Fringe

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There is NOTHING Fringe about this delectable dairy restaurant.

There are still a few well kept secrets in Israel. Fringe is one of them. This relatively unknown place is a narrow, dairy and upscale restaurant located at the entrance to the Jerusalem Theater in the heart of the coveted Talbiye neighborhood of Jerusalem. It is one of two restaurants in the location, but the other does not have a kosher certification. Fringe does.

This dairy restaurant replete with fish options is fun, easy and relaxing and delicious in every manner.

You can sit outside or inside, choosing between people watching in the cavernous lobby of the theater or watching kids frolic on the large outdoor courtyard and art installations overlooking the former leper colony that is now Hansen house. Both offer great people watching in the summer months. We chose the latter. The sunsetting over the horizon and the beautiful noise of kids playing and people talking added to the tastes of the meal.

We started with piping hot bread smothered in seeds and served with tahini and tomato dips. The tomato and feta salad was a refreshing welcome to the meal. We also ordered the entree of stuffed vegetables as an appetizer. Grape leaves, cabbage and onion filled with flavored rice was delicious and got our engines revved up.

For mains we enjoyed a few things: the salmon schnitzel looked like a piece of flat chicken and one could easily be tricked. It was flavored well and tasted quite yum. It was excellent.

I had the fish burger. Its consistency was formed from a meaty, white fish and it was plump and crispy. Served with fantastic french fries but sadly, no ketchup was to be found. The gnocchi and drum fish was everything you would want it to be: rich, tasty and seasoned to perfection.

For desserts we had the chocolate pie, the lemon pie and the crack pie. The crack was the winner. It was the equivalent of a pecan pie - with no pecans. It was great! The lemon pie was almost too tart, but still good. The chocolate pie was thick, cold and dense. Not soft. Good. Not great. Ironically, it tasted parve even tough it was permitted to be rich form butter and dairy.

Fringe is situated in an ideal location, with a simple and delicious menu and the perfect atmosphere that proves it is anything but Fringe. I am excited to come back here soon!