""It's not fair," the peppery friend moaned in my ear.
""What now?" I asked him.
""Look, on Passover there's nothing to eat. On Sukkot, there's nowhere to eat, and when a holiday like Shavuot comes, it's only one day...""
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To soothe his pain, I told him about the Shavuot Day of Atonement routine, and suggested that he join me on a little culinary outing where he could compensate himself with a festive dairy meal.
His many commitments prevented him from joining me on the Shavuot 'Isro Hag' outing to Jerusalem last weekend. But I saw no reason to give up my ancient custom of going to Jerusalem during the days of atonement for the holiday.
This is how I found myself wandering the inviting alleys of the Mahane Yehuda Market with my wife, when at the end of the journey it was clear to both of us that we would be sitting in some dairy restaurant...
Truth be told. I've been plotting for a long time about the 'Ricotta' restaurant, located on Har Hotzvim, right below the wonderful meat 'Rodriguez'. Last winter, I thought about dining there with my challenged stomach, due to the wonderful praise I heard about the place. Unfortunately, however, the winter, not winter, has long since evaporated, and the horrible summer is suddenly attacking us with stifling humidity, and I haven't even arrived at its gates yet.
Luckily, the ideal hour of the end of business hours provided us with an empty, quiet space, and maximum attention from the waitress. Maybe it was the 'Isro Hag' atmosphere, but the empty place, which played to our advantage, was quite a surprise. After all, this is one of the busiest business areas in the Jerusalem metropolis.
If we look at the 'Ricotta' menu, it is large and wide (physically), rich and full of wonderful surprises. Because in reality we were aiming for business, for fear that a heavy meal at such an hour would simply make me peck on the drive back to the center. In reality, we were rewarded, and the business menu turned out to be a real treat.
In the category of starters, my wife set her eyes on the mushrooms stuffed with sheep's cheese and nuts. She was a little disappointed by the size of the portion, but the main course that followed was certainly a worthy compensation. I went as the last of the anorexics for a green leaf salad with citrus vinaigrette, which was refreshing and wonderful. I couldn't have asked for a better start to the meal. Of course, before the starters were placed, another honor arrived at the table, hot and fresh rolls that had just been baked, alongside three wonderful dips of roasted peppers in vinegar, olives and an eggplant spread in mayonnaise that really outdid itself.
As Pisces, for the main course we both settled on... fish. She had the tilapia (tidal fish), and I had the salmon fillet. Both dishes were served on a bed of green beans and a wonderful sauce. The fish meat was tender and juicy in both cases, her portion was unusually large and generous, and mine was indeed more compact but of no less high quality and aesthetically appealing on the plate. From what I understood, the restaurant is not a chef's restaurant, but you can't argue with the plates. The food was precise, well-proportioned, and pleasing to the palate and the eye.
You can certainly get regular dairy restaurant dishes at lower prices, such as quiche, lasagna, spaghetti, pizzas, and so on, but in light of the success of the fish dish, I would recommend that you add a few shekels and upgrade the meal. You won't regret it.
Even though I had to skip dessert and go straight to my double espresso, I will remember this experience as one of the positive ones I've had in recent times. Certainly in relation to dairy restaurants, and anyone who knows me knows that milk and I are as far apart as a rainbow.
My wife, who never abstained from sweets, ate a gigantic plate of apple pie alongside three scoops of ice cream in different flavors. And when the ice cream is dairy, that means there are no compromises in taste either. I got up from the table feeling full, not stifling, and most importantly, for me, not feeling cheated. The dishes came out of the kitchen in a perfectly reasonable time, and the service was pleasant and not stressful.
For this couple's meal, we had to part with 180 NIS, not including tip, which was certainly fair enough for the selection that came our way.
The gimmick of paying for the main course only also plays an important role here, as the fish dishes on the evening menu are a few percent more expensive, which is no small matter. Finally, 'Ricotta' may not be the Tel Aviv 'DECA', which aims high for the most refined and delicate palate, but it is a dairy restaurant that certainly carries a lot of good news for the haredi dining public.
Address and everything else...
Ricotta - a strictly kosher, dairy-based Italian restaurant under the supervision of the Jerusalem Rabbinate
Kiryat Hamada 3, Har Hotzvim, Jerusalem
Tel: 02-5870222
Fax: 02-5870333
Operating hours:
Sun-Thu: 08:00-23:30
Friday: 08:00-13:30
Shabbat: An hour and a half after the end of Shabbat until midnight.
Possibility of events on site.
