20.03.2011 14.Adar ll, 5771 Purim
Gut essen:
The menu offers the perennials on the kosher restaurant scene, with some welcome surprises.
Rehov Shimon Ben-Shetah, a short pedestrian mall in downtown Jerusalem, is a charming blend of the city’s different identities. Bars and non-kosher restaurants represent its secular side, and an old synagogue tucked away behind a metal gate symbolizes the historical, religious city. The local branch of Bituah Leumi is a reminder that this is also the country’s bureaucratic capital.
One of the newest kids on the block is Lara, a seven-month-old kosher restaurant run by chef Lior Haftzadi. On a biting cold night we tried out the restaurant’s new spring menu, which Haftzadi describes as “Israeli”; not a complete revamp of the old menu, but with more of a warm-weather feel.