The Salads of Caesaria

Forget Caesar salads. They pale in comparison to the smorgasbord of salad appetizers that were presented to me and a friend at a sun soaked and bustling seaside restaurant in Caesaria. The waiter, tanned and silverhaired, brought over a tray brimming with small white plates. With a fluorish and a wide smile, he placed them on the table, one after another after another after another, until the entire surface was covered with colorful and delectable dishes.

Where to begin? With roasted and sliced red peppers shimmering in olive oil, taramosalata topped with chopped red onion, tomatoes and cucumbers, roasted and pureed eggplant, hummus, tahini or the smoked salmon? All were accompanied by crunchy toasted bread topped with olive oil and basil.

To wash it all down we drank a few carafes of lemonade with mint leaves.

The salads more than satisfied, but I still managed to eat an entire grilled fish afterwards.

Aah!