Israel Trip Report

[Ore]

Ciao,

I just came back from an amazing trip in Israel. My primary reason was to visit family, especially my grandmother, but not even that can hold back a curious cook like me.

My first meal in Israel was about 12 hours after I landed in Tel Aviv. Using a few different sources as inspiration and ‘guide’ I chose Raphael in the Dan Hotel as my first adventure.

Raphael was on Rogov’s top 10 list and is the place everyone talks about – except the people who know food best.

The only memorable menu item I enjoyed was the first course which was a corn soup he called ‘fresh polenta’. It was nice and tasty. All the other dishes had some major flaw. The special yellowtail tartare we ordered was on the house because of the length it took to prepare – and we sent it back anyways because the small amount of fish that it consisted of was all the tendenous trim – that inedible chewy part of the fish - MAYBE NEXT TIME RAFI!! The chicken livers with red wine and mashed potatoes were cooked perfectly – but now where on the menu did it say PEPPER CRUSTED. There was sooo much black pepper that I tried rubbing some of it off with my napkin. Trying to cover up an off taste?? The desserts were ok – but the ice creams served were all crystallized and icy.

From the amount of praise I have heard about this place – I was truly let down. I don’t think I will give the momma’s boy another chance either. (kind of rough!!)

The next evening I went over to the Manta Ray on the beach in Tel Aviv. This place was not a fancy kind of place like the previous night but the food was straight forward and decent. I enjoyed a great sweet potato soup there with a thai influence.

After those two meals though, I lost a lot of hope for there being decent food left to taste. I switched my view to the more homey, rustic style and moved on to the ‘Schoonat Ha’ Tikva’

I good friend named Moti, a Yemenite (teymani) showed me around his ‘hood’ and took me along to eat at some of the most memorable places. For on the grill foods and foods enjoyed in a Iraqi style pita, we ate at Ceaser (Kaysar). They made a great foie gras Lafa.

For the more original Yemenite fare we ate at ‘Boaz’ or the Boaz brothers or something like that. We enjoyed a Meat Soup and Moti liked his with “extra cholesterol!!” The eating of the soup was a new and amazing food experience for me. Before we walked across the street from Moti’s house to the restaurant, he grabbed a lemon off of his tree.

We walked into the restaurant and Moti went up to see what was cooking for the day. Like I said earlier, he ordered us two meat soups with chicken.

His with the more cholesterol (thick layer of fat on the top) came out of the kitchen first, mine followed seconds later. Moti cut the lemon in half and put all the juice into the Schoog (a mixture of cilantro, hot peppers and other seasonings), stirred and added half into his soup and half into mine. Then the fresh pitas came in from next door, where they actually make the pita breads fresh to order for all the restaurants nearby. We ‘rolled up’ the pita nice and tight and let the bread soak up a nice amount of the soup, then enjoy. Once the chicken came out, we both pulled the skin off of the leg/thigh portion and Moti told me to put the whole thing into the bowl of soup.

I followed my commander’s orders and watched as he began to devour the flesh from the poor bird, using nothing but his fingers!!! There was a brief moment where we finished all the pita bread and a neighbor offered us some of her “Lachooch” – a type of pancake bread kind of thing with lots of little air holes – imagine making a large thick pancake and cutting it in half.

I quickly followed suit and before too long we were stuffed and ready to hit the road. The whole experience, with ‘Bira Schorah’ (malt beer or black beer?), cost a whopping 56 shekel for both of us. That is the equivalent of 10 Euro!!

OK,

Then I met BOAZ!!

Boaz and I met here on eGullet and he showed me a really great and amazing time (thanks!!). He picked me up one morning with his brother and we drove over to Yaffo to enjoy some Massabecha (chummus) at Abu-Chassan (or many other names aka Ali Caravan??).

