The Royal Excursion

Fresh Produce (can make a girl very happy)

2010-12-11T14:42:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we went shopping at the Carmel Market in preparation for Friday night dinner with friends. We barely food shop there since our move to north Tel Aviv, instead preferring to shop at our local grocer. We shopped, grabbed a quick lunch and walked home in the rain: the beginning of a perfect Friday.

HOLON DESIGN MUSEUM

2010-12-07T18:40:00.000+02:00

We have meant to go to the Holon Design Museum for some time since it opened earlier this year, but somehow it took us until now to get there. So... we hit the road over the weekend to take a look at the Ron Arad designed structure. The orange-toned building really stood out in the gloomy Holon landscape and is quite impressive from afar. Alas, the moment we looked closely it was obvious that the building was poorly crafted and we imagined an overwhelmed construction crew who could barely piece together the architectural details. The exhibitions though were quite impressive and it's nice to know that there is a local museum interested in displaying the likes of Issey Miyake (love!) in an exhibition entitled, Mechanical Fashion. Our final thoughts: there's a new design museum in town only 20 minutes away from Tel Aviv and afterwards we can always stop for hummus in Yaffo. We'll be back...

Weekending around Tel Aviv

2010-12-05T15:19:00.000+02:00

Saturday was a gorgeous day and we took some time to take a quick peek at the Tel Aviv port.

thanksgiving.

2010-12-01T18:32:00.000+02:00

Earlier this week we finished the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers and were feeling grateful for the wonderful people we shared our holiday with.

A Foreign Beauty

2010-11-29T09:40:00.002+02:00

This article, about unibrow appreciation in Tajikistan sent us on a stroll through memory lane to the August before last (2009), where we were trudging through enchanting Uzbekistan. While strolling through a morning market the charming lady below offered to enhance Rena's beauty by applying the must-have unibrow. Rena politely declined as she was not sure how she would remove it (we were traveling sans makeup remover). Throughout Central Asia the unibrow is considered tres chic. We think it's beautiful too. Next time we're offered a local beauty tip, we'll take it!

NY EAT TREATS

2010-11-28T22:45:00.002+02:00

And a quick recount of some of the New York food related goodies we enjoyed: breakfast at Sarabeth's, some quick shopping at Citarella and Fairway, morning coffee at Sweetleaf Long Island City, hot chocolate at the City Bakery, afternoon coffee at the Ace Hotel, Jacques Torres spicy hot cocoa at the Chelsea Market, a yummy organic vegan lunch at Angelica Kitchen and (maybe the culinary highlight of our trip) pumpkin muffins at Van Leeuwen in Greenpoint.

Snapshots of our NY

2010-11-28T15:14:00.004+02:00

A trip to our hometown was just what the doctor ordered after this never ending Tel Aviv summer. It was a much needed glimpse into the beginnings of winter and gave us a chance to catch up with some of our old favorite spots. We spent a rainy morning at the Morgan Library and did a proper museum catch-up at the Moma, Cooper Hewitt, PS1, the NY Public Library, etc... At some point we got museumed-out, and the shopping began. We visited the newly renovated Lincoln Center and spent an afternoon of wanderings around Chelsea which would be incomplete without a dip into the Chelsea Market and a stroll on the Highline. In short, it was divine. We will return...

And we're back.

2010-11-17T18:28:00.000+02:00

So... it's been a while. We took a little blogging hiatus and we apologize, but we had to, we needed the break. But, we have returned, fresh off the plane from New York and we promise to catch you up on what we've been up to.

Things our nephew collects

2010-09-10T10:53:00.000+03:00

Apparently Gogo's Crazy Bones (gogos) have been the craze since the 90's (where have we been?) and our nephew has recently become an adamant collector (see here). Aren't they pretty? We just might start a collection of our own...

Today's treats

2010-09-05T19:15:00.002+03:00

An oatmeal cookie @ Bakery (wheat free!) and a coffee @ Cafe Marsand.

What We're Cooking @ The Royal Kitchen...

2010-09-04T16:13:00.001+03:00

We made Kim Chi!

