Vital attraction
By MERAV CHEN
10/17/2012 12:52
Meat Night in Tel Aviv is warm, welcoming and very satisfying.
meat night Photo: Courtesy
Florentine is the young pumping heart of Tel Aviv, which many also call the Soho
of Tel Aviv. At night, the narrow streets are filled with local hip youngsters,
as well as tourists looking for the right places, and the atmosphere is hot and
sexy.
In the middle of Vital, one of the busiest streets at night, we
almost missed the humble entrance to Meat Night. We didn’t know what to expect
of a neighborhood cafe-sandwich bar but decided we’d give it a try, and we
didn’t regret it.
Meat Night, opened by chef Naor Cohen, a veteran of
some of the city’s better eateries, is friendly and welcoming. The food is
affordable but served with elegance. All the portions are generous, and the
dressings and the bread are made on the premises.
Seating is only at the
bar, which is divided from the kitchen by a glass wall, allowing diners to see
the cooks at work.
Looking around the place, we saw a couple of women
whom we recognized from the social movement demonstrations, next to them sat a
few American tourists, and farther down the bar a mother and son were having a
great time.
The brick walls are covered in part with graphic artwork,
giving the place a New York feel. The manager, who greeted us with a broad
smile, asked if we wanted to try some of his favorite dishes. We did.
The
place serves meat sandwiches and some small dishes, as well as a few vegetable
dishes. All the food we sampled was excellent.
The best dish we had was
the mini-burgers made from entrecote and served with mushrooms and a poached egg
– delicious and filling (NIS 29). On the side we tried a dish of roasted
cauliflower with pepper puree (NIS 14) and a plate of fried potatoes (NIS 12).
All were prepared with great care.
A more sophisticated sandwich was the
steak and pear with truffle oil (NIS 42). It was a perfect sandwich – the meat
was cooked to perfection, the pear added sweetness, and the truffle oil upgraded
the whole thing, We savored every bite. With one Malka beer (NIS 22) and one
Goldstar (NIS 10), this was a very satisfying meal.
Meat Night is a great
hangout for lunch, a light supper or an afterparty late-night nosh. We’re going
back.
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
Meat Night Kosher
but not supervised 2 Vital, Tel Aviv Tel: (03) 518-4999 Open from noon until the
last customer