The Exact Point – A Place for Meat (Makom Shel Basar)

In a 100 radius, in the northern tip of Neve Tzedek neighborhood, lay two of the best steakhouses in Tel Aviv (and probably in Israel), NG and A Place for Meat. Though there are enough carnivores in the city to fill the both, there is probably an enormous competition between the two places which constantly receive very good reviews from all around. Strangely enough, until this day we haven’t visited a Place for Meat. And then we did.

As a bold move, unlike NG, A Place for Meat introduces a menu where Steaks are the only main courses. Yes, it might not fit everyone, and maybe it isn’t the whole family classic place, but if it is a good Steak you are looking for, in a very romantic atmosphere as a plus, this is a very good option.

Caeser Salad

We did have some warm-up with starters such as Caeser Salad which was a classic dish that didn’t fill us up too much before the steaks, and the same goes to grilled Artichoke hearts in lemon and olive oil. Both of the dishes didn’t stand up as particularly good, but we didn’t mind as we were there to check whether the steaks are the best in town.

Fillet of Beef

How unoriginal from us, we both picked the same part of the beef, the Fillet of Beef. Usually, veteran carnivores will disregard this part while praise the hanger steak and the more meat-flavored parts, but even though, the Fillet of Beef remains a very popular steak, and we were reminded why. Both of the steaks had the desirable external crust while tender and “al punto” just as we liked. Was it the best steak in Tel Aviv? Probably. The sides, baked potatoes and a famous Tower of onion rings were very good and summed up a great steak dinner at a very lovely place.

Tower of onion rings

The check please (2 people)
Caeser Salad – 42 NIS
Artichoke Hearts – 36 NIS
Fillet of Beef – 2 X 145 NIS
Pepsi – 13 NIS
San Pellegrino  – 14 NIS

All in all – 395 NIS

Summary:

Food: Meat
Price:  Expensive
Location: Neve Tzedek

The Cizer Kobrinsky Scale:

4.5 Forks

Contact Details: A Place for Meat
64 Shabazi St, Neve Tzedek,  Tel Aviv | 03-5296054 |
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 00:00 | http://makomshelbasar.rest-e.co.il

An Eye of a Tiger – Tiger Lilly

Authentic Thai. The immediate reaction of such a statement is of contempt. Real authentic Asian flavors are really rare to find west of the South Pacific. In most cases, you would find an adoption of local flavors that remind, in one way or another, the original one. In the past we have written about the only true Thai restaurant in town, Thai House. Now, along with the renaissance of the Asian cuisine that flooded the streets lately (Taizu, Popina, Vong, Ang Sue and others), Tiger Lilly aims to rise as a fierce competitor in this field.

Som Tam (Spicy Green Papaya Salad)

Yum Kong (Thai Shrimp Salad with Mint Leaves and Onions)

As other Thai restaurants around town are really just a mix of noodles and rice dishes, you would be pleasantly surprised immediately as you glance at the menu. Classic Thai salads are really the favorites here. The classic Som Tam (Spicy Green Papaya Salad) is superb (Though Thai House’s is better), the Yum Kong (Thai Shrimp Salad with Mint Leaves and Onions) is spot on with flavors, the Larb Gai (Chopped Chicken Salad with Mint Leaves, Cilantro and Chili) will make you demand some sticky rice to soak what is left of the amazing sauce, but the salad which was our favorite is definitely the spicy Nam Tok Salad. The thin slices of beef along with the spicy Chili and Mint leaves were nothing but perfect.

Beef Massaman Curry

Pad See Ew (Rice Noodles with Chicken, Broccoli and Bok Choy)

After the starters that brought us back to the hot and humid Islands of Thailand, the main dishes mission was a hard one. Even though, they made it as well. Though the salads were the real highlight, the main courses still provided quite good Thai experience. Beef Massaman Curry dish had very good tastes but was a little undersized in our opinion. Pad See Ew (Rice Noodles with Chicken, Broccoli and Bok Choy) was again, very good.

Tapioca

The dessert reminded us our weakness for Tapioca, which along with the Tel Aviv heat, is probably the most refreshing dessert you can find (don’t miss it here). The Banana Loti was just OK, maybe it was the condensed milk that was just missing a little bit to resemble the street Loti. Maybe it was just its high price.

Banana Loti

The check please (4 people)
Som Tam – 32 NIS
Yum Kong – 39 NIS
Larb Gai – 32 NIS
Nam Tok – 43 NIS
Massaman Curry – 64 NIS
Pad See Ew – 58 NIS
Tapioca – 31 NIS
Banana Loti – 35 NIS

All in all – 334 NIS

The Cizer Kobrinsky Scale:

4 Forks

Forks

Contact Details: Tiget Lilly
32 Habarzel St, Ramat HaChayal,  Tel Aviv | 1700707097 | Sun – Sat 12:00 – 00:00 | http://tigerlily.co.il/index.htm

Friday Night in Jerusalem – Muna

Recently we have celebrated our second anniversary. We have decided to celebrate it a short weekend at Emek HaElah (Valley of Elah) including sleep in Ein Kerem at Montana Boutique hotel.

When we go on vacation we love to plan it in advanced, searching the internet for the best hotel, the most successful restaurants and exciting places to visit. When we have planned this short trip we knew that eating in this area on Friday night will be challenging as most of the places in Jerusalem are closed due to kosher limitations. We booked in advanced a table for two for the hottest spot (and almost the only place open) in town – Muna.

Muna is a well-known institute in Jerusalem that lately was handover to a new ownership by the people of Machneyuda. While the Machneyuda restaurant have the market vibe, Muna is the older respectful sister among the two. We were offered seven portion tasting meal that was served one by one with long breaks. A dinner in the full sense of the word.

And now for the excuses section in this post – it have been a while since we ate there and not all the courses that were served appear on the menu. The chef is creating the dinner for you according to what you love or hate, so we decided to show you all the portion without too much explanation about each and every dish. We will just say that we have enjoyed every portion, some we liked more and some less but overall all of them were tasty and original for us.

The Check please – 630NIS

Summary

Food: Chef Restaurant
Price: Very expensive
Location:  Jerusalem

The Cizer Kobrinsky Scale

4 Forks

Contact Details:

Shmuel Hanagid 12, Jerusalem | +972-2-6222283 | http://monarest.co.il/mona/en/