setting of the place. A great décor gives the place a feeling of hanging out in a mega-lounge bar somewhere between Paris & LA. It keeps the same level when it comes to the music. It is simply outstanding – a combination of lounge music with a lot of electronic & drums rhythms.

Har Gau

The starters were very unique and didn’t resemble any other Asian restaurant around. We took a fresh tuna fish pizza – an amazing combination of western & eastern food, “Har Gau” – 3 Dim sums filled with shrimps in an amazing mushroom sauce, “Chop Sashimi” – 5 types of raw fish chopped together (kind of tartar) with Tobiko – one of the most original courses we saw around, “New Style Salmon Sashimi” – sliced of raw salmon with sesame oil – some happy reactions were heard about that as well. We also took a “Healthy Buddha” salad – a fresh Asian salad with red cabbage, vegetables mint & coriander, which stood out because of its good sauce.

Chop Sashimi

The Entrees were just a continuation of the starters. A “Bo Luk Lak” (two were taken) – Slices of fillet of beef, grilled with caramelized onions in a Vietnamese sauce, was the best of the best. An excellent cooked beef was juicy and fitted perfectly to the great unique sauce. A “Noah Pad Paric” – Sirloin pieces with sweet red chili, onion, coriander and cashew nuts, was nice as well but couldn’t keep with the “Bo Luk Lak” standards.

New Style Salmon Sashimi

The desserts on Zepra didn’t let down also. A Tapioca Malabi was one of the best Malabi’s we ever had. An apricot Crème brûlée was fantastic, as well as beautiful to look at and a Chocolate Soufflé with Indian Chai-Masala ice cream and aroma, given on the house, was a sugar-rush ending to an extra ordinary dinner.

Apricot Crème brûlée

The check please (4 people)

Chop Sashimi – 55 NIS
New Style Salmon Sashimi – 52 NIS
Tuna Pizza – 59 NIS
Healthy Buddha Salad – 38 NIS
Har Gau – 42 NIS
Bo Luk Lak – 2 X 108 NIS
Noah Pad Paric – 88 NIS
Tapioca Malabi – 39 NIS

Value for Money

After a lot of suggestions we decided to add this section to our blog.

4.5 Forks

Summary:

Food:  Asian
Price:  Expensive
Location: Yigal Alon

Contact details: Zepra
Address:  96 Yigal Alon St., Tel Aviv | Phone: 03-6240044|
Opening Hours:  12:00-00:00
http://zepra.pionetsv.co.il/ (English webpage unavailable)