That was a great way to wake up. The Massabecha is a type of chick pea dish where it is much runnier then classic chummus but you still use a pita to ‘le nagev’ or wipe the dish clean. The addition of a lemon juice and hot pepper mixture only intensifies the experience and in about ten minutes you are in and out of this place. If you come around lunchtime there will be a huge line way out the door. Total price – 18 shekel per person (3 Euro or so).

Next of with Boaz and his brother Gideon was a coffee break at Pauls’s Café in Yaffo and that was followed by some traditional sweets including these delicious delights.

and

This below is klafe (knafe?) and it is a sweet pastry filled with goats cheese – must be eaten when fresh out of the oven like we enjoyed for a super experience! The red/orange is a coloring added and is always present to help identify it quickly. The store they took me to also sold great string halva and real palestinian tchina (tahini paste).

The fresh lemonaide is a must to cut through the fat!!

and

To be continued…

Ore

[melkor]

Crap. Now I have yet another reason to plan a trip to Israel. Anyone know what the weather is like in the spring?

[Rehovot]

Someone told me spring starts in late February.

Ore, great photos and reviews! Look forward to the rest...

[Gifted Gourmet]

enjoy yourself!

Great pictures, Ore!!

[bloviatrix]

Just Thursday I was telling Blovie we're due for a trip to Israel. This further emphasizes that it's been way too long.

[docsconz]

Nice report as usual, Ore. what is the difference between "real Palestinian" tahini and other tahini?

[boaziko]

Nice report as usual, Ore. what is the difference between "real Palestinian" tahini and other tahini?

←

As I guess, it was when in the Moutraan store in Jaffa, (with the Kunafe and all sorts of Baklawa) and I was there with Ore watching various kinds of Tahini , I hope my explanation meets ore's: it is the best Tahini, and it originates from Nablus, and not like many other good or very good Tahini, that comes from other places, that are geographically in Israel (Like Nazareth).

But please, Docsconz, come and check it out.

Boaziko

Well done Ore, keep it coming/

[Swisskaese]

You can all come for my wedding in April and we can have a big eGullet Seder!!!!

[Andrew Morrison]

a thoughtful young fella named gilly sent me a piece on dining in jerusalem this morning. thought i'd share. it's an interesting, but short read. i've never been to the middle east, but the restaurant culture he describes sounds rather fascinating.

andrew

editor@waiterblog.com

http://waiterblog.com

[FoodMan]

Ore-

Thanks for sharing the experience and the photos. Everything looks awsome.

Elie

[Swisskaese]

Where is Abu-Hassan and Paul's cafe in Jaffo? You can PM me.

I have a colleague visiting here from the States and I would like to take him there on Thursday.

[boaziko]

One of the places Ore mentions, and Swisskaese is soon going to, is a nominee in

YNET and HOT (Cable TV) Israel's "Hummus King" competition:

http://my.ynet.co.il/humus

There are 42 candidates from all over the country. (I have been only to 12) My favorite is ALI KARAWAN (ABU- HASAN) in Jaffa.

The whole thing is written only in Hebrew, but there are TV clips of the places: Narration is also in Hebrew only… Pictures are of the real thing.

ALI KARAWAN (JAFFA):

http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?Cli...D=48498&ak=null

TAAMI: (Jerusalem)

http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?Cli...D=48395&ak=null

BAHADUNAS: (Ramat Gan)

http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?Cli...D=48222&ak=null

Boaziko

Edited January 18, 2005 by boaziko (log)

[Daniel Rogov]

And I, for my part, stand quite comfortably with my overall rave review of Raphael! 'Nuff said!

[Orik]

And I, for my part, stand quite comfortably with my overall rave review of Raphael! 'Nuff said!

←

Yes, it's well publicized that you're quite comfortable with your reviews (almost as well publicized as that story about Beaujolais, if you know what I mean ). The odd thing is that unless consensus already exists on a restaurant (in which case you always make sure to play along), your reviews always seemed to be completely random (this applies to your wine reviews as well) back when I lived there.

