There are some dishes that are just too daunting to try to prepare at home base – like eggs Benedict.
That’s why we have a place like the Waldorf Astoria in Jerusalem, which is now dedicating a whole festival to the delicate and delectable breakfast crown jewel. It’s a fitting location, because according to folklore, the dish was invented at the Waldorf’s New York City flagship hotel in 1894.
That’s when, according to a New Yorker column in 1942, retired Wall Street stock broker Lemuel Benedict walked into the hotel one morning, with a hangover, and ordered “buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon, and a hooker of hollandaise.”
The maître d’hotel was so impressed by the combination that, after substituting ham for bacon and an English muffin for the toast, he added it to the breakfast and luncheon menu, and eggs Benedict was born.
Of course, Waldorf chef Itzik Mizrahi-Barak doesn’t utilize either ham or bacon, but has devised five different renditions of eggs Benedict for the Benedict Festival, which is running until the end of the month.
The classic combo – called the New York – is always on the Waldorf menu, and consists of the required poached eggs and hollandaise (Dutch) sauce, on top of brioche bread, with spinach leaves and smoked salmon.
Wanting to be a little more adventurous, my wife and I chose two other options. For me it was the Belgian, with the eggs and sauce served on a Belgian waffle, and topped with crispy potatoes, smoked salmon, and endives.
For her, it was the French, with the main attractions on top of French toast, caramelized onions, and smoked salmon.A tip if you partake. Beware of the vast array of buffet items: mounds of high-quality salted fish and smoked salmon (not like the herring you get in kiddush), home-baked goods – including a delicious apple and cinnamon pastry that was as good as apple pie – and loads of fresh fruit, vegetables, and salads.
The trick is not to fill up on them before the main attraction arrives. Because it is stupendous.Both dishes were works of art, with the wobbly eggs poised precariously atop their accoutrements in a glorious blended mountain of tastes. They were savored and gobbled up.
For the record, the other two offerings in the festival are the Mediterranean, with the eggs and sauce atop brioche, Swiss chard leaves, and a tomato and tuna stew – and the Healthy, with a base of sourdough bread, avocado, and smoked salmon.
All the eggs at the Waldorf, and its parent company the Hilton, are organic – and, according to Mizrahi-Barak, part of the chain’s effort to educate about using healthy and “green” ingredients in their restaurants.
“We try to use local ingredients only and do as little to damage the environment as we can,” the 15th-generation Jerusalemite said, adding that creating the menu for the festival was creative fun.
“I just thought of what each of the names stood for – the French of course being French toast and caramelized onions and the Mediterranean with the tavshil [cooked dish] of tomatoes and tuna.”
The ambience was as luxurious as the food, with Waldorf’s staff attentive to all the guests (a surprisingly substantial number of tourists). Our server Aaron, an Israeli of seven years originally from Connecticut, patiently explained the dishes to each table and made sure to come around again and again to see if anything additional was desired.
The downside is that treating yourself to an A-level, luxurious dining experience like this will set you back NIS 200 ($54) a head. The upside, however, is that you won’t have to eat another meal for the rest of the day.
Benedict Festival (through May 31)Waldorf Astoria Hotel, 26 Agron Street, JerusalemHours: 6:30-10:30 a.m., Sunday-FridayReservation: 054-950-9092KosherThe writer was a guest of the restaurant.