Northern Eats

2010-09-04T10:46:00.004+03:00

Whenever we go up north, we find that there are really only two options for eating out. We ignore all those "wannabe-south-of-France-home-in-the-countryside-style" restaurants that usually serve sub-par uninspiring dishes with elaborate names and instead go for either local Arab restaurants or Uri Buri.

The first option can be found everywhere around the Carmel, Galilee and Golan mountains. In recent years the simple highway hummus/kebab joints have made some changes to their menus, and some now serve traditional vegetable and meat stews and incorporate local herbs and spices found in the mountains. Perhaps one of the best (and also the most famous) of these spots is El-Babur, a family owned restaurant from Um-el-Fahem, that now has a new and tacky branch in Yokneam. The food, unlike the decor, is absolutely amazing. They offer a large variety of traditional salads such as garlicky cauliflower in tahini, labane goat cheese with mustard grains, finely chopped tabulleh salad with pomegranate seeds, the list goes on... Their kubbeh is one of the best in the country, fresh, tasty and with a pinch of cardamon that really gives it an interesting kick. We also ordered delicious sauteed chicory and okra in tomato sauce. The El-Babur kebab is their specialty, made from ground lamb cutlets, baked in spicy tomato sauce in a hot oven covered in a lid of bread. Top it off with some sweet yet refined knaffe, some black Turkish coffee and you're good to go....

The kubbeh

Sauteed chicory and onion

El Babur
Star of Yokneam Mall
Yokneam Intersection
tel 04 9891619

If we don't want to stuff our faces with endless arab mezze, we head up to Akko (Acre), have a quick go through the historical sites and head straight to Uri Buri. Uri Yermias, a fisherman with a long white beard and mustache is a self taught chef who creates miracles in the kitchen with fish and seafood. The fish are seasonal and the dishes are precise. For starters, thai fish soup in a coconut milk base (pic here) was a favorite dish. It had just the right amount of spice but still maintained a delicate feel with seasonal fresh sea food. An appetizer of baby St. Peter's fish fillets (pic here) was the perfect blend of a sweet Asian flavoring and tangy pickled beetroot. The smoked forell was rich with smoky flavor and served with baked root vegetable and tangy sauce. The grilled amberjack was simple, but grilled exactly to make it crisp and tender at the same time. Even the gluten free bread, made of almonds, was fantastic. A stroll around Akko, with it's beautiful alleys and ancient monuments is always even better after a meal at Uri Buri, so far we think it's the best fish restaurant in the country.

Smoked forrel with baked rot vegetables

Grilled amberjack

Uri Buri
Ha'Hagana (Lighthouse square), in the old city
Akko
tel 04 9552212

Weekend #2

2010-08-22T16:11:00.002+03:00

It was decided that we were to go away up North for the weekend, yet again (this is starting to become a pattern we can get used to). On Friday we spent some time in Akko. We wandered around the old city, saw the Khan El Umdan, entered the Templar Crusader Tunnel, visited the port and had an excellent seaside dinner at Uri Buri and bought his cookbook of course.

The clock tower above the Khan El Umdan.

Docked fishing boats at the port

Fishing

The top of St. John Church.

The next day we were joined by our dear friend N and traveled to Nazareth (we had such a great time the week before that we had to return). This time we came a little earlier on in the day so we could explore the market. There were all kinds of shops, many selling kitchen ware, but this perfume shop caught our eye.

Since a trip to Nazareth is never complete without indulging in some sweet oriental dessert we had to sample the divine knafeh at El Muchtar Sweets (we thought it was better than the knafeh at Mahroum Sweets that we tried last week). But to be fair, we don't think you can go wrong with knafeh anywhere in Nazareth, the capital of sweets.

We soaked in the landscapes...

... and drove around finally reaching Zichron Ya'akov. We decided to drop by the city cemetery and pay a visit N's grandfather, one of the founders of the city. Our weekend of northern indulgence culminated at dinner in El Babur and before we knew it we were on our way back to Tel Aviv.