Just my opinion, of course, fwiw. (a meal at Raphael was quite ho-hum, but that was a couple of years ago, maybe things have improved)

[Ore]

Ciao,

The continuation…

After the sweets and coffee with Boaz and his brother, we went near Netanya to taste some cheeses. ****Boaz will have to jump in here and give the name and contact info if he wishes!!****

The first place was very nice. On arrival there were many peacocks and chickens roaming around, countless numbers of dogs as well! Then I noticed the pen where they kept the geese (so the geese wouldn’t devour the fresh grass!) – and the mules, the goats and lamb (varying in age from tiny to large!), then the buffalo (native to India, not the US), some Jersey cows and another type, an Indian cow, and a few horses.

There were many animals to look at and play with. The cheese made here was from the buffalo and the cows, the goats and the sheep. All the cheeses that we tasted (8 or 9!) were good, and the one that caught my taste buds was a drier (goats milk?) cheese that was wrapped and aged in a grape leaf.

These photos are of the aging room and the cheeses within.

Here is a shot of the plate that we tasted from. All were great.

Afterwards, we headed over to another cheese maker, only stopping for a nice espresso on the way. The next place was called (Boaz, help please) and it was much more of a commercialized production than the first. The cheese I liked the most here was their Gouda. It tasted very well and had a great mouthfeel. The goats milk yogurt that I tried from this place a few days later was very good as well. After the cheeses Boaz and I stopped at another shop in this kibbutz. This next shop made amazing cakes and sweets – all kosher like the cheeses we previously tasted. Boaz picked up some cakes for his family and we set back on our way for Tel-Aviv.

Now I have to back up a bit. The fun and food I enjoyed with Boaz made me skip over a few interesting notes.

The first Friday night I was in Israel (Dec. 24th), I had dinner with my uncle and his family and then with my cousin I went to one of Israel’s most awesome nighttime activities. It was a rainy night but that didn’t stop the 80 or so partiers I was with – who made the 2 ½ hour drive from Tel-Aviv to this remote desert location near the dead sea. It is a true psychedelic trance party hosted by DOOF Records – in the nature – and it was awesome.

The remote desert location in the morning.

By morning time the camels were roaming freely near our cars and you can see from the pictures how much of a remote place this was!!

On the 27th of Dec. I rented a car – a damn expensive decision but I needed some wheels! I met my friend Daniel who went to the CIA with me and we drove up together to where he was working then, Tzel Tamar and Tmarim – he was Exec. Chef of both places – near the Kineret at Kibbutz Ashdot Ya’akov.

Tzel Tamar was much more a production restaurant then a fine dining experience. In the summer time they will likely do over a thousand covers a day on the busy days. Tmarim is the sister restaurant really close to the Kineret. The backyard of Tmarim is the Jordan river and many religious people go there to take a dip in the water. Tmarim is a kosher restaurant (not my fav.) but they have an amazing taboon – or pita oven right at the entrance to the restaurant.

This oven is quite large – and resembles a wood burning oven but covering the floor of the oven are round stones – so when the pita bread goes on the stones, the perfect surface texture is achieved (Iraqi style pitas?). In about a minute the bread is ready and super delicious!!

The next day I headed over to some family at nearby Kfar Ye’Chezkel where my fathers cousin lives. Since I was a little kid I always loved going there. There once were many cows and chickens on the land but now all that the family grows are Tmarim OR dates in English. Here is a nice shot from Kfar Ye’Chezkel – and the nearby mountains.

I drove back to Tel-Aviv so the next morning I can meet up with Boaz (the first part of this story). The date with Boaz happened on Dec. 30. That night, I made my way up to Yerushalaim and had dinner with my cousin and her husband at Arcadia.

