Four decades ago I was diagnosed with having a high cholesterol count for age 25, and decided I would give up eating red meat as a health measure. It was a decision made easier by the fact it happened to coincide with my move from the US to Israel, which in those days was hardly known as a steak-lover’s paradise.
Well, things change. Two years ago another doctor told me that while my cholesterol was fine, I now suffered from iron deficiency. When I asked whether I should start taking iron supplements, he replied: “Why don’t you just eat a steak or hamburger once a week?”
Which is what I decided to do. Fortunately for me, the Israeli restaurant scene has also made significant strides when it comes to serving up meat dishes that go beyond kebab and cholent. One outstanding example of this is the Veranda, the flagship restaurant at Jerusalem’s David Citadel Hotel, where I recently enjoyed a meal that can best be described as a meat-lover’s feast.
Before we get to the food, let’s start with the view. The restaurant derives its name from its location on the hotel’s mezzanine terrace, overlooking the walls of the Old City, including the Jaffa Gate and David Citadel, hence the hotel’s name. The Veranda’s windows are retractable, and we were fortunate to be dining there on a balmy evening, enabling an unobstructed vantage point of the best view the city has to offer.
The view inside the spacious restaurant showed a majority of the diners on my evening there to be Orthodox, even strictly so, no surprise these days for a Jerusalem hotel eatery. Kashrut is taken seriously here, with the menu declaring: “Meat approved by Rav Rubin and Rav Landa. Shmita lehumra. Close supervision. Bishul Beit Yosef.” The charming restaurant manager, Issa Shawar, told me I should be sure to mention that the vegetables are “Gush Katif” and the food “bishul Yehudi,” meaning prepared by Jewish hands, in this case by kitchen chef Shai Lutati, under the supervision of the hotel’s executive chef, Kfir Mynikov. And this strictness applies not just to the food. We ordered, along with the dinner, a half-bottle of Gva’ot Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, and when it was brought to the table, our Arab waiter also offered a corkscrew to ask whether we wanted to open it ourselves.
Preparing a high-level meat meal under this strict level of kashrut can present challenges, especially when it comes to cooking steak, and it piqued my curiosity whether Veranda would rise to that challenge.
But first we tried out a couple of the appetizers. I went for the Beef Sashimi, which in this case is thin slices of smoked veal, garnished with forest mushrooms vinegar, shallots, portobello mushrooms, pomegranate concentrate, micro roquette leaves, and pine nuts, and served with a focaccia baked in-house in the restaurant’s own stone oven (NIS 95). My companion went for the Chicken Liver Terrine, which is a chicken liver pâté, accompanied by apple and raspberry jam and grape vinegar, and served with a toasted brioche (NIS 89).
Key to success
The key to success with both these dishes is preserving enough of their meaty freshness without any of the funky rawness inherent in uncooked or undercooked meat, especially liver, and I’m happy to say they passed with flying colors. This was especially so of the terrine, which I have to say without hyperbole may have been the smoothest, creamiest dish of chicken liver I’ve ever had, so much so I could have easily mistaken it for the finest foie gras (a dish, I should note, illegal to produce in Israel, due to the cruelty of its production process, and a ban that should be extended to its sale here).
For the main courses, the menu offers a variety of meat dishes, and we decided that we (and you readers) would be best served by ordering the Veranda Grill Butcher, a big sharing plate that offers a selection of several of the mains. Though at NIS 245 per person (minimum two people) it’s the priciest item on the menu, in terms of variety and amount offered up, I’d say it’s the biggest bargain. Steak is represented on the plate by rib eye medallions, smoked in a Josper grill with oakwood coals, cooked to order – medium-well for my companion, and medium-rare for me. Now I like a bloody steak, and the challenge at this level of kashrut observance is keeping the meat moist and juicy, which I am happy to report succeeded with this rich, smoky piece of rib eye.
Another outstanding dish on the plate was the lamb arais, the traditional meat-stuffed crispy pitas, usually found at Lebanese-style restaurants. The minced-lamb filling had just the right amount of spice to set off the bread-covering, and made a nice contrast to the steak.
To my surprise, though, the real stars of the Grill Butcher were the handmade veal sausages. I’m not usually a huge fan of veal or sausages, but these were outstanding, with the spiced ground veal packed with flavor.
The only selection in the course that I felt fell a little short compared to the other offerings were the smoked chicken skewers, which were perfectly fine while lacking the zing of the steak, lamb, and veal offerings.
All this meat was accompanied by roast vegetables, green salad, onion rings, and crispy potato shreds that were particularly tasty.
Other main meat courses at Veranda include an “Asado Cut” shredded short ribs terrine (NIS 170), a “Royal Burger” of ground rib eye steak (NIS 130), and a couple of fish dishes as well (though I can’t imagine why you would come to a restaurant like this and not order the meat).
We finished up our meal with tea and two desserts (both NIS 55): Pistachio Mille-feuille, which is a caramelized puff pastry with a pistachio creme filling, and Lemon Tart, lemon cream topped with meringue and caramel cookie chips, with strawberry ice cream and passion fruit jelly. Both were richly delicious, which is certainly not always the case with parve desserts served even in some of the better kosher meat restaurants.
As noted, Veranda is certainly not for the budget-conscious – you’re paying for the fabulous view, attentive service, quality of food and preparation, and for some, that level of kashrut in a high-end dining experience. But even if the latter isn’t a consideration for you, Veranda is a worthy stop for meat-lovers, and I think pretty much sets the standard for such in Jerusalem.
As I mentioned at the top, I waited 40 years for a meal such as this – and this one was worth the wait.
Veranda at the David Citadel HotelKosherOpen Monday-Thursday, 6 p.m.-10:30 pm.Phone: (02) 621-2396
The writer was a guest of the restaurant.
