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It's
All about 'Floyd' Story
and photos by Sheila Shalhevet (Elad Amitai, pictured above, is the friendly fellow behind the counter who prepares the wonderful dishes at 'Floyd,' his Carmel Market restaurant in Tel Aviv) A funny thing happened on my way to the Yemenite Quarter in Tel Aviv next to the Carmel Market. The market is the biggest and most exciting in Israel, where you can buy everything from housewares and jewelry to every fruit, vegetable, cheese, spice, drink, meat and fish imaginable. I was with my dear friend Pat Feinerman, who happened to tell me about Floyd. Well, right there and then the Yemenite Quarter became history for me on that particular day. Born and Raised on a Kibbutz Elad Amitai, who is 33 years old, was born and raised on Kibbutz HaMapiel, the oldest of three children. As a child, Elad loved fishing and nature. With a friend he would wander endlessly, collecting leaves and plants. They would then go fishing, learning all they could about the personality of each type of fish they caught. Elad was happiest near the sea and in the forest.
(Everything at Floyd is made to order by Elad) At 13, the family moved to Mexico City, where his parents were the representatives of an Israeli Zionist movement. Returning to Israel when he was 17, he finished high school, served in the army, and then moved to the trendy Florentine area of Tel Aviv. He also majored in Spanish at the university, since he already spoke the language fluently. Next, he went off to the prestigious Betzalel Art School. Well, not quite. Elad was waylaid and started cooking instead. With food, Elad is not ordinary. If anything, he is an artist. Here is how it all really started. Going to art school meant having to find a job to cover expenses. So in 1992, he took a job as a cook and spent the next six months cleaning vegetables for a well known Tel Aviv restaurant. Being an artist and in love with shape and color, he discovered the elegance and intensity in the beauty of vegetables, a beauty, he found, which only becomes more heightened by the flavors. Sojourn in New York City Elad soon moved to New York City, where for five years he researched everything he could about food and eventually had his own kitchen in a French bistro, Le Pere Pinarel, successfully integrating French food with his unique Spanish and Mediterranean background. To do this he had to stay true to classical techniques, stay within the recipe and yet have fun with the ingredients. It all must be as fresh as can be, combining textures, colors, shapes and flavors and yet retain the soul of the vegetable in order to create an experience that will cause one to crave for more. In order to cook his beloved fish to perfection, Elad firmly believes that one must understand the character as well as the water the fish lives in order to create the dish best suited for each fish.
(The colors of Elad's restaurant, bright and cheerful, reflect the colors and tastes of his menu)
"Floyd," of course, is a private joke that Elad and his childhood friends invented as a name they called each other while walking around in the woods and at the sea. And Floyd is the name of his very own bistro fish, vegetable and pasta bistro, which he opened at 10 Shefer Street on the very edge of the Carmel Market five months ago. (The bistro does not offer meat and is kosher). Tagging along with Floyd at the Marketplace Talk about food being fresh! On a separate occasion, I tailed along with Elad one morning as he wended his way through the market, buying fresh spices, vegetables, fruits and, yes, fish, taking the time and effort to explain why here and not there and why this bunch of dill and that fish.
(Sheila was able to tag along with Elad as he went shopping at the busy Carmel Market) I learned to identify fish I did not know existed and how to prepare each one while waiting for them to be cleaned by a very verbal fishmonger. Our vegetable and fish fanatics displayed an animation when describing these morsels that have no equal. It is a true love.
(Elad buys fish at the fishmonger's, carefully selecting only the very tastiest) And I as a special friend of Elad got to freely take photographs in the market without getting yelled at by the merchants, who are usually quite adamant about "no pictures." A meal at Floyd is a joyous riot of color. The eclectic décor is in soft Mediterranean colors highlighted by "Hezzy," the fish that is vivid blue and swims serenely in his bowl perched on the bar not even the least bit afraid that he will eventually become dinner. The first time and each time thereafter that I have returned it is and was difficult to decide what to choose from the menu and daily specials. The fish, of course, is what was best that morning in the market. Sharing a Meal with a Friend Being with my friend Pat for my first Floyd meal was fun. Neither of us have any shame when it comes to ordering and not being able to make up our minds. For us, it just meant having whatever we pleased and sharing four appetizers, a main course of fish and two desserts. We spent over two hours eating a variety of delicious dishes. There was a salad of tomato, basil and a special white cheese salad. Then came a delicate green salad in a simple vinaigrette. There was yet another salad, the Salad Floyd, a must served in a beautiful blue bowl including asparagus, beets, blue cheese, greens, basil and lemon zest.
(The Salad Floyd, with beets, asparagus, goat cheese, and mixed greens in a spring vinaigrette sauce)
The Salad Floyd was followed by seared tuna with fresh hyssop and cilantro.
(The seared tuna came on a bed of mixed greens in a magnificent sauce)
\Our main course was moussar fish filets served on a bed of puree of cauliflower.
(The wonderful main course was grilled moussar fish served in a slightly piquant sauce with grilled asparagus, braised leeks, and mashed cauliflower) For dessert, we enjoyed an apricot tart served hot with rich vanilla ice cream made with real vanilla, and as a treat, Elad surprised us with his unbelievable crème brulee. Even if you are not hungry, go a there, sit outside and have a coffee (which we also had) and a dessert. Pure decadence! Some other facts. Elad, who is a quiet, very thin, ever-smiling young man with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, is not married but does have a girlfriend. On his days off, he sleeps a lot, goes fishing, and cooks for his friends at their houses. He is finally putting in a grown-up kitchen in the flat he has purchased. He dreams of a larger space for his bistro and is thrilled with how things are going.
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