Arcadia, another one of those places on the top ten lists, was another so so experience. The cocktail offered was awesome – I remember it being something with Arak (Ouzo) and grapefruit juice – it was very yummy! The amuse was a tasty sweet potato soup – served in a cappuccino cup, also, very well. Then came out the first courses. My cousins husband had a seafood soup. It was the least appealing of all plates by look, but the best tasting. My cousin had a very pretty plate of grapefruit segments with shrimp all sitting on a very mal-prepared tart dough. I had the famous seafood stuffed pastry pocket – can’t recall the Hebrew name – but it was very dry and way to heavy on the Cumin. We enjoyed a bottle of Petite Castel (a good red wine made just outside of Yerushalaim).

A photo of Castel's barrel room. I had to make a visit!

Back to dinner at Arcadia...The main courses took soooooo long to arrive that the kitchen sent out a granita or slushy just moments before our main course arrived – maybe to wake us up!!

My cousin and her husband shared the horribly prepared steak for two. The meat was very tough, I mean shoe leather tough – and came out cold from the kitchen – what are these people doing in there!?!?! I had the special for the night…the Duck Confit – which was definitely a braise and not a confit – don’t play with my emotions like that!!

For dessert I had a sample of the three flavors of ice cream they make. All were ok but the quality was lacking – all were crystallized – not something I expected from a TOP TEN!! The coffee ice cream was rich and flavorful, leaving a trace of the rough grains used to make the ice cream. The basil ice cream was good – basily and sweet. And the spiced ice cream was my favorite of the three – it was spiced with the equivalent I am guessing of the spice blend called Ch’awa’yijj – cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg.

This meal was def. the most expensive – the way the menu was set up – you were only going to get ripped off here!! The Tasting was 150 NIS (for the two courses)– but almost every option had an extra amount to be added – jeez – I hate when places do that – just make the initial cost what it should be dammit. The three of us spent about 1,200 NIS for that meal – I WILL NOT be going back!!

Friday night was NYE – I went with a friend (who’s father once hosted a TV Show in Israel called Passport) to a party in an abandoned building. The party was actually in the underground parking lot and it was super fun!!

Cant you see how fun it was!?!

January 1st I made my way back to Yerushalaim. I went to visit my aunts and uncle and we had a big ol’ family lunch – couscous, machshi, and all the salads that go with the Tunisian way of our couscous.

Saturday night I went with a cousin to a restaurant in Yerushalaim called Link. This was a fun place with a good atmosphere and a late night 25 year old crowd – I love the Tuborg Red when it is on tap – so I had lots of that!!

Sunday night I went and ate sushi with my cousin in the old city. The place is well known and the owner also has a seaweed farm in Israel. I hope someone that has been can remind me what it was called.

(I know, I didn’t take as good of notes I usually do, but I was on vacation!!)

Monday I made my way back to Tel-Aviv and that night I met some friends at an Irish pub just behind the Dan Hotel on Rehov Ha Yarkon. The place had live Irish style music and the fish and chips were great!!

Tuesday I met up with Boaz, and this was the day that I met the rest of his lovely family. Boaz invited me to lunch at Food Art. This experience was on the much more memorable side and I would recommend this place for anyone who likes good food – at lunch time! The place is very cool looking, and offers a great lunch deal at around 75 NIS (I think). It is only open for Lunch - during the night it is a banquet hall.

The Caesar Salad was well presented and came out with a shot glass we all thought was extra dressing. Actually, it was meant to be eaten with a spoon and contained an egg yolk and other ‘caesar’ dressing stuff – very tasty!! I recall the bread being very tasty at Food Art as well.

For the appetizer I had the chicken liver pate – which was great – and for the main course a seafood soup – which was good. Some other great dishes were the Fish that Boaz had and the eggplant plate that my friend and Boaz’s wife had. The desserts were exceptional – none of that re-crystallized ice cream here – very fresh, good quality stuff – and the service was pleasant too.

I was glad I saw Boaz that day because on that upcoming Friday I was cooking a dinner party for 18 – and Boaz knew exactly where to go for all the ingredients I needed. (Thanks!)

