We returned from California for New Year’s Eve, which gave us a chance to go to the soft opening of our much-anticipated new downtown Covington restaurant Tavi, from the Besh Restaurant Group.
Tavi lives up to its billing as a little Shaya. It is much smaller and a bit less glamorous, but actually perfect for the food and place. It looks the part of a cafe you'd find in Israel, with sand as the primary tone for the space. I was disappointed that the backyard would not be a private courtyard for outdoor dining (still hoping at some point…) but there are four charming blue Mediterranean French tables and chairs out front with wispy plants, lending atmosphere to the sidewalk. It definitely works.
Inside, the focal point is of course the oven, which turns out those puffy pita loaves. Risking blasphemy here, I do not and have never understood the gushing over these, and on this night Tom and I didn’t even finish a whole one.
We got a lot of food but didn’t order the big Tavi Sofra, a selection of kebabs and sides as well as dips. At $120 this is actually the value meal. But on this night Tom was intrigued by the salmon, and I by the shrimp, so that is what we got.
Before that, there was, of course, hummus. We got the fried chicken hummus, which had to be and was indeed fried chicken thighs. About four small cubed pieces of chicken were dusted in an unusual crumb, and covered with a lot of “stuff.” In this case, it was a green pile of Aleppo pepper, Tunisian spices, and date salsa verde. Underneath it all was a schmear of creamy hummus. I don’t know if I’m just so hooked on the lamb ragu version of this or I’m just jaded at this point, but I was not wowed.
The waiter demurred when I asked about the Fattoush Salad, directing me to the Israeli Salad. I do love that one, but we always get it at Shaya. I wanted to try something different. After having it I agreed with the waiter that I prefer the Israeli, but this was also quite good. A little sweeter vinaigrette than I expected (must have been the dates,) this pile of greens was punctuated by heirloom carrots, green onions, and crispy za’atar pita croutons. I liked this enough to get it again.
The salmon was great. An ample finger-type slab of fish was brushed with caramelized harissa and crusted beautifully, then placed atop a sea of plump couscous “risotto” and sweet corn. This was a pleasing mouthful of food. Nothing extraordinary, but definitely tasty.
The shrimp, which the waiter cautioned me about, was a disappointment, but not for the reason he flagged. He told me an earlier portion he delivered to a table was a little overdone, which is to me a plus. Many years ago I had a raw shrimp experience at a restaurant that has scarred me for life. I want my shrimp bright white in the middle.
What I didn’t like about this dish was everything else. The shrimp were coated in a glaze without a discernable flavor, maybe because the sauce on the tiny couscous beads beneath took center stage. This was a thick red sauce that just lay there, so thick it didn’t move. And couscous comes in plump beads which I generally like, and tiny ones which move me both ways, depending on what is with it. This tended to be a miss. The sauce sat there on top of a pile of unattended tiny couscous which seemed to clump. This dish could benefit from some tweaking.
For dessert, Tom got cinnamon babka a la mode, and I had chocolate tahini mousse. I’ve wanted to try babka for a while. It reminded me of a blondie minus chocolate. The texture was dense like a blondie, but it was all cinnamon. The housemade vanilla ice cream was creamy and delicious. Tom loved this.
Recently I did an interview on the Food Show (airs 2-4 weekdays 990 AM) with Rose Berenbaum, author of The Cookie Bible, which had a recipe for chocolate cookies with tahini. I have seen this duo in other places too, and I wondered why these two ingredients would be paired. Peanut butter and chocolate cannot be improved upon! This dessert came nicely swirled in a glass with a Besh signature brittle, this time with black and white sesame seeds. Besh brittles are usually great. This wasn’t. But I loved the chocolate mousse, and the tahini was not a strong enough flavor statement to mess it up. This was good.
The service here was nothing short of exemplary. I recognized a lot of waiters from other places, so BRG had their pick of the best. Good for them. When you are the best you can get the best. This will serve them well.
We have long awaited the opening of Tavi. It’s always good to have a new eatery for us to frequent in our now small orbit. But I don’t know how frequently we will visit. I have always said I love this kind of food when I am in the mood for it, but I am not in the mood for it as much as I am American food. Tavi, like Shaya, is an excellent representation of this cuisine with its very different and assertive flavors. And the space transports you to a small cafe in Israel. It will be fun to have it around when we want to do different.
