“The bass filet had been marinated in a rich sauce of herbs and lemon and then grilled on hot bricks and served with a small artistic creation of hot red peppers…” Advah Gan Stav, who lives life to its fullest, tries out HaYekev restaurant in Netanya.
Life, short in any case, is full of a lot of unnecessary things like dish washing (I once saw the bottom of my sink for a few minutes), relocating the kids toys from the living room to their bedrooms for the hundredth time, and paying 90% of your salary to deserving charities like the gas and electric companies. With whatever time you’ve got left, you might as well fill it up with quality time with the right people, no? Life, I’ve understood for a while now, is about the people you surround yourself with.
So, I made myself a little promise, that’s worked pretty well until now, that if I meet someone interesting, someone with the right sparkle in their eye, I don’t wait for favours from the universe, I simply make things happen. I try to get to know them in the here and now.
It took Gail and I a few months before we could get around to meeting up (all those waste of time activities sort of got in the way), but in the end it all worked out and we set ourselves up a little get-to-know-you at the Yekev restaurant in Netanya. We were seated on the patio overlooking the sea and made mental notes to come back again during the day to enjoy the view.
It’s hard to pay attention to the menu when you are busy chatting but in the end we managed to shut our mouths for a couple seconds and decide. We started with the eggrolls (a mutual desire, strong and mysterious, had suddenly took hold of us). They were served cut in half and surrounded by a mountain of attractive vegetables in a nice herb dressing. The eggrolls were hot, crispy and thankfully missing that shocking red sauce that usually accompanies such dishes. All in all, they were good. We also ordered the pink salmon pate served with long crisp toasts. And of course, girl’s talk is always better when there are drinks in tall glasses with straws on the table (it’s true – just try it). I had chosen an apricot pineapple shake and Gail a banana melon.
With the arrival of the mains we could see that this kitchen had many hidden talents – and not just when it comes to cooking. The bass filet had been marinated in a rich sauce of herbs and lemon and then grilled on hot bricks and served with a small artistic creation of hot red peppers, mushrooms that had been carved to impress and a tasty mound of roasted vegetables.
On the other end of the table was an excellent dish of Thai noodles. The noodles had been stir-fried with peppers, mushrooms, sprouts, scallions and carrots and were served with cubes of fried halumi cheese on a crispy fried Moroccan cigar pastry. The combination – Morocco-Thailand, was interesting and especially tasty.
And then, as if we still actually had some space left, we attacked a Belgian waffle covered in whipped cream, ice cream and fruit salad.
On the way home, with not a drop of alcohol to be blamed, we found ourselves exchanging information of the ‘I can’t believe I told you that cause I barely know you’ kind. In the great book of life it will be recorded that a small victory about the right spark of the eye has occurred.
Ha Yekev
6 Gad Michnas, Netanya
Tel: 09-8622220
