Beer Heaven – Porter & Sons

You can’t find many American style diners in Israel. There’s probably a reason why the diner style never caught for real outside of the US and it’s probably the lack of quality, in any perspective. Even though, few diner style restaurants are trying their luck in Tel Aviv while bringing some message stating food quality doesn’t have to suck. Porter & Sons is one.

70 Different Kinds of Beers

Few places I’ve been to around the world offer more than a few draft beers. “Porter & Sons”, located in the Harba’a Street offer no less than 70 different kinds of them. Wow. Belgian, American, Israeli, German, English and many other draft beers decorate the bar along the restaurant. There’s even a small chalkboard guiding you how to find your desired beer. After checking out the Chimay Triple and the St. Bernardus we definitely approve.

Market Salad

The owners of Porter & Sons didn’t stop their investment at the taps. The Menu is fully combining with the beer options and varies from Cheese or Charcuterie plates to Fish & Chips and Rib Eye Steak. Though the food isn’t the cheapest it’s quite value for money and it surly feels there’s a chef behind the bar.

House Sausages

Other than the Market Salad, that wasn’t special and didn’t leave a mark, we checked out the House Sausages – 3 types of homemade sages with beans. The sausages were fat, juicy and very much fulfilling along with the beans. You wouldn’t find many better sausages out there. The Spare-Ribs continued with the same line that shows the chef doesn’t have to be creative to execute well. The classic Pork Ribs were served with an (again, classic) barbeque sauce and corn on the cob.

Spare Ribs

Porter & Sons is perfect – if you know what you expect. It isn’t a romantic place neither much of a trendy one or with the most original food. As an American Style diner, having an amazing selection of Beers and a well-executed menu to match, it is one of the best.

The Check Please (2 persons)
Market Salad – 24 NIS
House Sausages – 69 NIS
Spare Ribs – 86 NIS
St. Bernardus – 30 NIS
Chimay Triple – 36 NIS

All in all – 245 NIS

Summary:

Food: Whatever suits Beef
Price: Expensive
Location: Ha’arbaa

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale:

3.5 Forks

Contact Details: Porter & Sons
Address:  14 Ha’arbaa, Tel Aviv| Phone:  03-6244355 |
Daily 12:00-Late
http://www.rest.co.il/sites/Default.asp?txtRestID=10911&txtNavID=3&txtItemID=413824

Spontaneous Dinner: Cena

Update July 2013: The place is closed.

Thursday night; again in the last minute we decide we want to go out. Tali and Elan are joining us, they too want to take a break from work; We are thinking what will be the best option between the few places that still have available tables for 30 minutes from now; The selected place – CENA.

Artichoke and Asparagus

CENA has opened lately in a very challenging spot: Montefiore Street – New kid on the block of Hotel Montefiore, Yavna Montefiore, Montefiore 7 and Wine Bar (At least they didn’t use the “Montefiore” in their name). As such, we have expected a lot from the new place.

Calamari a la plancha stuffed with sweet potatoes cream

The starters were promising – Tali and Elan shared Artichoke and Asparagus that were served on roots and parmesan cream. As a big fan of Artichokes, Elan has definitely approved it as a quality dish. We took Calamari a la plancha that was stuffed with sweet potatoes cream and was also very tasty (though a little small).

Goose Drumstick in Oranges Sauce

For main courses each of us took one – Tali ordered the Goose Drumstick in Oranges Sauce served with potato and parmesan gratin. Tali found the dish tasty but too small as she felt she is still hungry after finishing the dish.  Elan took the Beef Burger and goose breast; the waitress promised extra smooth burger thanks to the goose, nevertheless Elan didn’t find this burger very different from the usual burgers.

Beef Burger and goose breast

Shahar took Provencal fish that was served with baked vegetables. The fish was nice but did not win our “value for money” price. Inbar took the Zopa di Mara, Italian seafood soup that was recommended by the waitress and was one big disappointment.

Provencal fish

Zopa di Mara

The highlight of the dinner was discovered at the dessert stage. Tali and Elan shared Apple Crumble; while we shared Panna Cotta – although both of them sound pretty “regular” desserts – we were surprised from the original interpretation they got at CENA.

Panna Cotta

At the end of the dinner, while trying to understand what we think about the place, we realized that unfortunately, we don’t think Cena will be a target on the next time we search for a place to eat on Thursday night (or on every other night).

The Check Please (4 People)

2 X Big Pellegrino – 50NIS
Calamari – 52NIS
Artichoke and Asparagus – 42NIS
Provencal Fish – 98NIS
Beef Burger – 65NIS
Zopa di Mara – 60NIS
Goose Drumstick  – 82NIS
Sira Flam – 155NIS
Diet Coke – 11NIS
Panna cota- 32NIS
Apple Crumble – 36NIS

All in all: 683 NIS

Summary:

Food: Bistro
Price: Expensive
Location: Montefiore Street

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale: 

3 Forks

Contact Details

42 Montefiore street, Tel Aviv | 9424640–057|
Monday-Friday 18:00-late | Saturday 12:00-17:00 | http://www.rest.co.il/sites/Default.asp?txtRestID=12507

Our Friend – Yedidia

Just moments before the week has started we set for a drink with our friends Adi and Tomer. We decided to go to a bar in Florentin neighborhood, which lately seems to have wide selections for the nightlife enthusiasts. It was a cold and rainy night and the small neighborhood bar fitted our needs.

Shahar & Tomer took half liters of a seasonal Samuel Adams – a fruity version of the usual Samuel Adams.  Adi took her usual – Weihenstephan beer and Inbar took a glass of Gewurztraminer wine.

