BDSM RTV MEDIA NEWS!!!!



11 may 2010




Dining Out / Whipping up an appetite for the Dungeon



Source: www.haaretz.com  - Haaretz - Israel


ISRAEL--JAFFA--Jaffa's recently opened Dungeon calls to mind the world of BDSM - bondage, domination and sadomasochism. The location is something of a natural for in the same building as the restaurant is a BDSM members' club where a diverse range of sexual activities in these themes is indulged.


Concept or theme restaurants are built around a gimmick that attracts people to enjoy not only the food but the atmosphere created. One such in EuroDisney recalls 19th century Mississippi gambling boats. A well-known New Orleans eatery celebrates the famous whorehouses of the city, and another in Charleston, South Carolina, has a luxury theme of the antebellum South.

Jaffa's recently opened Dungeon calls to mind the world of BDSM - bondage, domination and sadomasochism. The location is something of a natural for in the same building as the restaurant is a BDSM members' club where a diverse range of sexual activities in these themes is indulged.

Alas, despite a dank and almost sweaty smell permeating the restaurant's heavy stone walls, a few niches sporting mannequins dressed in sadomasochist costumes, and a few leather handcuffs and implements of minor torture attached to the walls, the effect is not quite compelling. Perhaps what's missing is a few tape-recorded screams. The only true touch of sexuality is not the instruments of pain or pleasure, but in the not-quite pornographic - and actually quite appealing - erotic photographs under glass on the heavy tables.

I had come not to dominate or be dominated but to dine, but found this was not quite so simple. Attempts to call for reservations came to naught - all I got was an answering service and my request for a callback went unheeded. Fortunately, when I got there I had no problem being seated.

Whims are off
Ordering dinner seemed simple enough - the waitress enthusiastically approved my choice of fried risotto balls and fettuccine with seafood. Alas, that also was too simple to be true, for a few moments later she was back, clad in her black imitation leather French maid's costume - not to submit to my whims, but merely to inform me that the dishes were off.
When I finally managed to find out what was available, what arrived was quite good. I tried two of the first courses, the first being lightly pickled sardines on a bed of baby leaves. Fresh, just salty enough, and with the salad treated to a well-made vinaigrette sauce, the dish was most rewarding.

From there I went on to sample the beef carpaccio. Cut in tissue thin slices from fine fillet of beef, set on a bed of arugula and topped with coarse salt, shreds of well-aged cheese and sprinkled over with lemon juice and olive oil, this dish was also quite good.

What was somewhat disappointing was the rather ordinary dark bread, the kind that comes pre-sliced in packages and had a hint of staleness, despite being toasted. As a main course, I opted for shrimps that had been first boiled and then tossed with sauteed mushrooms, with a pleasant white wine and cream sauce. The shrimps were crisp and full of flavor and the sauce was well executed.

The wine list is poor but there is a large variety of draught beers. I opted for dark Czech Krusovice beer - full-bodied, with a clear flavor of hops, and a treat.

When Dungeon opened less than two months ago, young chef Yuval Rosenan devoted himself to a somewhat more formal but thoroughly modern French cuisine. It seems this was not what the BDSM crowd and those who want to associate with them want, so the decision was made to switch to less complex and less expensive dishes.

Based on either of the first courses and a main course such as I tried, the food bill will come to a reasonable NIS 90, to which a large draught beer will add NIS 22. The chef is doing a good job and the prices are reasonable. However, unless a good deal more effort is put into organization and service, I guess the only reason I would return would be if I decided to adopt a sadomasochistic life-style.

Dungeon: Kikar Kedumim 14, Old Jaffa. Open Tues-Sat 20:00-03:00. Tel 03-5460927.