Whiskey Bar & Museum provides an evening of fine food

We finally did and enjoyed an evening of fine food in a very unusual and historic setting. The place was built by the German Templers in the 19th century for use as a wine cellar and tunnel. They were industrious and idealistic, planting crops that included orange groves, and keeping dairy and other farms, while they waited in patience for what they believed would be the Second Coming.

The historic site was taken over by six enterprising businessmen and turned into a kosher restaurant and a whiskey museum containing over 1,300 bottles of the hard stuff artistically displayed in glass-fronted cabinets the whole length of a long wall. It’s very cool in both senses of the word, with atmospheric blues music playing in the background.

But as we came to taste the food, I’ll get straight to the point. Our helpful waiter, Raz, brought us an English menu. As a starter we chose the pâté de foie to share.

This consisted of three smears of liver pâté together with cashew cream, cranberry sauce, sweet onion pickle and toasted bread. It had a good livery flavor, and the various sweet accompaniments contrasted well with the savory taste (NIS 58).

We felt it was only right and proper that one of us should sample a whiskey, so my husband chose a Japanese version, Hibiki Santori (NIS 55). I stuck with diet Sprite, and Raz insisted on adding mint, ice and lemon.

 

For the main course I chose my favorite “pargit,” the deboned chicken thigh, which is fat-free and juicier than breast. It had been opened up like a steak and braised with something alcoholic – I assume whisky (NIS 78). On the side were roasted sweet potatoes, always good, and a bean sprout salad smothered in paprika.

My companion chose asado, very soft, long-stewed beef in a rich brown sauce also livened up with something boozy (NIS 129). The side veggies were an assortment of different colored carrots. Both dishes were well cooked and satisfying.

As we were fairly replete by then, we shared a dessert called Black Sour. It came in a large bowl and looked as though someone had dropped a slice of lemon meringue pie on the floor, scooped it up and put it back in the bowl set before us. But, presentation aside, it tasted good – lemon cream, pieces of meringue with passion fruit and mango in evidence. The whole edifice was topped with a crispy black tuile (NIS 46).

Several families with small children came in during the evening to eat, and there were young people at the bar sampling the whiskey. If you don’t feel like having a meal, you can just taste whiskey – NIS 134 for four glasses of 25 mm.