Most nineties there

Photo: PR, Gilad Hershleg

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• My father Efrati

The prices at vintage 66, Kfar Tavor's new brasserie, are in the taste of the past, also the generosity of the dishes here is exceptional, the problem is that the dishes also got stuck somewhere in the 1990s

My father Efrati

The Kfar Tavor local council is not known for its exceptional culinary focus. Recently, with no coordination but almost together, two intriguing restaurants have opened in it. Dohul Safadi, senior chef of Arab cuisine in Israel, began cooking in a new restaurant, renamed it. Very close to it, in the Tabor Winery complex, was opened on Route 66, which is signed by Chef Ran Sagi, who is known in Israel from two northern restaurants he previously led: Nahalim and Rotenberg. As Id Ghanem, who used to serve as his past chef, join him as a partner.

Tabor's giant containers, one of the largest and most industrial wineries in Israel, stand up to El Al when approaching vintage 66 parking. Food served in an environment where wine is produced is always a joyous thing, and not very common in Israel. The restaurant space is large and radiant simplicity. It is designed to convey a cozy village atmosphere of the old type. The tables are far enough away from each other and the whole place conveys a laid-back country atmosphere.

We glanced at the menu. It has a first wing, consisting mainly of salads, a pasta section and a main wing. No intermediate and divisional portions; And with no pretense of creativity or coolness. Not only are they not trying to invent the wheel here, the starting point from which the food concept is built is that the periphery is building a menu designed for the peripheral audience. For eyes accustomed to up-to-date urban menus, the 66 vintage menu may look outdated. Salads, pastas, soy chicken, salmon fillets, scallopini, goose confit; Most nineties there? We will not deny.

Pricing also has a taste of yesteryear. Salads at NIS 35, typical mains at 75 and three meals per head at an average cost of NIS 120-130 per diner. Not only does Tel Aviv terms carry pricing to Nintiz; When did you eat in the north at such prices? Because a typical meal there will always rise almost as much as in the center, only that its quality will, almost always, be problematic to say the least. Here, as Guy and Gannem show, it is also possible otherwise.

Sweet and sour beet salad (Photo: Gilad Har Snow)

Vintage restaurant 66 (Photo: Gilad Hershleg, PR)

As modest as pricing is, the only test of food is reflected in its qualities. For bad food, it is unnecessary to pay a little too. We were four hungry and started with sweet and sour beet salad (NIS 35), calamari rings salad (NIS 42), legume salad (NIS 33) and tomato spinach (NIS 55). Our selection of salads based primarily on the opening phase is related to the few alternatives that seemed banal: beef carpaccio, sweet potato steak, roasted eggplant, and so on.

The three salads were surprisingly large, reminiscent of salads of cafes, the kind that people are used to paying at least NIS 20 more. All three components were fresh and fresh. We liked the legume salad, with sprouted legumes, tomatoes and leaves in a refreshing herb vinaigrette. The beet salad, also with apple, roquefort, leaves, almonds and soy vinaigrette was graceful.

The calamari rings salad, on the other hand, with green leaves, goat’s cheese and pico de gaio (a type of salsa) was less successful. The calamari rings were somewhat viscous and the whole dish did not excel in balancing flavors. The spinach and tomato quiche, which came in two very large triangles, was the home-baking genre of unsophisticated cook. As such, he has been through badly.

You can't say that some of the first one was bad, then. Except it belonged to a genre that really no longer meets restaurants here. All the dishes, including the kish, were basically cafe dishes. As such, they did not have the basic sophistication to expect when going out to eat in the restaurant. Neither the chef's hand nor the depth of traditional bloody flavors. In contrast, everything was fresh, generous and overall, except for the salad of calamari rings, also fine. At least within the boundaries of the genre.

Legume salad (Photo: Gilad Mountain Snow)

Vintage 66 (Photo: Gilad Har Snow, PR)

We continued with beef casserole (NIS 75), sirloin steak (NIS 90), chicken in soy cream (NIS 62) and seafood pepadala (NIS 75). It is impossible not to refer, again, to prices. The small sirloin steak, about 280 grams, is priced at about 30 shekels per hundred grams. Tel Aviv's standard pricing is roughly double that. Which of us remembers when he ate cattle cattle for NIS 75?

Even in the main stage, no dish really mentioned the cuisine of a contemporary restaurant. The cattle cauldron stood out positively, with plenty of vegetables, rice, softened meat cubes and sweet but sympathetic cooking fluids. It's hard to say too good things about the sirloin steak, which was, how to say without insult, somehow edible. It's the kind of steak you can find in a typical neighborhood supermarket. You probably won't buy it if you have a quality rhythm you trust. We ate, because we were hungry after a day of hiking in the frozen north; The quality was kind of medium minus.

We did not think that at this price the seafood pasta would be fresh mini Cod food and indeed were not. Like its predecessors so far, it was a huge dose. However, the paperdala was not El Dante, the seafood was viscous and the rosy sauce was plain and spicy. It was already a bad dose.

Nor did the dish known as soy cream chicken belong to an elite type. The chicken breast with seared vegetables in a pan, in a little creamy teriyaki sauce served on rice, was a tribute to the old-fashioned home kitchen of the somewhat simple kind. If the salads at the beginning of the meal were a kind of sympathetic home, this dish, which is probably meant for the youngest of the diners, did not do the same among the younger generation.

Vintage 66, Simplicity of yesteryear (Photo: Gilad Har Snow)

Vintage restaurant 66 (Photo: Gilad Hershleg, PR)

After these rather unimpressive mains, we were a bit surprised to meet the apple tart, which was absolutely delicious. Completely retro too, probably, but retro good.

Is Route 66 worth a special trip? of course not. Good if you're around? Only for those who are not looking for a thrill at their meal, treat it with functionality and are ready to absorb the ups and downs of the simple-to-serve table. On the other hand, it is not certain that this pricing has reason to lean on this unassuming and unpretentious inn, which provides quite a bit of food for quite a bit of money.

You could say the same: Ren Sagi is a man who knows his work. In his current restaurant, trying to talk to Co-Lem seems to be a little lower in advance than it should have been. In order for his 66th Route to be a nice restaurant to pass through if you are around, he needs to upgrade the base concept. Even in the periphery, diners are used to a little more than that. The adherence to fresh ingredients and the spirit of generosity certainly exist; But the food should be better. To rely on Sagi's resume burn, as if he could.

Route 66, Tavor Winery, KKL-JNF Boulevard, Kfar Tavor, 053-9372562

Vintage 66 (Photo: Gilad Mount Snow, image processing)