Wednesday was spent shopping for the dinner party. It was my fathers best friends birthday so my present to him was my skill!! I set out on Wednesday with a goal – and it was achieved early Friday – once I secured everything I needed – especially the super expensive fish, that I was only able to find at the fish store of Mol Yam in the Namal of Tel-Aviv.

The dinner went extremely well. My friend Daniel came and helped me out – I needed the help in plating – and he also took care of the soup course – Miso Soup – as he was a cook at Nobu in NYC before going back to Israel (and some time at Picholine too). The best thing I thought was the pre-dessert – it was a Grapefruit and Campari Granita – and it was truly AMAZING. Everything else was awesome too but the Granita really made the night for me.

Here is a shot of Daniel and I getting started.

This is a small taste of what was in store for the 18 lucky people. In the center - a quenelle of "Bruschetta", a Tequila ceviche (the most expensive part of the whole meal), and a morocan style cigar with a mint and yogurt sauce.

After clean up I went out with my friend Ziv (NYE). After the club, we went to eat at Dixie, an all night ‘American’ food kinda place. We got there at 5.15 AM and waited about 20 minutes for a table – the place was packed!! The chicken wings were ok – they were with that Thai Sweet Chili sauce – a little played out IMHO. The hamburger I ate was amazing – the best I have had since, since too long!! By 7 AM I was home and off to bed!

That next day I went back to my family in Kfar Ye’Chezkel and ate a big meal with them. Miri made a big pot of Chameen aka Choont and it was very good. I also had some Jachnoon there (a favorite of mine) and some very spicy fish – they like spicy!

Sunday I spent the day getting ready to go back to Italy. I re-packed all my things and hung out a bit. Throughout the time I was there, I went to the beach twice or three times. The weather in Israel was great – it rained some of the days but the rest of the time was almost summer like!

I went back into the Schoonat Ha Tikva for a last Lafa – this time with kebab – it was soo good! My friend Moti taught me how to make Ch’awa’yijj – the spice blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg – in the Yemenite fashion. He says that it is almost the same spice blend for chai – except to leave out the nutmeg. I sat outside banging at the mortar and pestle for about twenty minutes before the batch Moti had me make was ready. It was good fun and boy does that stuff smell great.

The spices -

I went and had sushi in Tel-Aviv at a place called Aphrodisiac – with a friend – and the most memorable thing was the dessert – it was three deep fried balls of rice dough filled with chocolate – it was extremely tasty – and to end the night there – they offered a shot of an Israeli liquor made of hot chili peppers – that burnt going down – but left me feeling very manly!!

Tuesday I had lunch at Mol Yam – that was the last place I really wanted to eat at – and it was great. The food at Mol Yam was the best food at a TOP TEN that I ate. The lunch cost 250 NIS but it was well worth it – extremely tasty everything – and a very serious chef who had all the right techniques down for the mainly seafood restaurant.

The first dish I had was a Shrimp ravioli – but the pasta was scallops – very tasty – and very well made. The main course was the half grilled lobster – also very perfectly cooked and tasty – and the two desserts they sent out for me were great. One was a strawberry cobbler type of dessert – served in a glass – the other, that I ordered, was a chocolate and banana combo – for me, the truly Israel experience is a choko-banana ice cream bar – so I needed the chocolate and banana fix before I left.

My last night in Israel I spent with my cousin, my friend Boaz and his family and my friend Daniel and Moti. We made “al ha’ esh” (grilled) and had a wonderful time. Moti is a character – and when he gets into cooking, it is a great experience. Boaz made an awesome herb salad and brought some very good wines – Daniel brought the Tuborg Red – all in all – a very great way to end an awesome vacation.

Thanks for reading – I know this isn’t as well organized as it can be – but that just the way it is. Feel free to ask anything!!

Ciao,

Ore

(pictures are giving me probs - I may have run out of space on eGullet)

[boaziko]

Ore and all,

The first cheese maker, Zvika Kfir is located in Haniel (Moshav) in the Sharon region, 40 Kilometers (25 Miles) north of Tel Aviv.