El Muchtar Sweets
Toufik Ziad Road
tel 04 6556027
(there's another branch on Paulus the Sixth Street tel 04 646 1661/2)

Northern Churches

2010-08-22T12:36:00.000+03:00

When up North, we made sure to see some churches and visited the Muhraq Monestary in Daliat el Carmel, with its great rooftop views, and the Church of Annunciation in Nazareth, a must for its spectacular interior.

A Weekend North

2010-08-17T16:26:00.002+03:00

It was time to spend some time away from Tel Aviv and a weekend up north was just what we needed. We had a house all to ourselves in Zichron Ya'akov (thanks to our friends who had gone away and left it to us). We spent our time enjoying the late summer landscapes, wandering through Nazareth, visiting churches and candy stores (we bought some Syrian chocolate and black tehini), eating a lot of Galilee mezze (of course) and breaking for knafeh and other Ramadan treats as much as possible.

Summer in the North
Dinner in Ayn Hawd.

Mahroum Sweets, the best place in Nazareth to pick up some knafeh and other oriental treats.

Baklava!

Off the highway.

Fahoum Coffee Shop

Syrian Chocolate

Nahalal, the concentrically circled moshav by architect Richard Kauffman.

Weekend Getaway

2010-08-15T16:28:00.000+03:00

We decided to take a little trip up North for the weekend. More to come soon...

Morning Coffee #5

2010-08-12T12:29:00.000+03:00

Today's coffee @ Bakery (the cafe/bakery next to Brasserie).

Bakery
70 Ibn Gvirol
Tel Aviv
tel 03 6967111

It's definitely summer...

2010-08-11T11:44:00.000+03:00

Morning Coffee #4

2010-08-09T08:22:00.003+03:00

Today's morning coffee @ Hemda.

Hemda
חמדה עוגות
109 Ibn Gvirol
Tel Aviv
tel 074 7024664

Origami Birthday Box

2010-08-08T14:24:00.003+03:00

On Friday we made marshmallows! The were so were so delicate and white that we had to make a box to put them in. Tom has been an origami addict since childhood and has accumulated quite the collection of origami paper. Whenever we're in Japan we restock (I believe a trip is in order as we used up most of our reds for this box). We chose some paper and started folding... and soon thereafter VOILA! Stuffed with marshmallows, it made a perfect birthday present for our dear friend N.

Morning Coffee #3

2010-08-06T15:55:00.001+03:00

Today's morning coffee @ Kaymak.

Kaymak
49 Lewinsky st.
Lewinsky Market (Shuk Levinsky)
Tel Aviv

Caravan Inn

2010-08-05T15:07:00.003+03:00

Often when we visit Jerusalem we make our way to Abu Gosh for some simple no-nonsense local food. By local food we mean, hummus, pita and all the yummy stuff on the menu that comes in between like kubbeh (a fried croquette made from a bulgur shell stuffed with minced beef or lamb), and siniya (a tehihi and ground meat casserole). Every Israeli has their favorite place to go for hummus etc. and ours (in Jerusalem) is Carvan Inn. Tom's father has been eating there since the 1960's and it has become family custom to meet there for dinner whenever some of us are in the neighborhood. They have delicious kebabs and stuffed vegetables and Turkish coffee and baklava are on the house.

Kubbeh

Grilled Pita with Zatar

Hummus and Kubbeh

Siniya

Meat Kebabs and Majadera (rice and lentils)

Caravan Inn
27 Derech Hashalom
Abu Gosh
Jerusalem
tel 02 5342744

Things we make at home

2010-08-04T21:14:00.000+03:00

We made some Summer Pea Soup. Check out what we're cooking on The Royal Kitchen.

The New Israel Museum

2010-08-03T23:42:00.001+03:00

Here are some more photos from the new Israel Museum now open to the public. We warmly recommend, especially for the very contemporary curating.

The newly constructed Entrance Pavilion.

The Entrance Pavilion and Museum Shop.

The new hall of passage.

Some works we managed to capture at the Still/Moving exhibition. We snapped away (although it was forbidden). Works by Olafur Eliasson and Junya Ishigami.

