Tel Aviv culinary roundup
Food takes center stage at a hotel, a mall, a club and a restaurant chain. TA Hilton, Zou Bisou, G Tzameret, and Loveat are visited and reviewed in this feature.
The Tel Aviv Hilton Makes Another Healthy Move
The Lounge Restaurant at the Tel Aviv Hilton has started using an innovative new salt substitute as a means of reducing the amount of sodium in the food it serves. The novel ingredient is Umamix, a liquid version of umami, a Japanese discovery of natural vegetable essences that enhances flavor in foods to which it is added. The Hilton is the first establishment in the country to incorporate Umamix, a product of Israeli company Salt of the Earth, in its food preparation.
Rafik Jabarin, executive chef of the chain’s Tel Aviv property. “Hilton mandates that every hotel offer at least four menu items that meet the criteria of this category; Project Umamix integrates this concept, beginning with our Lounge Restaurant in the hotel lobby.”
After being trained in the proper use of Umamix by Salt of the Earth, the Hilton invited food journalists to a luncheon featuring dishes in which Umamix replaced the usual salt. We even tasted the same dish -- baked sea bream fillet atop a ricotta blini served on a bed of pea purée -- made with salt versus made with Umamix; not a single one of us could detect a noticeable difference in flavor. Neither was there any discernible lack of salt in either the fish or the excellent artichoke ravioli with eggplant cream, in spite of approximately a 75% reduction in the sodium content.
It is estimated that, largely because of the way food is processed, people consume twice as much sodium as is good for us. It is good to know that places like the Hilton are looking out for their customers -- especially as Pesah approaches, and kosher for Passover dishes by Chef Jabarin can be ordered to take home for the holiday.
Hilton Tel Aviv, Hayarkon 225, Tel. (03) 520-2222
Zou Bisou Dinner Party Unveils Its Spring Menu
Chef David Frenkel is widely acknowledged to be one of Israel’s best chefs. He certainly can claim to be one of the most energetic, as head chef and co-owner of three Tel Aviv restaurants: Pronto, Pronto Kiosko, and Zou Bisou Dinner Party, a popular restaurant-bar on Ben Yehuda Street in north Tel Aviv.
Whether you read the restaurant’s menu in Hebrew or English, you will find Frenkel has inscribed it with his motto for Zou Bisou (in English: “Guilty Pleasures in Small Doses.”) In essence, therefore, Zou Bisou is a tapas restaurant, serving small plates of food, meant to be washed down with premium wines, craft beers or exotic cocktails. The name “dinner party” hints at the secondary purpose of the place: a DJ is on hand to play rhythmic music, creating a party atmosphere, which is not particularly conducive to quiet conversation.
We visited on a Thursday night, when reservations are a must: both the indoor and outdoor seating areas were full to overflowing. Between my companion and myself we sampled four of the six house cocktails, each more complex and inventive than the next. I especially enjoyed the El Matador: a blend of coconut tequila, red chili, coriander and orange liqueur, for a sweet and spicy refreshing drink. The Bronx was another bracing cocktail, which leaves a pleasant aftertaste of heat in the mouth.
The small plates range from the esoteric to the familiar, covering all possibilities -- hot and cold, raw and cooked -- and a wide range of cuisines: American, Asian, European and Mediterranean. There are also good vegetarian options. But the most unusual is an entire category of dishes defined by the unique oven in which they were cooked: the Josper, a combination oven-grill.
Among the standout dishes at Zou Bisou were: roasted kohlrabi with Hame'iri cheese, resembling a vegetable carpaccio; an authentic Caesar salad, down to the real anchovy in the dressing; the best buffalo wings I have had in Israel; sashimi and escabeche with the freshest fish imaginable; and butcher’s cut -- slices of tender, succulent beef atop a nicely seasoned freekeh wheat salad with yogurt tehina and tomato salsa.
The desserts are delicious fun: rich cheesecake with a robust raspberry sorbet; chocolate fudge -- actually a mini-soufflé -- with peanut-caramel ice cream; and Amaretto French toast, a warm brioche with caramelized burnt almond cream icing.
It would take more than several visits to indulge in all of the tempting dishes here worth trying.
Zou Bisou Dinner Party, Ben Yehuda 186, Tel. (050) 830-3158
Cheese House Boutique Opens at G Tzameret
The G Tzameret Mall in north Tel Aviv has become a shopping complex known as much for its restaurants and culinary destinations as for its retail outlets; and its latest tenant certainly reinforces that reputation: Beit HaGvinot (House of Cheese), a small chain of gourmet food stores specializing in high-end cheeses and prepared foods.
Recently, Beit HaGvinot inaugurated its newest branch by inviting renowned chef Shaul Ben Aderet to lead a cooking workshop using ingredients on sale in the store. Ben Aderet, chef at the Blue Rooster, a popular restaurant also located on the top floor of the same shopping center, prepared three hot dishes and one cold salad while interacting with the crowd. The dishes ranged from the simple -- cheese simmered in honey -- to the more complex: pasta with artichokes and cheese, and shakshuka with a salty white cheese.
The cheese samples from around the world were quite extraordinary and ran the gamut in taste -- from sharp to mild -- and texture, from hard to smooth and creamy. There is also a tantalizing selection of smoked fish, salads and spreads. Suffice it to say that Beit HaGvinot would have anything the discerning host might want for holiday entertaining.
G Tzameret’s newest occupant joins several upscale food emporiums selling prime cuts of meat and export quality fruits and vegetables, as well as two highly regarded restaurants in addition to The Blue Rooster: Reviva and Celia and Brown. It is an address that belongs in every connoisseur’s smartphone.
G Tzameret, Nissim Aloni Street 10
Loveat Expands Its Menu
The Loveat chain rose to prominence as a purveyor of organic coffee, thus creating a brand that has become associated with a commitment to quality. Over the course of its 20-year history, the chain has grown to five branches in Tel Aviv and Jaffa by serving
healthy, natural food at affordable prices.
Recently, the chain introduced new dishes to its menu and invited food journalists to sample them. There were three kinds of bulging wraps: chicken shawarma, chicken with avocado and a vegan alternative, tofu shawarma; fresh salads; and pasta dishes with vegetables. Side dishes included Loveat’s signature whole grain red rice, and baked potato and sweet potato wedges with the chain’s homemade ketchup. Most impressive of all were the veggie burgers made from sprouted lentils and ground almonds.
A meal at Loveat will not break the bank: satisfying and filling dishes start at only NIS 35. There are also daily “deals,” wherein the price of a main course will also get you a complimentary side dish and drink -- including fruit juices squeezed fresh on the premises. The latest addition to the chain’s drink lineup is the “cold brew” -- cold coffee served in small, individual-sized bottles.
Loveat has also launched a new children’s menu, with appetizing choices for kids. Being easy on the budget makes for a very family-friendly place, while parents and children eating wholesome food together rather than junk food is another good reason for making an outing to Loveat a family affair.
Loveat (five branches in Tel Aviv-Yafo)
