In Hebrew, the phrase ‘Tekés’ means ceremony, with the implication of a celebration. In Paris, the phrase now has two meanings–the distinctive Hebrew one, and a second one on account of the set up of Tekés, a extremely fashionable new restaurant, which is normally a set off for rejoicing, on account of it has launched fashionable Israeli vegetarian cooking to a metropolis that’s extended been lamentably well-known for its indifference to greens.
The extended working exception to this generalization has been chef Alain Passard’s shudderingly costly Michelin three-star restaurant Arpege, nonetheless now individuals who love good meals and eat plant-based diets are lastly getting far more selection in Paris. And a great deal of of those new locations, together with Tekés, are so good that even individuals who aren’t vegetarian will take pleasure in consuming at them.
Tekés is tucked away all through the Sentier, or Paris’s outdated garment district, which has now develop to be a well-liked nightlife zone for youthful Parisians with a great deal of bars, cafes and consuming places (Paris-lovers will uncover that this zone has modified the superannuated rue de Soif in Saint-Germain-des-Pres, as this as shortly as good neighborhood has been drained of life by an infestation of identikit luxurious brand-name boutiques and expensive pied-a-terre flats). I appreciated this heat energetic place instantly after I went there to fulfill an amazing buddy there for dinner. It’s run by the equal Israeli crew led by gifted chef Assaf Granit that launched the massively in kind Shabour and Balagan, together with the just-opened Jerusalem street-food restaurant Shosh.
Led by cooks Cécile Levy, who beforehand cooked on the Norman Resort in Tel Aviv, and Dan Yosha, Tekés’s busy open kitchen privileges cooking over charcoal and embers, and it places on an amazing present whereas producing stunningly scrumptious dishes like grilled zucchini with cinnamon labneh and flambéed eggplant.
The menu leads off with some fantastic breads, together with a splendidly fluffy crown-shaped challah for sharing and a buttery sage-leaf garnished galette to tear aside and dip in labneh, after which runs to a set of Vegan and vegetarian dishes, which is likely to be furthermore meant to be shared. These are adopted by a usually evolving roster of Israeli consolation meals dishes from absolutely utterly completely different Jewish culinary traditions, which is likely to be furthermore meant to be shared, one different excuse {{{that a}}} meal correct proper right here finally ends up being such a wonderful time.
I appreciated my beet-root chachlik, which acquired proper right here with feta cream and watercress and was each bit as satisfying on the subject of kind and texture as any model made with meat, and my good buddy was delighted by her “The Silk Freeway,” a dish composed of celeriac, clementine, ginger and shushka. We had been furthermore intrigued by the vegetarian hen liver, which is a composition of blended mushrooms served with a soft-boiled egg, dates and pine nuts. All of those components arrive desk side and are then blended with a mezzaluna earlier than being served. The unguent umami-rich hash actually does have distant echoes of chopped hen liver, nonetheless it’s lighter and more energizing than any model made with the fowl. Gnocchi (beneath) had been absolutely scrumptious, too.
Desserts are intriguing, too, together with a wonderful ethereal mushroom mousse with chocolate granola, an amazing grand finale to the healthful joyous cooking of this wonderful restaurant.
And strolling dwelling after dinner, I couldn’t assist nonetheless feeling quietly ecstatic {{{that a}}} rising variety of gifted youthful cooks are discovering methods to create dishes that aren’t solely healthful and environmentally good nonetheless current a full flush of gastronomic pleasure as correctly.
N.B. Tekés has top-of-the-line and most attention-grabbing wine lists in Paris, with an notably sturdy assortment of improbable wines from Central and Japanese Europe and the Center East.
Tekés, 4bis rue Saint Saveur, 2nd Arrondissement, Paris, Tel. (33) 07 81 42 54 74, Metro: Open for dinner solely Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday. Frequent dinner 45 Euros. http://www.tekesrestaurant.com