An artist with a lovely house unfortunately does not guarantee good food

At the end of our first full day in Jerusalem, we were looking forward to a good dinner and to exploring a different part of town. So we headed for downtown and the dining establishment known in town as Bet Ticho (House of the Tichos). For some inexplicable reason, Fodor's decided to call it Little Jerusalem in English, which confused the heck out of us and our cab driver. But we arrived nonetheless.

The setting was spectacular. Nestled in the backyard of the artist's large estate, the dining room unfolded on two large patios, with additional greenery behind. This night, also, there was live jazz playing in the background. We were excited to build from our good dinner the night before.

Like I said, we were excited, especially my dad when we received this gargantuan cheese plate. It had a fresh feta, several kinds of goat cheese, a cubed cheese salad, and a soft cheese with chopped olives and red peppers. The cheeses were nice and the accompanying bread hot and delicious. My personal favorite was the soft cheese, as the olives added a delightful tang to the cheese's softness.

Another appetizer we tried was the onion soup in a bread bowl. Much like French onion soup but without the crouton and cheese topping, this soup was just ok. First off, it was mouth-scaldingly hot, taking a good ten minutes to cool down to an eatable temperature. Second, it was just a bit bland, with onions and some of the grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled in. A variation on French onion not as successful as the original.

As my main, I had the salmon "rubiliak," which was a puff pastry stuffed with salmon, rice, and mushrooms. It, sadly, was also mediocre. Certainly filling, it nonetheless provided little flavor and seemed to be just a mix of overcooked salmon, plain-ish rice, and decent mushrooms. I did not come close to finishing it and that was fine by me.

My parents had equally disappointing mains. My mom opted for a mushroom strudel that looked highly similar to my salmon dish, and was essentially a plate of sautéed mushrooms. My dad got something so covered in creamy sauce it was hard to even tell what was underneath.

So, our high hopes were not met. Great surroundings let down, way down, by mediocre and overly heavy food.