Two nights ago we tried a new restaurant in Tel Aviv. It looked pleasant enough from the outside and the review in The Jerusalem Post had been favorable. We entered the restaurant in fine spirits; after all it was date night, the every other week childless night out with just my husband and a fine bottle of wine as requirements. We were seated by a friendly young man, an easy feat, as only one table in the place was occupied by a group that would hopefully drown out our laughter as the wine took effect. The beautiful decor didn't hurt matters. It came complete with a tree with coral lights for buds standing in the center of the room.
As in most restaurants we have sampled in Israel, this one had an English menu in addition to the Hebrew. Even so, it may have well been Chinese, as the translation had remarkable errors. Take for example the entree offering a side dish of "green pea mush". Yum. How appetizing. Better yet were the descriptions offering up "worm" dishes. Ewww. Talk about a menu epic fail.
Our ordering process was not simple, as the menu did list many of our favorite carnivorous dishes. Our waiter Tamir was simply wonderful, maintaining a smile throughout the ordering process and encouraging us along. After my husband had ordered, another young man came along. He introduced himself as Avi, the chef. Avi, a young man of 30, had heard our conversation, and hearing our indecisiveness, he was beckoned to assist.
"Forget about choosing", he told us. "I will bring you a sampling of many things that you will enjoy."
"What about the order I already placed?" inquired my husband.
"That is all in the past," Avi exclaimed. "Forget the order. My job is to give you whatever you need to make you comfortable and happy," he said. After a single question regarding our preferences, he was off to the kitchen to create his masterpieces.
For the next hour, dishes came and went. Beautifully rippled liver pate on a small toast, beef carpaccio perfectly spread in a circle, and a tiny cup of tomato soup with a cap of toast covering it was presented for our sampling. Meatballs of lamb cooked onto the end of a cinnamon sticks in the shape of real lamb chops enamored us. A sweet pie made of, get this, tomatoes was our dessert, served with a side of coconut ice cream. I didn't even mention the fruit sorbet course and others that I cannot remember. And that green pea mush? It turned out to be a tasty puree, a bit reminiscent of Beechnut, but tasty nonetheless.
However impressive as it all was, there is something that non-Israelis don't know. In Israel the food is always the sideline, the backup singers to the headline act. The act being, of course, Avi the Chef.
Avi came to speak with us. He spoke about his eight years in Canada and his impatience to return to his homeland. He discussed his culinary beginnings, and that his formal training had occurred years after his real training as a youngster in the kitchen. He expressed his desire to have a family, and how often Israelis express a wish to live in America, the land of gold, not realizing that they have already won the gold as citizens of the Holy Land. And of course, I did my job too. I came up with the perfect girl to set him up with, and now I have my mission. What young woman wouldn't want a master chef??
Our dinner was incredible in all respects, and I would expect nothing else from dining out in my country, where we are all family, and we invite others into our lives on a daily basis. Tel Aviv is a beautiful city of neon and palm trees, but there are no neon lights that announce five star treatment from an old friend that we just met. Those are the jewels that one must uncover in the great treasure hunt for brotherly love in Israel.
Oh, and the food here is pretty extraordinary too.
As in most restaurants we have sampled in Israel, this one had an English menu in addition to the Hebrew. Even so, it may have well been Chinese, as the translation had remarkable errors. Take for example the entree offering a side dish of "green pea mush". Yum. How appetizing. Better yet were the descriptions offering up "worm" dishes. Ewww. Talk about a menu epic fail.
Our ordering process was not simple, as the menu did list many of our favorite carnivorous dishes. Our waiter Tamir was simply wonderful, maintaining a smile throughout the ordering process and encouraging us along. After my husband had ordered, another young man came along. He introduced himself as Avi, the chef. Avi, a young man of 30, had heard our conversation, and hearing our indecisiveness, he was beckoned to assist.
"Forget about choosing", he told us. "I will bring you a sampling of many things that you will enjoy."
"What about the order I already placed?" inquired my husband.
"That is all in the past," Avi exclaimed. "Forget the order. My job is to give you whatever you need to make you comfortable and happy," he said. After a single question regarding our preferences, he was off to the kitchen to create his masterpieces.
For the next hour, dishes came and went. Beautifully rippled liver pate on a small toast, beef carpaccio perfectly spread in a circle, and a tiny cup of tomato soup with a cap of toast covering it was presented for our sampling. Meatballs of lamb cooked onto the end of a cinnamon sticks in the shape of real lamb chops enamored us. A sweet pie made of, get this, tomatoes was our dessert, served with a side of coconut ice cream. I didn't even mention the fruit sorbet course and others that I cannot remember. And that green pea mush? It turned out to be a tasty puree, a bit reminiscent of Beechnut, but tasty nonetheless.
However impressive as it all was, there is something that non-Israelis don't know. In Israel the food is always the sideline, the backup singers to the headline act. The act being, of course, Avi the Chef.
Avi came to speak with us. He spoke about his eight years in Canada and his impatience to return to his homeland. He discussed his culinary beginnings, and that his formal training had occurred years after his real training as a youngster in the kitchen. He expressed his desire to have a family, and how often Israelis express a wish to live in America, the land of gold, not realizing that they have already won the gold as citizens of the Holy Land. And of course, I did my job too. I came up with the perfect girl to set him up with, and now I have my mission. What young woman wouldn't want a master chef??
Our dinner was incredible in all respects, and I would expect nothing else from dining out in my country, where we are all family, and we invite others into our lives on a daily basis. Tel Aviv is a beautiful city of neon and palm trees, but there are no neon lights that announce five star treatment from an old friend that we just met. Those are the jewels that one must uncover in the great treasure hunt for brotherly love in Israel.
Oh, and the food here is pretty extraordinary too.
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