Anish Kapoor @ The Israel Museum

2010-08-02T23:38:00.000+03:00

We took a Saturday trip to Jerusalem to see the newly renovated Israel Museum and the newly commissioned site specific, Anish Kapoor sculpture, Turning The World Upside Down, Jerusalem. Its made of polished stainless steel, stands 5 meters high and reflects an inverted image of the museum and the surrounding hills. More on our museum visit soon...

Morning Coffee #2

2010-08-02T22:55:00.001+03:00

Today's morning coffee @ Hatachtit.

Hatachtit
9 Lincoln st.
Tel Aviv
tel 03 5618759 / 057 9378649

Nanuchka

2010-08-01T15:23:00.009+03:00

For many years, Nanuchka has been one of Tel-Aviv's much celebrated restaurant-bars. The hazy atmosphere, beautifully eclectic/quirky interior, electronic music, together with excellent Georgian dishes (and Georgian wine!), made us all feel proud of the Great Bubble in which we live. Unfortunately, they moved and their new location just doesn't live up to the former charm.

As another turn-of-the-century building made way for a glass tower, Nanuchka was forced to relocate. Going to Nanauchka's used to feel like eating at Grandma's, albeit a super-cool Grandma. Now it doesn't feel like much at all. Let's just say, Grandma's furniture doesn't really go in the new living room... The place suffers from bad spacial planning, destructive lighting and boring back garden. Add this to the suburban family crowd, who only recently heard yesterday's news and we were not pleased.
On the other hand, the food is still delicious. After passing the noisy "food court" we were seated to our overly lit table at the back garden. For starters we ordered the Pkhali, a large and delicious dish of Georgian antipasti (walnut salads, pickles, and stuffed vine leaves). We also ordered a Farmer's Salad with a warm and mouth-watering cornbread filled with salty cheese. The main dish of Lamb Ossobuco in White Bean Stew, was not to fatty, and had a wonderful tangy-ness, and the Eggplant with Goat Cheese, Yogurt and Tomato Sauce was simple but flavorful. An all time favorite desert, the Churchkhela, walnuts wrapped in hard grape jelly, was fabulous and as tasty as you find it on the sideways outside of Tbilisi (we know because we've been there).
It was VERY hard for us to ignore the poor aesthetic choices of the new location. This made it difficult for us to enjoy our meal. But as we are big suckers for Georgian food we'll just have to return and keep our eyes closed.

Pkhali

Lamb Ossobuco

Eggplant with Goat Cheese

Churchkhela

Nanuchka
28 Lilenbloom street
Tel Aviv
tel 03 5162254

Tel Aviv in the Summer

2010-07-30T22:33:00.000+03:00

It's been a terribly hot week and we've mostly stayed indoors, hibernating with the air-con on full blast. We've managed to come out of our concrete shell for some early morning trips to the beach, afternoon drinks and the occasional dinner with friends (once the sun has set). These hot and humid Tel Aviv summers are not easy to handle, we could never do it without our trusty sun hat, favorite sunglasses, Avene sunscreen and flip flops.

Rothschild 12

2010-07-29T12:29:00.000+03:00

We think the perfect time for a drink is late afternoon. There is something very luxurious about having a cocktail mid-day in the summer time (when we should be at work). Yesterday, we went out for drinks with D and had a lovely time at Rothschild 12, a bar/ night music hot spot by the owners of Brasserie-Coffee Bar fame. Next time we will try their food menu.

Rothschild 12
Rothschild 12
Tel Aviv
tel 03 5106430

Morning Coffee #1

2010-07-28T23:29:00.002+03:00

Took our morning coffee at Taza D'oro, a favorite cafe from our former neighborhood, Neve Tzedek.

Tazza D'oro
6 Ahad Ha'am st.
Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv
tel 03 5166329

We are beaching...

2010-07-26T15:03:00.001+03:00

and building a castle.

A Peaceful Morning...

