There’s a street not far from Ben Yehudah Street in Jerusalem where several very trendy, upscale restaurants can be found. Among them sits Gabriel. We had heard several positive reviews from friends, and were eager to try out this place. When the opportunity arose*, we hesitated only slightly before setting out to our Holy City for good food and an evening of animated conversation.

The price on a menu sets my expectation, not the description. Gifted writers can make car tires sound delectable, but what a restaurant charges for food should be a reflection on both the quality and the preparation of the dish.

Buckle up. This is going to be harsh.

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Parsley Fennel Salad Niçoise

This was a simple put-together salad. So what makes it a “Salad Niçoise?” I tend to name things if I put several signature items into the dish. I’m not a purist when it comes to Salad Niçoise, so if it has tuna and olives (preferably niçoise, of course) in it, I’ll ‘abbreviate’ it so people can get what the recipe’s about more quickly.

Rather than using lettuce as a greens base, I used parsley. Added the bright fennel to counterpoint the earthy parsley, and punctuated it with slivers of red onion.

The dressing was equal parts low-fat mayonnaise, capers, vinegar, lemon juice and two parts water.

I have discussed ingredient substitutions in classes, and I will probably go on mentioning them here in my blog. They’re not cheating, they don’t fundamentally detract from the recipe and they’re not wrong. Purists who click their tongues are nothing but elitist food snobs who can’t think in the kitchen the way a chef thinks. And anyone who disagrees with me so far should remember that many of the original, classic recipes bear no resemblance to their modern day counterparts.

Substitutions should redefine a dish, not sabotage it. Here’s a classic example. A la Florentine is a well-known preparation of with spinach and typically Mornay sauce. Whether your protein is chicken, mullet, pork or eggs, the preparation remains the same.

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Selena is an upscale restaurant on Emek Refaim. If this seems to be a trend in my restaurant posts, well it’s because this is a very popular restaurant street in Jerusalem. We were seated right away, and a pleasant waitress told us the specials, then took our order after about ten minutes of our deliberations. The ambiance was nice with soft jazz playing in the background without being overpowering, and it was warm in the restaurant, which was a relief from the cold December night. We noticed that the restaurant’s clientèle were all English-speaking.

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