At the Charcuterie, the chef brings together French-Swiss cooking, local ingredients and the atmosphere of a Greek taverna.
By JONATHAN GILADCharcuterie Steak 521(photo credit: Courtesy)
It started three years ago as a small bar with a small kitchen but soon grew into a full restaurant that took over the sidewalks and now also inhabits a second bar at the end of one of the Jaffa market’s loveliest streets.Chef Vince Mustar, well known for his mouth-watering Swiss and French-style sausages and meat dishes, added a few new dishes to his very popular Jaffa restaurant, and that was a good enough reason to revisit the Charcuterie.“Tourists feel that they have come to the most authentic place there is in Tel Aviv,” says Amos Ber, one of the owners. “Locals may either drop by in their track suits for a glass of wine and a quick meal at the bar or in their best clothes for a special event. Some nights there is dancing, and others are more quiet.”The Charcuterie is indeed a place both for eating well and hanging out with friends or on a romantic date. On the night we went, there were many tourists and locals and all seemed to be having a great time.It was a fantastic night in terms of the weather, and the outside seating area was very inviting. But this is not always the case. On chillier nights (or very steamy ones), one can sit inside along the bar or upstairs in a more intimate semiprivate room.The food is prepared to perfection here and matches the chef’s fine reputation. We started with the primavera salad – a mixture of grilled, blanched, pickled and fresh vegetables with balsamic dressing, which was very tasty (NIS 44). The portion is large enough for two if you plan to have two main dishes but good enough to gobble up on one’s own, especially with the fresh locally baked bread. Another good starter was the ceviche. Mixed with citrus and a hint of chili it was fresh and wonderful. A plate of cold cuts prepared on the premises, the restaurant’s signature dish, was very good as expected. Other starters on the new spring menu that we wanted to try but left for another occasion were a salad of citrus fillets and tarragon, purple onion and hot olive oil (NIS 33) and handmade gnocchi smoked with walnut butter and fresh truffles (NIS 55).There are many beef and other meat dishes that Muster is famous for, but we decided to go with the waiter’s recommendation and chose the fillet of beef from the new menu.The 250 gr. fillet, with a crust of green Madagascar peppers and reduced red wine sauce, was an excellent steak. And judging by the number of steaks coming out of the kitchen, it is one of the most popular ones. One thing, though. Even if green peppers are supposed to be less hot than the red or black ones, you might want to remove at least some of the peppers from the meat before taking a bite – for us it was a bit on the hot side. We were considering the risotto charcuterie, the veal cheeks atop spaetzle and the famous locally prepared sausages, but the spring air made us choose a not very typical fish dish of grilled sea bass served over carmelized Brussels sprouts and other greens, which went very well with half a bottle of French dry Peron rose.We ended the meal with a creme brulee done the French way and a couple of espressos.A short stroll in the lively area, now completely cleaned up and filled with many new hangouts, cleared our heads before we headed home.The Charcuterie now also offers breakfast on Fridays and Saturdays between 10 and 12:30, serving the usual eggs, salads and cheeses, but offering goat cheeses, locally smoked fish and other specialties.On weekdays there is also a business menu from 12:30-7 p.m.The writer was a guest of the restaurant Charcuterie, Rabbi Hanina 3, The Flea Market, Jaffa (03) 682-8843 Not kosherChefs at BlackTzachi Bukshester, chef and owner of Black ‘n’ Burger Bar, has invited his friends and colleagues to present their best takes on his specialties of burgers and such.Dror Pilz, who specializes in smoked meats, will present a burger and felafel dish. Eyal Lavi of Rokach 73 will create a burger tartar with aioli. Noam Dekkers of Liliot will serve meat and bulgur patties with raisins. And Leon Alkalai chose to serve an Asian twist called Black Bangkok. Order one of the chef’s specials (NIS 65) and get a Carlsberg 1/3 beer for NIS 15 or a 1/2 for NIS 19. The event will be held in all 12 branches of the Black ‘n’ Burger chain.CHARLIE & MAMA The Olive Leaf restaurant in Tel Aviv’s Sheraton Hotel announces a Moroccan festival that will be held in honor of its chef’s mother. Chef Charlie Fadida asked his mother to come and cook her specialties in the hotel’s kitchen.Together they will prepare authentic Moroccan delicacies such as stuffed vegetables, chicken with prunes, many kinds of kubeh and all the famous Moroccan sweets. The Moroccan specialties, in addition to the Olive Leaf’s regular menu, will be served during June.Olive Leaf restaurant, Sheraton Hotel, Hayarkon 115, Tel AvivSUMMER BY THE SEA New at the Tel Aviv Port – the Farmers Market every Thursday evening. If you want to do your Shabbat shopping on Thursday evening and follow it with some munching and partying, the Tel Aviv Farmers Market is now open on Thursdays from 3 p.m – 9 p.m. On Saturdays the market is open from 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Among the new stalls there’s the new Hot Dogs by Delicious, Fish&chips by Fishenzon, the Olive People, Mini Donuts, Camel Dancing Beer, an ice tea stand, bread and ice cream stands and more.The food aisles will stay open until 11 p.m. on Mondays and Saturdays. The great Tapas restaurant will be open until 11 p.m. on Fridays.Hangar 12, Tel Aviv Port
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