2010-07-23T10:11:00.001+03:00

Cafe Mersand

2010-07-22T13:07:00.002+03:00

We met J for breakfast at Cafe Mersand, one of our favorite places to sit for coffee in Tel Aviv. Mersand has been around since the 1950's and has a loyal clientele who have been sitting here since then. They changed ownership a couple of years ago and we love their logo designed by Hatayas. This was not our first time writing them up as we have briefly reviewed them before. This time around we had a Turkish Breakfast which was delicious. A small bowl of couscous, hard boiled egg, hummus, green olives, labane cheese, whole wheat bread and shredded halva (super sweet and super good).

Mersand
Frishman 18 (the corner of Ben Yehuda)
Tel Aviv
tel 03 5234318

Fashion Dept. Graduate Exhibition @ Shenkar

2010-07-22T00:04:00.001+03:00

The Shenkar Fashion Department is maybe Shenkar's best known department and is most famous for producing Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz (class of '88). At the Graduate Exhibition 2010 we found the collections to be not as impressive as their sister exhibitions in Textile Design and Jewelry Design. Still though, their were a couple of projects worth sharing. Many of the collections focused on the details: the sleeve, the knot, the pleat, the jewelry.

The Sleeve: A jacket caught our eye from Annat Meshulam's collection For Dust Thou Art, and Unto Dust Shalt Thou Return. We are always on the lookout for a good jacket and this one, wool and beige, was beautifully constructed with sleeves coated in crumbling plaster.

The sleeve from the collection. More photos here and here.

The Knot: Lately we've been tying the bottoms of our long dresses into big knots and wearing them shorter for summer (by we I mean Rena, the dress wearing half of the two of us). So naturally, we were attracted to Omer Poizner's collection The Virgin which was filled with lots of large knots.

The Pleat: Meytal Shaul's collection Black Swan White Swan showcased a lovely black and white tie dyed pleated dress. Another photo here.

The Jewelry: Local Elegance by Yael Keila-Sagi's featured a summer dress with a richly detailed neckline: off-white rope coiled around a large flat stone with found turquoise jewelry. Another photo here.

Textile Dept. Graduate Exhibition @ Shenkar

2010-07-21T17:07:00.002+03:00

At the opening of the Shenkar College Graduate Exhibition 2010 we were fascinated by the variety of works produced by Textile Design graduates. Each individual project completely differed from the next. The variety of fabrics and techniques was quite astounding. It's been a while since we saw textiles this beautiful. We wish some of this vibrancy would leak into the local Tel Aviv fashion scene, where print, color and texture are a rare find. Somehow everyone seems to love their black/grey/white cotton monotones season after season...

This piece by Meytal Tzabary really caught our eye. The incorporation of the pastel crochet into the fabric with all the loose threads was eye-catching.

This series of blue and white geometric prints by Tali Zelnik could easily be made into a dress.

These hanging silk fabrics had various other materials embedded into them like pressed dried flowers. More photos of this series here and here and here.

This series of woven silk/cotton had feathers woven within. More photos here.

We found this pattern of black line drawings infused with bright colors by Lital Gold, striking. We love a good pattern for spring/summer. Another print from this series here.

The Jewlery Dept. Graduate Exhibition @ Shenkar

2010-07-21T16:11:00.004+03:00

When we go to design school exhibitions it's often the most fun to poke into the jewelry department first. We don't wear a lot of jewelry on a day to day basis, but jewelry projects are small and ready to wear. Hypothetically, you could take the jewelry out of the display and slip it on immediately. But mostly, we just ogle the display and make a mental note to rummage through the boxes of jewelry in our closet. The Jewelry Design projects at the Shenkar Graduate Exhibition did not disappoint. The projects varied in materials from wood and feathers to felt and gold and the projects were shown beautifully in display cases made from stacked styrofoam bases covered by glass tops. We were impressed by the marketability of many of the pieces. We could easily see them being sold at boutiques around town. There are still 9 days to go until the exhibition closes.... it's open to the public and we recommend.

A dress clasp by Shanny Alon. Carved wood fitted with internal gold clasps.

Necklace by Moran Moshinski.

A very furry necklace from The Furry Tales collection by Yarin Bylica. More photos of the collection here.

This ring by Dikla Rozen reminded us of this Dr. Seuss character. More photos of her collection here.

We loved this headband by Tal Barouch. It differs nicely from on the many headbands we've seen the past couple of seasons.

