The Best Things I Ate in Israel

Just returned from another epic trip to the Holy Land. Been three years since I'd checked in and yes, things have changed. Jerusalem is still the chaotic-lovely-congested-quiet-filthy-picturesque bag of contrasts that I love. But it's definitely gotten a bit more posh in certain areas, like the revamped "Tachanah," or Old Train Station with its industrial-cool restaurants and artisanal food market. The once-seedy Mahane Yehuda produce market is now on its way to being a cosmopolitan nosh-nexus similar to Seattle's Pike Street Market and San Fran's Ferry Building. Now amidst the stalls hawking nuts, pickles and figs there are trendy pasta restaurants and even a fish and chips place. I tried Georgian food for the fist time and was impressed with the strong flavors and hints of Eastern spices and influences. And while this trip was by no means an exhaustive tour of all that is current and trending in Israeli cuisine (I was traveling with two toddlers, meaning, I drank about a gallon of wine every night and it was a miracle my iphone was not covered in hummus and phyllo grease by the end of the trip), I was able to taste some spectacular things.

Herewith, my culinary adventures in pictures.

The menu at Azura, a Slow Food-approved spot and the first stop on my Sephardic soul food pilgrimage. It's a no-frills spot hidden inside the Mahane Yehuda market..

Nanuchka, Tel Aviv, home to Georgian cooking and funky decor.

Fantastic Khinkali - meat dumplings at Nanuchka.

Lunch at Hamotzi restaurant - owned by Avi Levy, winner of Israel's Master Chef (like Top Chef in the US).

Fried battered fish in a spicy Moroccan sauce at Homotzi.

Oh, just a little feast our Aunt Shoshana whipped up (while recovering from knee surgery no less!) consisting of homemade techina, fried eggplant, tomato salad and kubbeh soup (semolina dumplings, beets, lemon)

Fresh-pressed pomegranate juice at Mahane Yehuda market.

A salad topped with fried haloumi cheese - this one needs to make it on to the next Saffron Supper Club menu!

The beer garden and food court at the revamped Old Train Station in Jerusalem.

Epic baklava selection at the Old Train Station.

Look! Paletas in Israel.

Mushroom Foraging in the Judean Hills

Two days into 2010 and I found myself headed out into the forests surrounding Jerusalem on a cool, crisp morning with a couple of mushroom-obsessed Russians. Our guide was Boris: forest ranger, Sea of Galilee fisherman and a St. Petersburg botanist in his former Soviet life. He moved to Israel 25 years ago and quickly set about getting to know every inch of the country's national park system.

Our mission: to hunt bucketfuls of wild fungi.


We learned some fun facts about Israel's green canopy that morning. Israel is the only country in the world with more trees today then when it was established 60 years ago. That's because it had practically no trees back in the day (if left alone, the land is essentially a desert). Almost all the greenery has been planted by JNF (some of you out there may even have a few Bar and Bat Mitzvah trees named in your honor!). The soil is rocky and laced with lava (good for grape growing) and the best time to search for mushrooms is after a spell of rain. It never rains in the summer so the winter months are the best time to forage.

What does mushroom hunting entail? A morning swig of vodka. Kidding! But I think Boris had something special in his canteen. Those wacky Russians. Seriously, mushrooms are tricky little suckers to find since they look almost like rocks - pale, sand-colored, camoflauged.
And the 50-year-old couple who joined us on this excurision were super competitive at this game, popping up from the brush every few minutes with a "found one" and proudly brandishing the rust-colored caps. On this patch of land we found mostly "gingies" named for the Hebrew word for redheads due to their gorgeous orange hue. After about an hour our eyes adjusted to the terrain and we were able to suss out a few thick-stemmed beauties. Our haul for the day was probably around 5 kilos, not too bad for a few amateur hunters.

Iceberg Ice Cream, Tel Aviv

There's a tangy yogurt rennaissance going on in Tel Aviv these days.

Places like Yogo and other Pinkberry copycats are satisfying the hordes on Rothschild and Allenby. So it takes a creative ice cream place to have a line out the door on a warm December afternoon and Iceberg was it. We were impressed with the interesting flavor combinations - wild berries with taragon, mandarin orange with basil and a silky chocolate. The fruity flavors had a sorbet-like texture while the chocolate was straight up gelato-like. Next time I'm going for the espresso cardamom.

At 31 Rothschild Blvd, 03-566-1588.

