You Got Me On My Knees...........LOLA

I kept hearing about this little place on Long Island. It was supposed to serve great Israeli food. It is no longer an oxymoron. Israel has great food. Now they not only grow the best, but now the prep and the creations blow most cities away. And it has made its way to the USA.

We called during Passover week and we had no problem getting a reservation. We attributed that to the fact that everybody was away for Passover and Easter. It was a little dumpy looking place. Storefront. Small bar in the front. Nothing special. They suggested the tasting menu and we decided to go with it. They served the mushroom hummus and tzatziki with stewed tomato jam, and fire roasted eggplant. All of which were excellent. The first entree was crispy cod with Thai sauce and green papaya mango and green beans. If you can believe it, it was bland. The pan seared foie gras with roasted pistachios was incredible. Sweet. Savory. Crispy on the outside. All sensors in the mouth were on overdrive. There was octopus with celery and baby bok choy and salmon roasted with potatoes and applesauce and a pea purée. The food was so delicious and so plentiful that the last two dishes, which are the next two dishes, had to go home with us. They were the chicken schnitzel with butter mashed potatoes and cabbage. And the rice with fried chickpeas and lentils and scallions. We had those for dinner the next night. This night the service was good. The drinks were decent. The food was amazing. So much so that we decided to go back two weeks later. On our return trip, we realized the place was bordering on ugly and there was absolutely no charm. Again not busy. The service was excellent. The owner/chef came out to say hello. Nice touch. The tzatziki was again very good and this time it was served with hot pita bread. We ordered baba ghanouj, which was great. We had hummus with roasted mushrooms and onions. The onions should have been more caramelized, and ditto with the mushrooms. The hummus was great. The potatoes bravas were fair. Something was missing. The chicken schnitzel with the mashed and the homemade cabbage was good. The foie gras was again the best dish on the table. And there was a duck chorizo, which was a ball of dough stuffed with crumbled duck and Moroccan spices. That was fantastic. We will take a break and return in a month.

North shore of Long Island. No driving into the city, especially on a rainy and windy night in horrendous traffic. It covered all the bases for a good old dinner..........without cooking.