The Meating Place

Sometimes I joke that one day I'll be a vegetarian, I even once told my mom that I was going to try to be one - except on the days when I wanted chicken, turkey and even on occasion brisket. Simply put, vegetarianism is not for me...because I like poultry and I like meat. I also like tofu and seitan but that's another story. For this post lets focus on the meat side of the relationship. One of the best things about living in Israel is the availability of kosher meats; I don't keep kosher, but I prefer kosher meats because they taste better. Last week, a couple friends and I went out to celebrate one of their birthdays and her food of choice? Meat. Meat. And more meat. So we decided on רק בשר which means, "Only Meat". The restaurant, located in Jaffa, is unlike any place I've ever been to. As we walked into the restaurant we were greeted with complimentary tasting glasses of red wine (check 1), and the decor was beautiful (check 2). The walls were made of tan gravel rock, it looked like we were eating in a cave which made the restaurant that much more interesting and appealing.
As a food blogger and foodie, I did a little research before hand on the best things to order - with the help of an article on the Jerusalem Post, we started with the roasted eggplant appetizer which came out covered in a tehina and tomato salsa with a Balsamic vinegar drizzled on top. The mixture of smokiness from the eggplant with the juiciness of the fresh salsa, the tangy vinegar, and the creaminess of the tehina was a flavorful sensation in my mouth - the appetizer was amazing.

Already very impressed by the appetizer, I was excited for the next part of the meal...the MEAT! The way this restaurant works is each table goes up to the "meat bar" to choose their desired pieces and cuts of meat - I chose a garlic and parsley marinated slice of chicken, a small circular piece of a lamb kebob mixed with cilantro, salt, pepper and garlic and a vegetable skewer. The meat came out on a portable grill (check 3), sizzling with steam and bursting with color. My chicken was cooked to perfection, with bits of crunchy parsley. I didn't want it to end, each bite was better than the next. The lamb kebob was equally as tasty, the salt was balanced out by the spicy black pepper and I even got some pieces of raw garlic too, which I love. Plus the addition of my vegetable skewer was anything I could ever want, and yet so much more. One of my favorite parts about grilling food is the vegetables - grilled vegetables (okay, really grilled anything) are the bomb (.com) . Mixing pieces of pepper, onion and tomato with my meats made this meal twice as good.

I think it's important to eat all the colors of the rainbow in your meals - it makes the experience so much more fun. As I write this post, my mouth is watering and my stomach is grumbling...this was a meatrageous restaurant with outrageous flavors. Go meat, ya'll.