Our last night in Tel Aviv took us to the nearby Sarona Market where the evening scene was busy and Claro is cooking up some pretty cool cuisine. It's a large open space with stucco walls that seems cavernous, but is oddly not that noisy. Wooden tables, open kitchen, a long bar and separated section offers up a nice setting for a good meal.
Will & I ordered the LUNA drinks which were superb: Ketel 1 Vodka, Passion Fruit, Lemon Juice & Ginger Ale that was not sweet at all from the delicious fruit, but almost a bit funky from some Coriander, fruity and bubbly; just perfect. A bottle of Judean Hills Blanc from Tzora 2014 which was a blend of Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc that gave us another great wine from this vineyard I like a lot.
Whole Wheat Frana bread is a starter that offers up a huge loaf of hot out of the oven bread with a knife and many sides and spreads: Labneh (that omnipresent yogurt/sour cream combo that is sprinkled with za'atar for spice), Eggplant Salad, Olives, Pickles and more. We were filled up too much and could not resist finishing every bite.
Starters were Roasted Octopus with Giant white beans, roasted cherry tomatoes (did you know these were invented in Israel?), garlic, jalapeno, chorizo, onion and smoked paprika which was a treat as well as the Raw Mediterranean fish (yellowtail) with freekah (green wheat), jalapeno for spice, tabouleh, green purslaine, yogurt & tomato that was truly superb top sushi quality.
For his main course Samuel had the Beef Tartare (surprise!) with spinach labneh (that he would not touch and was spectacular), sumac, baby radish, Kadosh (which means HOLY in Hebrew??!!) Cheese and bruschetta, which disappeared super fast again.
For the main courses Will ordered a Seafood Bucatini with shrimp, calamari, octopus win white wine, with arugula, tomato and parsley while I loved my Delicated smoked Dan River Trout with potato salad, green beans and horseradish. The dish was not expensive, but again that Texan size portion of fish laid atop a sea of superb potato salad that was not too creamy or rich at all, but impossible to finish.
We could not eat dessert but our superb and kind server Maya brought us a complimentary plate of fruit salad and sorbets that was quite refreshing.
We headed south the next day and had some of the best falafel ever at Felafel Ha-Yarok or Green Felafel in Beersheva as we entered the Negev desert where we shall be for several days, so no exciting dining reports here as we stay 2 nights at the Beresheet Hotel where food is good and filling and lots of buffets Texas (Israeli) style....