Felt Follows Form by Hanan Kedmi was one of the more playful and conceptual collections. The use of brightly colored felt embedded with computer parts was super cute. More pics here and here.

Shenkar Graduate Exhibition 2010

2010-07-18T16:20:00.004+03:00

We went to the opening of the Shenkar College Graduate Exhibition 2010 (here's the exhibition info in English) with D and were surprisingly impressed with this year's line up of graduate design works. More to come soon...

Volunteer Work in Haiti

2010-07-16T14:35:00.004+03:00

Our sister L and her husband Y are currently volunteering in Haiti with Tevel b'Tzedek (IsraAid). They sent us some photos of the refugee camp in Port-au-Prince and we had to share.

The refuge camp at night in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The children at school. (The work they are doing includes checking in on the schools supported by TBT-Israid to see how the children are doing. The students just got their first report cards since the earthquake.)

photos by Irina Polak

Cafe Tamar

2010-07-14T11:49:00.003+03:00

Cafe Tamar has been around the Tel Aviv cafe scene since the 50's and has been serving the bohemian art and literary set ever since. Now, you can since next little old ladies with done-up hair and the occasional actor/poet, while the mythological Sara Stern serves you coffee, the way it used to be.

An americano coffee and a tuna salad

Sara behind the cash register

Cafe Tamar
57 Shenkin street (the corner of Echad Ha'am street)
Tel Aviv
tel 03 685237

Snapshot of Tel Aviv

2010-07-13T14:23:00.004+03:00

Northern Ibn Gvirol

We too watched the game!

2010-07-13T00:12:00.000+03:00

Elkali

2010-07-11T17:20:00.001+03:00

Another morning coffee (with a side of work).

Elkali
Elkali 1 (off of Basel Square)
tel 03 5440795

Pistachio Cherry Trifle

2010-07-11T17:02:00.007+03:00

It's CHERRY SEASON! We were invited to a small dinner party where the guests all cooked a number of small dishes each. We thought it best to make a smaller dessert, since we could not imagine having enough room in our stomachs to eat an entire tart after the feast (or maybe we could, so it's best we did this instead). Dorie Greenspan had us salivating over Pierre Herme's Streusel Tart with Pistachios and Cherries from The Cook's Book. This served as our inspiration as we decided to deconstruct the dessert and turn a tart recipe into a trifle recipe.

Well, the original recipe called for a pastry tart filled with almond pistachio cream and cherries and topped with an almond streusel. We applied our architects' mind, developed over many years of intense study and carefully crafted individual pistachio cherry trifles.

See the recipe after the jump.

Individual Pistachio Cherry Trifles serves eight in tall shot glasses

Ingredients
For the Cherry Syrup
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted
1 red hot chili, chopped
3 cardamom pods
1/2 cup cherry wine
1/3 cup whiskey

For the Pistachio Crumble
1 1/2 tbs butter, at room temperature
1/4 cupgranulated sugar
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup ground pistachios
3 1/2 tbs pastry flour
Pinch of ground cardamom
Pinch of salt

For the Pistachio Cream
1/2 cup skinned pistachios
2 drops pure almond extract
1 cup crème fraiche
2 tbs confectioners sugar

The Recipe
For the Cherries in Syrup
Pit the cherries (it's really handy to have a cherry pitter, but since we don't, we did it by hand and were left with purple stained fingers to prove it). Transfer the cherries to a pot. Add the chopped chili, cardamom pods, cherry wine and whiskey and bring to a boil. Lower the flame and let simmer for 45 minutes until the mixture begins to thicken, resembling a syrup. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

For the Pistachio Crumble
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Butter a 10 inch square baking pan. Combine the butter, sugar, ground almonds, ground pistachios, flour, ground cardamom and salt in a blender, pulsing a few times until the ingredients are incorporated. Place the crumble in a baking pan and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool.

For the Pistachio Cream
Pound the pistachios with the almond extract in a mortar with a pestle until they form a paste (work those muscles girl!). Add the paste and the confectioners sugar into the crème fraiche and mix well.

