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Let’s say you have a sympathetic guest from America who feels like having Middle Eastern food, but not too Middle Eastern, after all, he is American. Where will you take him? The answer here calls for a good restaurant that serves food with a Middle Eastern flavor and is located in the ZOA house to make him feel at home. On the other hand, what are the chances of that happening? Not high, true, but you can and should go to Martha’s even if you don’t have such a guest.
Well, I did have a guest like that, well, sort of. Nuni came home from Madison Wisconsin for Christmas, after an entire semester of cafeteria burritos. This forced me to find a slightly more sophisticated reward than the hummus that I had planned. I actually intended to take her to a prestigious hummus restaurant in Jaffa, but the face that she made reminded me that, perhaps this time, we should go somewhere – how should I put it – fancier. Martha turned out to be an excellent choice. A long and pleasant bar, behind which there is a nice courtyard, comfortable bar stools padded in green, a peaceful patio, retro furniture and a spacious area creates an atmosphere of an island of peace in the heart of the city.
What further contributed to this atmosphere was the house cocktail that was served immediately (36 NIS), composed of vanilla rose cocktail concocted at the restaurant, together with lychee syrup. All of this is served in a martini class with a lychee, taking on the role of the olive. Nuni could not pass up the local focaccia, served with a crushed tomato floating in a pond of olive oil (16 NIS). I listened to my mother who always says “I can make this at home” (but she won’t in real life) and ordered an appetizer that I will never have a chance of eating at home during this lifetime – shrimp ravioli (48 NIS). The waitress said that it is the dish that people come to eat at Martha’s from the “ends of the land” (those were her words). I have no idea how far the end of the land is, but it tasted very good.
After sitting back in the huge leather chair and doing a Tony Soprano imitation, the main dishes were served. I ordered, without too much effort – I admit – the gnocchi recommended by a friend. I though that after eating a complicated and complex dish like the shrimp ravioli, it would be nice to have something simple like gnocchi. Surprisingly, I was indeed served with potato gnocchi, but it was made with Parmesan, spinach sauce based on vegetable stock and served with yoghurt and a roasted eggplant on top (46 NIS). I was lucky not to look at the menu, because I would have foregone that excellent dish. Nuni wanted the fish seviche that was recommended but on Saturday night, after a weekend when everyone must have ordered it, there were no fish left. Applying the logic that is uniquely hers, she decided that if she can’t have fish, she’d order steak and, in our case, 250 grams of outstanding beef fillet, made on a pan with mushrooms and Jerusalem artichoke in red wine (98 NIS). We accompanied these dishes with Argentinean Alamos Malbec (29 NIS) and Australian Shiraz Cabernet (27 NIS).
After a dinner like this, you have to sit back again – once again, Tony Soprano style. It seemed appropriate with such a leather sofa, with a design that looks like the scenery from a film and with a gang of theater actors hanging around. Nuni said that it didn’t look like that and, to shut me up, she ordered dessert.
Amazing tiramisu (34 NIS) served with a biscuit, once again reminding me of Tony, and a pecan apple pie with vanilla cream (32 NIS), reminding her of America.
*The author was a guest at the restaurant.
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