Walking down Gordon Street one sunny, hot and humid morning, I thought I'd accidentally stumbled into a different world. I was no longer in Tel Aviv, but rather in Paris (on a very hot day). A lovely French-style cafe/patisserie stood before me and there was only one thing to do.
I took mywife by the hand and let her inside.
What we found made the illusion of Paris even more of a reality.
While waiting for a table, we were treated to ice cold tea with fresh herbs. Personally, I only drink green tea imported from Japan, but my wife said that this was delicious. So I made an exception and was very happy that I did. It was deliciously refreshing.
We had an early lunch, an assortment of quiches (my personal favorite: sweet potato with black sesame seeds). My wife'squiche was leek and cheese that was delicate andrich at the same time. These were accompanied by small salads, which were put together with care and dressed with a loving hand.
For dessert, there was a wide variety of artful tarts,pastriesand chocolate delicacies. We shared a small chocolatepastry with layers of cake and bittersweet ganache. The coffee was wonderful.
In fact, the meal was so startlingly good that we came back for lunch the next day. Breakfast was available, including grilled coconut-vanilla bread with creme fraiche, and a breakfast plate of French-style pastries. But it was late, and we opted for lunch. We enjoyed a grilled vegetable sandwich on fresh whole-grain bread as well as a puff pastry filled with spinach, feta and eggs. The service for both meals was casual and professional.
Again, it surpassed our expectations. And once again, the tea was delicious.
While I was ogling the dessert options in the pastry case (including gorgeous freshfig and plumtarts), my wife was conspiring with our waitress to purchase a rather spectacular pistachio-chocolate cake, which served as my birthday cake later that week. How she got it home (on the train) without me finding out, is still a mystery.
All in all, dining at Mazzarine was the most enjoyable food experience I've had in a long, long time.
David Rubin, Beer Sheva |
