Dining Out / Up and coming in Yokneam

In 2001, I visited Yokneam in order to review the restaurants where the area high-tech workers and executives took their lunch. I sampled 11 restaurants, cafeterias and steak joints and the food on which I attempted to dine was, for lack of a more charitable word, pathetic. My conclusion was that the very best place to dine in the area was the local branch of McDonald's. And, as is fairly well known, I have very little positive to say about McDonald's. Recently, on hearing that Japro, a restaurant featuring French and Japanese cuisine, had opened in the area, I knew that the time had come to return.

With an intentionally industrial look and two attractive small bars, one for sushi and the other for drinks, and large windows covered with light beige drapes, the restaurant is physically attractive. What spoils things just a bit are the not-at all attractive plastic-topped square, round and oval-shaped tables, but that small aesthetic problem could be solved by the use of tablecloths.

Our meal opened with a complementary amuse geule, a colorful bite-sized portion of a three-layered vegetable terrine of spinach, sweet potato and red peppers, all pureed finely before being assembled. Dipped into either the good red tehina or the not-too-hot schug that was served, this was a pleasant little treat, as was the soft, hot fresh bread that was offered.

Because the restaurant has a large sushi menu, we sampled two offerings. The first roll contained shrimp and cilantro and was coated lightly in sumac, the second contained crab meat and asparagus. Served with good soy sauce and wasabi, both were treats; the rice and the fish were as firm, fresh and full of flavor as one could have wanted.

We went on to try three more formal first courses. One of my companions chose lightly seared slices of red tuna, crusted with crushed sesame seeds. The tuna, still raw on the interior, had fine texture and flavor, and was complemented by a lightly hot caramel sauce and a sweet wasabi. Both sauces were simple but well executed, and the dish was served with a small salad of seaweed and crushed sesame crackers. My other companion opted for a plate of five large shrimp, grilled with their tails intact, set on a bed of eggplant cream and surrounded by tomato butter. Served piping hot, the shrimp were crisp and delicious, and the tomato butter made for a rich addition. The eggplant cream was somewhat extraneous, almost as if the chef were trying just a bit too hard to be decorative. I ordered a duck liver pate, which was firm, rich and well-seasoned with pepper and brandy. Served with an onion jam and a white wine jelly, along with drops of pistachio oil, the pate was especially good when spread on a bit of the toasted cinnamon-raisin bread that was served.

The first of the main courses we tried was a seafood platter of shrimp, crabmeat gnocchi and sea bass. The dish disappointed somewhat because the fish had been overcooked and fell apart with the mere touch of a fork, and the gnocchi, although flavorful, were too grainy. The dish also lacked aesthetic pleasure, as the various components were heaped carelessly and the seafood-flavored butter sauce was distinctly too salty.

The sliced duck breast we tried was done medium-rare as it should have been, but, even though it had been sprinkled with a bit of szechuan pepper and served on a sweet potato puree, lacked flavor. The highlight of that dish was two small pieces of a truly delicious pastille, a flaky Moroccan pastry filled with ground meat and beets. I ordered the lamb chops, which were fine, with just enough fat left intact. The black lentils served with the dish were a good addition. What did make me chuckle a bit was the restaurant's bow to molecular cuisine, for on the plate were three small balls of a yoghurt and garlic creme in a casing that burst on the palate, leaving behind not so much the flavor of yoghurt but of plastic.

We shared a single dessert, which the menu listed as a "chocolate experience," a long, narrow plate containing a miniature chocolate and espresso flan, a waffle-cookie tube filed with lemon-scented chocolate, a large chocolate truffle that had been enriched with a bit of chili pepper; and a glass containing a soft, almost liquid chocolate and hazelnut cream. This kind of multiple offering is what I tend to think of as a chocolate-lovers' paradise.

With our first courses we opened with glasses of the Gewurztraminer of Binyamina and with our main courses we continued with a bottle of Ruffino's Il Leo Chianti Superiore. If there are problems here, it is that more attention should be paid to the execution of the main courses and that in an odd way, the culinary style of the restaurant is lagging behind that of Tel Aviv by about five years. Despite that, this is certainly an excellent bet for those in the area. Our food bill for three came to NIS 490, to which the wines we ordered added NIS 170.

Japro, The New High-Tech Park, Yokneam. Tel.: (04) 989-1988. Open daily noon-midnight.