Christmas in Tel Aviv

Christmas in Israel has its own spooky, ancient charm. You really feel the Jesus. Way more than you ever could standing in the front of the tree at Rockerfeller Center. Last year we were in Jerusalem around this time and while the Christian vibe is a lot stronger in the holiest city, Tel Aviv was still sporting some Christmas cheer all its own.

We spent the day walking around Old Jaffa, watched pilgrims make their way to the Anglican Church and bought a gorgeous cutting board made from repurposed wood from a young artist whose shop was ridiculously charming (will post on that soon). At around two in the afternoon we got hungry and opted for the Business Lunch at Nana Bar, a meticulously scuffed romantic spot in Neve Tzedek. The food was lovely and typical - an appetizer of eggplant "baladi" whereby a small eggplant is roasted, it's insides cooked to a smoky, creamy consistency, then topped with home made techina and tangy tomatoes. A main course of lightly fried chicken shnitzel. A half pint of beer. All for about $12. This is why I am obsessed with business lunch deals in Israel. More to come...

Druze Village Picnic

We spent a weekend in Northern Israel visiting with good friends and their new adorable baby. We needed to put some distance between us and Jerusalem and this new war which is all anyone talks about, thinks about, stresses about.
Somehow, up north, all that stuff seemed very far away (even though in Israel, you're never that far away. Gaza was maybe a 2-hour ride from us.) We stopped at a local Druze village to gather supplies for a picnic and happened upon this community market with random offerings like olives, gummy candies and faux leather boots. Naturally, we leaned towards the olives which were fantastically cured. We also indulged in some fresh made Druze pita bread which is really more like a thin crepe-like wrap and amazingly tart labneh cheese made from goats milk. Topped it off with a jar of fresh zaatar and we were ready for our hike.

Donut Action

Hanukkah is now over but we were lucky enough to be in Jerusalem for both that holiday and Christmas (which is hugely fascinating if you're Jewish and only exposed to American-style Christmas celebrations. Ain't nothing like being at midnight mass in the Old City in Jerusalem to give you a new perspective on Jesus.) One of the nicest things about being in Israel during a holiday is the food that comes along with it and for Hanukkah it's all about the donuts. But these are not your mama's Dunkin Donuts variety. I'm talking sufganiyot, deep-fried jelly donuts. Some bakeries get all fancy with Arak-flavored and caramel-filled fried buns of goodness. Needless to say, it's hard to resist the ubiquitous treats when every bakery tempts you with specimens like these.

Israel Break

Happy New Year, friends. Apologies for the lack of posting. We've been on an Israel break for the holidays. Visiting with old friends, hugging new babies, dancing at weddings, drinking tea with fresh mint and feasting on chicken wings on the Mediterranean. More updates to come, most of them involving food of course, so stay tuned.

Waltz with Bashir

If this film ever makes it to South Florida it is a must-see. The trailer blew me away.


In the tradition of A Scanner Darkly and Persepolis this animated documentary from Israeli director Ari Folman takes the viewer through surreal images and fractured memories regarding the Israeli Army’s mission during the first Lebanon War in the early 80’s. It premiered this May at Cannes 2008 to standing ovations. More info here.

Poster Girl

I've got a modest collection of vintage Israeli posters (what nerdy Zionist doesn't?) but after reading Designist Dream's kick-ass post chronicling 60 years of Israeli design, I want, nay, I must have the work of Dan Reisinger. Hello peoples, August b-day coming up soon...

Bridging the Gap

The bridge Santiago Calatrava designed at the entrance to Jerusalem will be dedicated on May 26. Harry at the stellar Jerusalemite has some great pics and a post about the design gem that Israelis have mixed opinions about (obvies. Wouldn't it be naive to expect a consensus?).

You Say Hummus, I Say Choo-moose

Noah from Tasting Menu has been giving good blog recently with some writing about Israeli restos. He's also got some drool-worthy pics (like this one) from a meal at the Armenian Tavern in Jerusalem's Old City. Here's a treatise on the wonder that is Falafel Shuki, though he may face some backlash from hard-core "Melech Ha'Falafel" (The King of the Falafel, literally) supporters. The age-old question of the best fried chick pea ball in Israel is like most conversations in Israel - infinitely arguable.

