Adom has changed locations but keeps its traditions.
By SETH J. FRANTZMANAdom restaurant(photo credit: PR)
The red pepper was making me see double. Adom’s professional bartender at the restaurant’s well- stocked bar had just served up a Spicy Ilai, which is made from hot Stoli, violet rotan and lemonade, with a giant bright red pepper as garnish. To eat or not to eat it? I decided it was best to wait until after dinner. Most Jerusalem locals remember Adom from its central location in the Feingold Courtyard, which opened in 2001. The new location at the renovated and cosmopolitan First Station gives the restaurant room to breathe. With a separate bar section and outdoor seating, the new design is classy and modern. They promise to keep up their tradition of providing customers with “a taste of fish and flavors from around the world,” says host Itamar Kal.The restaurant is still as non-kosher as ever, offering shrimp, squid and crab ravioli. This year, they decided to add a special Italian week to bring Jerusalemites a taste of the old world. “Our vision is to make it a tradition every year by having Italian chefs come here and make their national dishes,” says Kal. The Italian menu this year had delectable-sounding offerings such as gazpacho with tataki tuna (NIS 27) as an appetizer, and chickpea curry with squid (NIS 78) and pecorino buttermilk risotto (NIS 56) as main dishes. Unfortunately, this special menu had some teething problems. The risotto was too soggy, and there seemed to be no compelling reason to have a small tuna steak in a bowl of gazpacho.The real heroes of the evening were the dishes from the regular menu. The assorted offal and fennel confit appetizer (NIS 56) was a generous and perfectly cooked combination that resembled a sort of deconstructed yerushalmi meat dish basking in a metal basin. The goat cheese ravioli, another of the ample appetizers, was perfectly cheesy but not overwhelming. My dining companion tried the salmon fillet as a main dish (NIS 108). Juicy and sparsely seasoned (the way it should be), the salmon came with a side of potato puree and green beans. Simple. Delicious. Overall, Adom has created a great new venue. The wait staff is friendly and attentive, and the food fired up in the kitchen can be seen from some of the tables. A cute “wine box” allows patrons to choose from a variety of foreign and domestic wines carefully labeled on cards. If you are a couple, try to get one of the stand-alone tables because the bench seating against the wall for two- person diners is slightly crowded, and one gets the feeling that the neighbors are hanging on your every word.The writer was a guest of the restaurant.Adom Not kosher 4 David Remez Street, Jerusalem Tel: (02) 624-6242
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