A hearty haven in Ra'anana

Liliot Bistro is a great place to eat and a social initiative in action.

By GLORIA DEUTSCH
Liliot Bistro 521 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Liliot Bistro 521
(photo credit: Courtesy)
recommended by Jacob, was an inspired choice that went well with the salads, as well as the subsequent main course.
I chose a plate of real comfort food for a cold night, the pot-au-feu – stewed meat with new potatoes and carrots, which Jacob told me had been simmering for eight hours. It was a huge portion, slightly sweet and very tasty.
My husband chose the prime rib steak with crispy hot fries (chips to Brits) on the side. He said it was grilled to perfection. I tasted a piece, which got stuck in my windpipe and I staggered up, managing to mouth the word “Heimlich.” He, a seasoned doctor, took a while to get the message but finally slapped me on my back and dislodged the wayward piece of meat. A glass of water had materialized from nowhere, attesting to the fine and attentive service.
After we had finished the main course with no further mishaps, Chen, the waitress who really lived up to her name, which means “charm,” recited the dessert menu, a seemingly endless list of rich and sinful-sounding sweets. We plumped for coconut and pistachio in phylo pastry served with mango sorbet, and a crunch chocolate, a mousse-like creation on a base of nougat and cornflakes. Both were delicious and generous enough without causing too much guilt, as we reveled in every sweet and luscious mouthful.
Liliot is not just a great place to eat but is also a social initiative in action.
For more than a decade, the company has employed youth in distress and taught them the fundamentals of the restaurant business, training them in kitchen work and serving. It’s similar to Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, with the same highminded aim of giving disadvantaged youth who have dropped out of the system a second chance. So you can not only enjoy a topnotch meal but contribute to improving Israel’s social fabric at the same time.
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
Liliot Bistro. Kosher. Rehov Hanesher 1, corner Derech Yerushalayim, Ra’anana. (09) 885-3508. Business lunch served between noon and 5 p.m. NIS 69. Open from noon to midnight.