How many of you know what a crumb knife is? It's a blunted knife meant to sweep crumbs. Suppose you did know this, how many restaurants did you see use it? Not too many, I can assure you. But ORO, in the Alon gas station between Yavne and Rehovot, uses crumb knives, and do other little things that make the experience perfect. "God is in the details" – whoever said that probably dined at ORO.
A few words about the place: everyone knows that North African food is the best, but few luxurious restaurants serve North African or Moroccan food. We all know traditional Moroccan food, but to get the real stuff we had to go 30 kilometers south of Tel Aviv. Maybe you wouldn't expect a gourmet restaurant at a gas station (then again, it wouldn't be the first time), but as long as you're inside ORO, you can only focus on the place and the food – the details, the glamorous table cloths, the lovely plates, the huge steamy pots and the magnificent service (thanks Yaeli!) and also 100% kosher for those who were wondering.
So after this brief introduction, let's hear about the food. The courses aren't cheap, but listen and listen well – only few places offer this kind of heavenly food. We started with Aubergine goose (98 nis) – pieces of fine grilled foie gras on a bedding of eggplant steak with different sauces. We also had the Casablanca tomatoes (30 nis) – a grilled tomato salad with olive oil, and one of the best entrées – hot vine leaves stuffed with chopped lamb (38 nis), don't dare skip this one. All this was accompanied by an excellent Yiron red wine, a combination between 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot and 14% alcohol, which made us tipsy.
The temptation to take the most expensive main courses was great, and the Hippo sitting next to me did indeed order the veal Asado (120 nis) – 700 grams of spicy veal ribs with fried spuds in red wine. Believe it or not, but he needed help to finish. And can I refuse to help? No, I cannot. Personally I went for the more humble course of Tagine (an exquisite steamy casserole) veal and eggplants (56 nis) – eggplant rolls filled with chopped veal and roasted almonds on a bed of spuds. Touché. Unbelievable course.
There are other types of Tagines, and fish and meat and chicken, but the capacity! If the Neanderthal Hippo couldn't finish his course, how could anyone? So we figured we'd go right for desserts. We had a tropic cigar (28 nis) – a warm and crispy cigar filled with coconut and pineapple cream on a bed of berries, and a Halvah Kadaif (32 nis) – Kadaif threads filled with slices of halvah with sesame seeds. Our work was done.
There aren't many good kosher places in Israel, or in the world for that matter. But this one is kosher, good and definitely worth visiting. ORO, five minutes from Yavne and 10 minutes from Rehovot, is one of the best restaurants in Israel. What a treat!
*The writer dined at the restaurant.