Restaurants for Israel/Jordan trip

[Zingano]

We're travelling to Israel and Jordan in early November. In Israel we'll only have time to see Jerusalem, and have a night in Tel Aviv before we fly. In Jordan we should be covering a lot more ground.

What restaurants can people recommend? In Israel we're travelling alone, and would like to try a couple of top-whack places. In Jordan we're meeting up with friends, who may not share our views on how much to spend on dinner! (And one of whom is vegetarian.)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Do yourself a favor and look at Stratsplace.com by frequent eGulleter, Daniel Rogov. He is the ultimate authority around here when it comes to Israeli cuisine, as his website will attest ... and his columns in Ha'aretz cover the dining scene as well.

best restaurants, by city, in this link This is the guide I use personally.

[luchi]

We're travelling to Israel and Jordan in early November. In Israel we'll only have time to see Jerusalem, and have a night in Tel Aviv before we fly. In Jordan we should be covering a lot more ground.

What restaurants can people recommend? In Israel we're travelling alone, and would like to try a couple of top-whack places. In Jordan we're meeting up with friends, who may not share our views on how much to spend on dinner! (And one of whom is vegetarian.)

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hi zingano,

my recommendations are:

Jerusalem- the single best place in Jerusalem is ARCADIA- this is one of the best restaurants in the country. Chef Ezra Kedem cooks wonderful "Israeli" food-which means he uses fresh and seasonal ingredients and combines them with haute cuisine techniques (well-maybe "haute" is a bit of an exaggeration ).

Another recommendation in Jerusalem would be Cavalier- Chef is Didi ben harush. And he cooks fine French food-no too sophisticated but always reliable and good.

In Tel-Aviv the choice is bigger, In order of my favorites:

1)Moule-Yam- one of the most expensive restaurants in Israel. In this very modestly decorated restaurant which is situated at the Tel-Aviv port chef Yoram Nizan cooks the best sea-food in Israel. The sea food is flown regularly to the restaurant from across the world. Everything on the menu is of the highest quality both in terms of ingredients and in performance.

2)Yoezer wine bar- One of the most beautiful restaurants in Israel. Very country French cooking-Bistro like. A lot of meat, truffles, cream, butter and the like. Not a place for vegetarians.

3. Carmela banahala- A beautiful restaurant with intresting food-very variable.

4. Chimichanga- designated as "Santa fe cuisine"- a very good restaurant with what you might call American-mexican cuisine. one of the single restaurants serving this cuisine in Israel.

Hope this is enough for now.

Of course the recommendation about Rogov`s site is well in place- he is one of the more knowledgeable and respected food and wine critics in Israel (although I would disagree with him from time to time).

[Daniel Rogov]

I thank all for the kind words. As to Luchi disagreeing with me from time to time....there can be no more legitimate statement. Thinking people never agree with critics all of the time! The critic who claims to be infallible is a shlemazel (and believe me, being a shemazel is one firm step below being a shlemeil).

[luchi]

I thank all for the kind words.  As to Luchi disagreeing with me from time to time....there can be no more legitimate statement. Thinking people never agree with critics all of the time! The critic who claims to be infallible is a shlemazel (and believe me, being a shemazel is one firm step below being a shlemeil).

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Ooops….

Let me rephrase that –Rogov is The Most knowelgable and respected food and wine critic in Israel.

Rogov, I was very gald to see you had the time to read and respond to my posting. So i would use the chance given here and try to elaborate on my differing.

As to me disagreeing with your very educated rating, this is the list I would have composed of the very best restaurants in Israel:

1)Moule-Yam for its accurate and uncompromising cuisine.

2)Arcdia – for its pioneering spirit which changed the culinary map of Israel ten years ago. I think that what Ezra Kedem`s Arcadia did in Israel equals the doing of Alice waters` chez Panise in American cuisine. And for insisting on staying in Jerusalem when all odds were against him. Every time I eat there I get excited.(and not because of my noexisting nationalistic feeling

3)Catit -One of the few restaurants in Israel which tries to create Israeli haute cuisine (or at least semi-haute cuisine).

4)Yoe`zer wine bar -This is no casual restaurant for Israelis both price-wise and cook-wise. Very accurate and admirable attempt to create simple French bistro cooking. "Old school" cooking without compromise-and that’s a thing not easily found or done in Israel.

5)Carmela ba nahala - because its simply delicious

6)Chloelys -because of what Victor gloger does with fish, and because of the deserts.

7)Barcarola -because of the zeal and innovations of the young chefs there which I think created a striking and superb cuisine after the departure of Itay shalev. This is no longer Itay Shalev`s cooking

8)Raphael - I rate this highly regarded restaurant quite low here because all my experiences there were bad to say the least. In my last visit there a week ago we were served the wine we ordered after we had finished our first course. The food was very uninventive and poorly executed. The only two good things I have to say about this restaurant are that it is beautifully decorated and that they make one damn good foccacia.

9)Chimichanga -This one in my opinion is also not a casual restaurant by Israeli standards. Avi conforti makes a very creative, Intense and lively cuisine. Not like anything seen in Israel. I think were this restaurant situated in the US in might have been considered casual. But in Israel it offers a variety of tastes and textures not readily available or known to Israelis. And of course everything is done accurately and professionally (which is also not a banal achievement in Israel).

10)As to the other ratings of Rogov: Arania was amazing but is now sadly closed. The experiences I had in both Orca and Artichoke are too traumatic to recall. Although I can remember one as the worst meal I ever had in a restaurant.And I would regard Odeon as a casual "American Bistro"-even though I don`t deny it being good.

Ok-so these are my comment in regard to Rogov`s rating. I`m not sure if that’s what u expected but I hope this gives you a picture of where I disagree with Rogov.

I would welcome comments about my rating and esspecialy of course from Rogov.

[Daniel Rogov]

Luchi, Hi...

We are in full agreement about Moul Yam, Arcadia, Catit, Carmela ba Nachala, Cholelys, Odeon and the now departed Arania.

Our disagreements about Yo'ezer and Chimichanga are not about their culinary value but about their categorization. I use the term "casual" in the sense of "laid back". Perhaps that clarifies a bit. Perhaps my problem is that in the use of that term, I am not being "Israeli enough"....that is to say, measuring more on the international scale that I expect/home restaurant to meet.

Our disagreements about Raphael and Artichoke are more basic – relating to the quality of the cuisine and more. For the moment at least, I'll stand with my evaluations but of course respect yours as well. I will be revisiting both in the next month or two and will of course write my reactions in HaAretz.

I cannot comment intelligently on Barcarola at this point as I have not re-visited since Itay Shalev wandered off, as Itay Shalev is prone to do. I really must get back there to visit but somehow Kfar Saba does seem about 1/3 kilometer from the end of the known universe.

What the heck…..we're not that far apart in most of our comments.

[Sweet Willie]

will be in Jersalem in a couple months. We are interested in the cooking of the region. restaurant suggestions for a local's meal would be appreciated? i.e. what do the locals eat?

[Daniel Rogov]

Willie, Hi

I'm not quite sure how to answer your question. If you want to know what the locals eat - simple enough - we eat pretty much the same things that you would be eating in New York, Paris, San Francisco, Verona, Vienna and Barcelona. Jerusalem has its fair share of French and Italian restaurants, fsh and sea-food emporiums, steak house, cafes, tapas bars, even wine bars. We even have many of the same fast food joints that you'll find in those cities.

On the other hand, if you want to dine on Middle-Eastern food, well that's quite a different story. Give me a clue and I'll try to help.