"The outside was seared slightly and the parts surrounding the bone were rarer, with a clean aroma and a perfect texture with each bite…" Shifra Tzach chats about the T-Bone steak at Ad HaEtzem in Herziliah, enjoying and devouring each delicious meaty bite.
After three days in a row of 16-hour work days on which my husband had time only to jump to the felafel stand near his office, I decided it was time to end this drought. If not to reduce the quantity of work, at least to reduce the culinary delirium and ensure a meal that would compensate for difficult days past and give strength for the days to come. In short, meat with more meat. Ad HaEtzem (to the bone) as they say!
Ad HaEztem (to the bone) is not a metaphor. By chance, it is actually the restaurant I intended to eat at. For more than a decade specializing in meat, this restaurant can be relied on to provide just what the doctor ordered - fine meat that is cooked just right with a few compliments surrounding it.
The tired working-man lifted his tired head to taste a wonderful cocktail: strawberries crushed with whiskey and sour mix. I joined him because no one should drink alone, with a refreshing Alexander beer, straight from the brewery in Emek Hefer. It is not pasteurized nor preserved: this version of blonde beer is so powerful is glows.
We began our meal with a light starter: a simple, fresh vegetable salad. This was our only foray into the vegetable department and it was quite nice. From that point on, we spoke only the language of meat. I started with the carpaccio and my darling ordered the "Perry-Perry" chicken livers. Although the livers were intended "for him," my fork made a few jumps over for a taste. It was impossible to resist the garlic butter and spicy pepper sauce with the livers, served on a piece of toast that absorbed all the delicious flavors in the sauce. No wonder it is considered one of the flagship dishes at Ad HaEtzem.
The efficient service at Ad HaEzten quickly brought our entrees out to us, just in time after we had opened our palates with our meat appetizers. The 300g entrecote steak was thick and juicy, prepared medium with a delicious Cajun spice mixture that gave its outer "shell" an almost sarcastic feel. This would have been enough, though it was "turned up a notch" by the pepper and mustard sauce that came with it. Another dish arrived with an impressive T-Bone steak. 450g of delicious calf, prepared medium-rare just as I requested - it was the ultimate test for meat. Here is where Ad HaEtzem proved their skill. The outside was seared slightly and the parts surrounding the bone were rarer, with a clean aroma and a perfect texture with each bite.
Yes, of course, there are side dishes. We sampled the mashed and backed potatoes. What can I say: potatoes and meat works. In any case, although these were tasty sides, the meal consisted mostly of meat and we literally ate it down to the bone.
We ended our meal with the final corner of the perfect trinity: meat, potatoes and, of course, creme brulee. My dearest was delighted to discover that he could enjoy his favorite dessert and also taste my poppyseed chocolate cream dipped parfait. To my surprise, a man who had sworn he hated poppyseeds since I had known him admitted to loving my parfait. He ate his creme brulee and at least half of my parfait. It was his luck that this dinner came form my generous spirit of wanting to support him. We both ended a fantastic meal with renewed energies and full stomachs!