The Bar

Not as our usual, we did not focus on the food, that much. We took the 3 mini beef burgers and 3 mini lamb burgers – which were quite usual burgers deep fried in oil. In addition, Tomer and Adi took the Mexican Chorizo – a sausage made of beef with peppers and was served with homemade mustered.

We all agreed that the food was OK, the booze was good and the place was warm and nice. We will be back.

The check please (4 people)

Mini beef burgers – 36 NIS
Mini lamb burgers – 39 NIS
Mexican Chorizo – 26 NIS
Seasoned Samuel Adams – 2 X 28 NIS
Gewurztraminer (glass) – 28 NIS
Weihenstephan – 28 NIS

Total: 213

Summary:

Food:  Bar
Price:  Medium
Location: Florentin

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale

3 Forks

Contact details: Yedidia
Address:  4 Yedidia Frenkel Street, Tel Aviv | Phone: 057-9443946|
Opening Hours:  19:00-Late (Fridays from 21:00)
http://www.rest.co.il/sites/Default.asp?txtRestID=11424 (no English version)

Cheers – The Coffee Bar

Finally, one of the writers of this blog had arrived to one of R2M places. R2M is a group that is responsible for some of Tel Aviv’s most famous places. This time I (Inbar) was invited to a “girls night” on one of the best bars in the city – The Coffee Bar’s bar.

All of R2M’s places are known for their special atmosphere, great music and special treatment for the guests. Founded in 1994, The Coffee Bar is the first in a chain of restaurants owned by the group (Brasserie, Bakery, Hotel Montefiore, Rotchiled 12).

Prawns in white wine

I met Adi on the Bar, where she had Frozen Lychee Margarita until I arrived. We started with bread and butter that were served as we set down the table along with white wine and a glass of cava. The bread was fresh and crispy and was baked in the nearby Bakery (as mentioned above). The first course was a Beef Carpaccio that was served with olive oil, lemon juice, arugula and fresh parmesan. The beef was tasty and the parmesan was corrective experience to the last parmesan incident.

Burger in red wine

For entrees I had Prawns in white wine, artichoke hearts, batter, garlic and oregano. The prawns were cooked in the desired manner and the sauce acted as a dip for the potatoes that were served with the dish. Adi took a burger in a red wine sauce with a grilled tomato. The burger was places in a middle of a red wine lake that gave the old-fashioned burger a unique twist. I should mention that we both took the potatoes with onion as side dish although we were told that the puree is most recommended. With the entrees we got Coffee Bar’s famous dish – the Antipasti. Eggplant, onion & tomatoes were grilled in the oven with exactly the needed amount of olive oil and were tasty.

Tartalettes

For deserts we had two tartelettes, one of them filled with dark chocolate and the other with Pttisier cream, topped with strawberries. The two tartelettes were light and easy way to finish a great night on the bar.

The check please (2 people)

Beef Carpaccio – 49 NIS
Prawns in white wine, artichoke -89 NIS
Hamburger in a red wine-72 NIS
Antipasti – 58 NIS
Wine – 35 NIS
Cava – 34 NIS
All in all: 337

Summary:

Food: Bistro
Price: Expensive
Location: Yad Harotzim

The Cizer-Kobrinsky Scale

4 Forks

Contact details: Coffee Bar

Address:  13 Yad Harotzim Street, Tel Aviv | Phone: 03- 6889696|
Opening Hours:  Sun – Fri -09:00 – 24:00 | Saturday 12:00 – 24:0

http://www.coffeebar.co.il/ | Dinner English menu: http://www.coffeebar.co.il/assets/menus/CB_Dinner.pdf

Tel Aviv Food Awards

This is the time to introduce you to our bible. If Tel Aviv is our religion and in food we trust then Time Out Tel Aviv is our bible. This week the magazine has published the winners in its annual food awards.  In this post we will not tell you about one place we love but rather introduce you to the winners. We hope, in the future, to document these places in our blog as well. If you’re looking for a place, this can be a good starting point. Please notice that not all the links here supply information in English.

The best restaurant: Herbert Samuel .

The best new restaurant: 1 Ha’am Tapas.

The chef of the year: Eyal Shani.

The best exclusive restaurant: Catit.

The bar with the best food: Messa.

The best Italian restaurant: Mel & Mishel .

The best meat restaurant: Yoezer Bar Yain (Yoezer wine bar).

The best Asian restaurant: Bait Tahilandi (Tahi House).

The best fish and sea food restaurant: Manta Ray.

The best tapas restaurant: Tapeo.

The best bistro: Brasserie.

The best kosher restaurant: Liliot.

The best ethnic restaurant: Edna.

The best healthy / vegetarian / vegan restaurant: 24 rupee.

The best “value for money” restaurant: Segev Express.

The best restaurant chain: Giraffe.

The best sandwich: Ruben.

The best children friendly restaurant: Moses.

The best pizzeria: Tony Vespa.

The best burger: Agadir.

The best ice cream / yogurt: Anita.

The best hummus: Ali Karavan (Abu Hassan).

The best café: Hatachtit.

The best upbeat restaurant: Nanuchka .

The best restaurant for a date: Nana Bar.

The best wine bar: Habasta.

The best beer bar in the city: Porter & Sons.

The best bakery / patisserie in the city: Dalel’s bakery.

The best delicatessen: Hinnawi butcher & meat delicacy.

The best breakfast: Benedict.

The best late night: Dixie.

The best restaurant bar: Social Club.

The best restaurant on the beach: Manta Ray.