Restaurant Feature: The Inbal Hotel Soup Festival

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Jan 15, 2019 | News | Other | Jerusalem & Area
Restaurant Feature: The Inbal Hotel Soup Festival

by Sybil Kaplan
Photographs by Barry A. Kaplan
The Lounge
Inbal Hotel
3 Jabotinsky
Phone 02 675 6666 or 675 6689
Hours - Sunday through Thursday, 12 noon to 10 p.m. 
Kashrut - Rabbanut Yerushalayim


Hungry for soup in this frigid weather?  Come to the Inbal Hotel Lounge for lunch or dinner, and you will be glad you came.
This is the 4th year that Chef Elkayam has created the winter Soup Festival, and it will continue until February 28.
For NIS 69, you can enjoy all you can eat of 5 soups; 6 accompaniments; noodles, croutons, soup nuts and toasted baguette pieces; 6 kinds of bread; pads of butter; and Parmesan cheese to grate.
The accompaniments include: sun-dried tomatoes, Harissa, garlic paste, black olive tapenade, green olive tapenade and pesto.
On the bitter, cold evening we came, our hosts were Bracha, the evening manager of the hotel and Ahmad, shift leader of The Lounge. 
Our first choice was Orange Soup--a combination of pumpkin, carrots, and sweet potatoes with onion, a little cream and cinnamon. This was a savory soup (which I prefer instead of sweet), pureed and smooth.
Next was Italian Minestrone--potatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, fresh tomatoes, and onions. enhanced by garlic, rosemary and thyme. My companion felt it was just a tiny bit spicy. What amazed me again, as I recalled from previous years, are the perfectly sliced vegetables. We garnished it with "noodles,"  and were happy it had stayed very hot in the serving pot.  
My companion loves mushrooms in all ways, so he loved the pureed Mushroom Soup made from all kinds of mushrooms in season in the market; added were potatoes, onions, garlic, and a little cream. For me, a non-mushroom person, I found it very well pureed and tasty.
Our next tasting was Onion Soup, like the classic French recipe, where the slivers of onions are caramelized first. Dry mushrooms, rosemary and thyme are also added. We garnished it with Parmesan cheese. we grated ourselves.
The last soup was Pea Soup, which the Sous Chef Hyman said was "all about peas"! Thick and pureed, red onion and garlic are added.
We asked Sous Chef Hyman, which is your favorite, and his response was "minestrone."
The Sous Chef also wanted us to know one more soup was not made for that night but is often served--Corn Soup, creamed or not, with fresh corn, onions, potatoes and dill. 
Against one wall of the Lounge is a glass showcase of desserts, which are available for an extra charge.
We were too full of soup to even try one!
All one can add is kol ha kavod to Chef Elkayam! On the night we came, the Lounge was very full and people were having a good time returning again and again for more soup, accompaniments and bread on this cold night.
The author and photographer were guests of the hotel.

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