luchi

Hi all, We are arriving to NYC this month and are in the midst of making our reaservations. Since we`ve never been to Nobu before we were wandering which Nobu restaurant should we reserve places at- should it be Nobu or Nobu 57? Talking about recommendations - our other reservations are: gramercy tavern, grey cafe, aquavit, honmura an, spice market and tabla. Unfortuantly we were unable to reserve places at Per se. Would like to hear what you thought of our selections and if you had any better suggestions. thanx, luci.

Ooops…. Let me rephrase that –Rogov is The Most knowelgable and respected food and wine critic in Israel. Rogov, I was very gald to see you had the time to read and respond to my posting. So i would use the chance given here and try to elaborate on my differing. As to me disagreeing with your very educated rating, this is the list I would have composed of the very best restaurants in Israel: 1)Moule-Yam for its accurate and uncompromising cuisine. 2)Arcdia – for its pioneering spirit which changed the culinary map of Israel ten years ago. I think that what Ezra Kedem`s Arcadia did in Israel equals the doing of Alice waters` chez Panise in American cuisine. And for insisting on staying in Jerusalem when all odds were against him. Every time I eat there I get excited.(and not because of my noexisting nationalistic feeling 3)Catit -One of the few restaurants in Israel which tries to create Israeli haute cuisine (or at least semi-haute cuisine). 4)Yoe`zer wine bar -This is no casual restaurant for Israelis both price-wise and cook-wise. Very accurate and admirable attempt to create simple French bistro cooking. "Old school" cooking without compromise-and that’s a thing not easily found or done in Israel. 5)Carmela ba nahala - because its simply delicious 6)Chloelys -because of what Victor gloger does with fish, and because of the deserts. 7)Barcarola -because of the zeal and innovations of the young chefs there which I think created a striking and superb cuisine after the departure of Itay shalev. This is no longer Itay Shalev`s cooking 8)Raphael - I rate this highly regarded restaurant quite low here because all my experiences there were bad to say the least. In my last visit there a week ago we were served the wine we ordered after we had finished our first course. The food was very uninventive and poorly executed. The only two good things I have to say about this restaurant are that it is beautifully decorated and that they make one damn good foccacia. 9)Chimichanga -This one in my opinion is also not a casual restaurant by Israeli standards. Avi conforti makes a very creative, Intense and lively cuisine. Not like anything seen in Israel. I think were this restaurant situated in the US in might have been considered casual. But in Israel it offers a variety of tastes and textures not readily available or known to Israelis. And of course everything is done accurately and professionally (which is also not a banal achievement in Israel). 10)As to the other ratings of Rogov: Arania was amazing but is now sadly closed. The experiences I had in both Orca and Artichoke are too traumatic to recall. Although I can remember one as the worst meal I ever had in a restaurant.And I would regard Odeon as a casual "American Bistro"-even though I don`t deny it being good. Ok-so these are my comment in regard to Rogov`s rating. I`m not sure if that’s what u expected but I hope this gives you a picture of where I disagree with Rogov. I would welcome comments about my rating and esspecialy of course from Rogov.

hi zingano, my recommendations are: Jerusalem- the single best place in Jerusalem is ARCADIA- this is one of the best restaurants in the country. Chef Ezra Kedem cooks wonderful "Israeli" food-which means he uses fresh and seasonal ingredients and combines them with haute cuisine techniques (well-maybe "haute" is a bit of an exaggeration ). Another recommendation in Jerusalem would be Cavalier- Chef is Didi ben harush. And he cooks fine French food-no too sophisticated but always reliable and good. In Tel-Aviv the choice is bigger, In order of my favorites: 1)Moule-Yam- one of the most expensive restaurants in Israel. In this very modestly decorated restaurant which is situated at the Tel-Aviv port chef Yoram Nizan cooks the best sea-food in Israel. The sea food is flown regularly to the restaurant from across the world. Everything on the menu is of the highest quality both in terms of ingredients and in performance. 2)Yoezer wine bar- One of the most beautiful restaurants in Israel. Very country French cooking-Bistro like. A lot of meat, truffles, cream, butter and the like. Not a place for vegetarians. 3. Carmela banahala- A beautiful restaurant with intresting food-very variable. 4. Chimichanga- designated as "Santa fe cuisine"- a very good restaurant with what you might call American-mexican cuisine. one of the single restaurants serving this cuisine in Israel. Hope this is enough for now. Of course the recommendation about Rogov`s site is well in place- he is one of the more knowledgeable and respected food and wine critics in Israel (although I would disagree with him from time to time).