The Biggest Concrete Hallmark Card

Via Daily Candy's Valentine's Day email I hear about Send a Message whereby one can pay Palestinians living in Ramallah to spray paint messages on the separation wall for a fee (30 Euro, which is kinda steep for graffiti and 3 digital pics). I'm just really saddened by this. All of it. Even if the money goes to pay for basketball courts and laundry services it's still bittersweet. And not at all romantic. What are you going to do? Tack the photo on your fridge and pop open a bottle of champagne? Happy Valentines Day, honey. I bought you a piece of someone else's suffering.

Shilo Benaroya

Israeli firm Shilo Benaroya made Wallpaper magazine's list of 101 of the World's Most Exciting Architects. Above, their first rediential project, a house in Tel Aviv.

The Power of a Blank Page

I heard about this project via Ziva, at Designist Dream. She writes:

Missingthem.net is staging an art-inspired protest today at airports around the world calling attention to three missing Israeli soldiers - Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev and Gilad Shalit - who were kidnapped from Israel’s northern border with Lebanon and southern border with Gaza in 2006.

The soldiers have been gone a total of 560 days. The photos are poetic and heartbreaking. Most of the website is in Hebrew but people have posted from Barcelona, Munich, Milan and Paris in addition to the dozens from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport.

Jerusalem: Masaryk Restaurant

I've got a carb craving today. If only I still lived in Jerusalem's German Colony - I'd mosey on down to Masaryk for their ridiculously rich egglplant ravioli with mushroom cream sauce. Ahhh yeah...

Salad Dreaming...

I am running out to fashion fete but I wanted to leave with you something to tantalize your taste buds. Here we have a haloumi and cherry tomato salad with lemon vinaigrette dressing from Masaryk Restaurant in Jerusalem.

Israeli Blogs I love

Just discovered two Israeli blogs that I simply lurve with my beating Zionist heart. First up via Harry is his wife Ziva's beautiful Designist Dream, a blog about all the fabulous design going on in Israel. Great posts, great concept. And via Ziva's blog I find ILook about Israeli street fashion. Once again, Tel Avivans fascinate with their astonishing ability to be relentlessly fashionable. It also helps that practically everyone in Israel looks like a model. Seriously - how adorable are these two guys? Even the girls who work at the boreka bakery at the mall could double for Bar Rafeli.

Le'ela: Design Shopping in Tel Aviv

Le'ela opened as a temporary store to sell products featured in this year's Designed in Israel '07 exhibit of Israeli designers. The store was so successful it is now a permanent fixture amongst the cafes and nightclubs in the city's revamped port. Housed in the building owned by women's fashion collective Comme-Il-Faut, the store is run by Nirit Oren Sternberg and features the rising stars of Israeli's design world. The store's name is Aramaic for “the best of the best” and there are many reasons to justify the name including Talila Abraham's metal lace fruit bowls ($70) the “Og” lamp by Tal Gur and a cardboard chair by Eilon Armon. Both Gur and Armon were featured in a 2006 exhibit on Israeli designers at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum.

Le'ela
Bait Banamal, Hangar 26, Tel Aviv Harbor
054-462-7410
www.designed-in-israel.com/

Arik Ben Simhon, Tel Aviv Designer

Affluent Tel Avivans look to Arik Ben Simhon to furnish their homes with a sophisticated sensibility. One of Israel's leading designers, Ben Simhon's resume includes nightclubs (he has designed the popular night spot “Velvet”), nurseries, and working with the Florentine showroom Kastiel. His sprawling showroom features both furniture and fabric designs. Prices range according to pieces but be prepared to break out the Black Amex.

Arik Ben Simhon
27 Nachalat Binyamin
03-515-5151

Samy D Studio, Tel Aviv

From my article in InsideOut.

Samy D Studio
56 Shabazi St.
03-516-4968
SamyD_IL@hotmail.com
Ceramics stores as abundant as falafel shacks in Israel. Maybe it’s the idea of getting in touch with the earth, but there is wealth of great clay masters in Israel. Samy D, who studied industrial design in Rome and can usually be found working in the studio in the back of his quaint Neve Tzedek gallery, has managed to distinguish himself with ceramics that are both artful and functional. Inspired by marine elements, the heavy stoneware and majestic lines give the mugs and vases a regal quality. El Al airlines liked his work so much they commissioned him to create their dishes for first class. Samy’s “Kotzvim” line features mugs, kettles and bowls ($40-$800) with 14k gold plating.