The second cheese makers are The Jacobs Dairy Farm, in Kfar HaRoeh (a "religious" Moshav) Between Netanya and Hadera off Route 4 on Route 581 east. Shoshana's Bakery and Café was and is also in Kfar HaRoeh.

For more details: (for the Kfar HaRoeh establishments)

http://www.thesourceisrael.com/issue2/index.shtml

I hope Ore will be able to load some more of his great pictures.

Boaziko

[Ore]

BAD NEWS - My free 10 megs of picture space are up - between my bread, Italy, and the few other pics I have posted. So...what do I do now?? I don't know.

Will eGULLET sponsor a young culinarian who wants to show the world a bit more about food?

Ore

[boaziko]

BAD NEWS - My free 10 megs of picture space are up - between my bread, Italy, and the few other pics I have posted.  So...what do I do now??  I don't know. 

Will eGULLET sponsor a young culinarian who wants to show the world a bit more about food?

Ore

←

Is it possible for a fellow participating member, (with minor technical limitations) to donate a few fresh and unused megs (say 5) to a friend in need?

Baziko

[richw]

If it is permitted I would be willing to donate a few megs to support the Israel gastronomic tour here on eGullet.

[cakewalk]

Same here, if it's doable, take all my megs. I don't own a digital camera anyway.

I lived in Jerusalem for almost 20 years, and I have to say, I'm reading your post and in many spots I feel like you're describing a foreign country I have yet to visit! Wonderful!

[Pam R]

Oy! It's been too long since I've been to Israel and your reports are great - I want to go back.

We all know Israeli cheese is amazing - do you know where I can get some (fresh soft cheeses)? I have several customers who would like me to bring some in for them (we bring in an assortment of hard cheeses) but I can't seem to get them - any ideas?

[boaziko]

Oy! It's been too long since I've been to Israel and your reports are great - I want to go back.

We all know Israeli cheese is amazing - do you know where I can get some (fresh soft cheeses)?  I have several customers who would like me to bring some in for them (we bring in an assortment of hard cheeses) but I can't seem to get them - any ideas?

←

Hi Pam,

I'm not sure if that will help, but you can try with a closer look or an e-mail.

http://www.icba-israel.com/

http://www.milk.org.il/visitors/milksite/products.asp

http://www.export.gov.il/Eng/SubIndex.asp?CategoryID=124

http://www.sheep-goats.org.il/export.htm

Boaziko

[Swisskaese]

Oy! It's been too long since I've been to Israel and your reports are great - I want to go back.

We all know Israeli cheese is amazing - do you know where I can get some (fresh soft cheeses)?  I have several customers who would like me to bring some in for them (we bring in an assortment of hard cheeses) but I can't seem to get them - any ideas?

←

If you are not looking for boutique cheeses, but good cheese none the less, then you might try contacting Gad Dairies. They are still a small cheese factory that produce some nice cow, sheep and goat cheeses, soft and hard. Again, it is not like buying from some of the boutique dairies that Boaziko has suggested and mind you if the boutique dairies export, I would suggest buying from them. Gad Dairies could be your fallback.

Unfortunately, the website is only in Hebrew. www.gad-dairy.co.il

I could not find an email address on the website, but their phone and fax numbers are:

Phone: +972 -3-551-4111

Fax: +972-3-551-7961

Edited January 28, 2005 by Swisskaese (log)

[arkestra]

I live in Southern California and Gad Dairy products can be found here in several "Israeli" stores. These stores also carry "white" and cottage cheeses, as well as several yoghurt products from Strauss. I recently noticed some Yotvata products that are made in the U.S. It appears they have set up a subsidiary -- Yotvata USA, or something like that.

[Pam R]

Thanks folks.... I''ll check these out. I know my supplier in Toronto brings in some of these cheeses... but for some reason won't send them here (expiration dates or something). I'll keep trying.