To assemble the individual trifles: layer 2 tbs of pistachio crumble, followed by a dollop of pistachio cream and top with 2 tbs of cherries in syrup.

Cafe Michal

2010-07-11T00:06:00.001+03:00

Went out to brunch with R and I to Cafe Michal, a local cafe in our neighborhood. They always have the prettiest flowers, but their location is a bit noisy.

Cafe Michal
230 Dizengoff st. (corner of Jabotinsky)
Tel Aviv
tel 03 5230236

Henna Party

2010-07-10T21:56:00.001+03:00

Started the weekend belly dancing with friends at a contemporary take on the traditional Henna party. When the bride is a tzfonit (had a hard time finding the exact English translation, the best equivalent we could find is: a local version of yuppie) the Henna invitation reads: bikinis mandatory. We had a wonderful time dancing and swimming the night away, with just a bit of tradition... We made Savta proud and enjoyed copious amounts of cava.

Open sesame...

2010-07-07T23:30:00.000+03:00

Spotted, a window into the projects, near the new bus station in Tel Aviv.

Breakfast at Pua

2010-07-05T21:30:00.003+03:00

Pua
Rabbi Yochanan 3
Shuk Hapishpeshim, Jaffa-Tel Aviv
tel 03 6823821

Saturday at the Park

2010-07-05T21:07:00.000+03:00

We took a field trip to the Ayalon Park with some friends and were surprised to find a wild watermelon field.

Homemade Granola

2010-07-04T13:16:00.000+03:00

Found some photos of some granola we made a while back. Can't seem to remember the ingredients... but thought to post anyway.

Open Face Tahini and Roasted Veggie Sandwich

2010-07-01T17:07:00.001+03:00

When faced with a serious brunch dilemma, we decided to make an Open Face Tahini and Roasted Veggie Sandwich. After a couple of days of intensive cooking we tired out and opted to piece together a sandwich made from the week's leftovers. Bread+ homemade tehini + leftover roasted vegetables, made for a very yummy brunch.

Charcuterie

2010-06-30T19:52:00.001+03:00

We recently had a delicious dinner at Charcuterie, a small restaurant in a quiet alley in the Jaffa market. Since opening in the shuk hapishpeshim (flea market ) two years ago, many other eateries/bars have followed. We started by sharing a plate of home-made cold cuts and then moved on to our main dishes: beet root gemelli pasta with spinach and smoked salmon and entrecote with braised Jerusalem artichokes and green beans. Our dinner was perfect. Chef-owner Vince Mustar, also of the Container, does a perfect job of mixing the magical after hours of the market with a delicious selection of homemade sausages, pancetta, prosciutto... (the list goes on) alongside simple pasta and fish dishes. We had a wonderful time, though some friends have mentioned having a hit or miss dining experiences here.

Charcuterie
3 Rabi Chanina st.
Jaffa
tel 03 6828843

A sneak peak...

2010-06-30T19:40:00.001+03:00

This year we had the privilege of attending the first year studio presentations at the Bezalel Department of Architecture (Tom, as a teacher and Rena as a guest critic). Here's a sneak peak at some of the projects. More to come soon...

Why oh why?

2010-06-27T16:35:00.006+03:00

Utter boredom (and suffering). That is what I went through when I went to see Love Fire, the new work by Yasmeen Godder. I could not connect to the choreography and found the piece to be cliche. Well, next time I'll stick to Batsheva.

Baked Split Banana

2010-06-27T13:59:00.003+03:00

Baked Split Banana

Ingredients
1 ripe banana
1/2 tsp. light brown sugar
cinnamon for dusting

The Recipe
Preheat the oven to 180 C.
Split the banana in half, lengthwise. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Dust with cinnamon and serve.

Breakfast at Manta Ray

2010-06-27T13:53:00.002+03:00

On a recent Saturday morning we walked along the beach to Manta Ray and sat down to their widely known breakfast. We ordered a zucchini and onion omelet and poached eggs. The breakfast was served with a big basket filled with delicious breads and various spreads- tahini, cream cheese, and jams. We also ordered a morning mezze of cured matthias (herring). We once very much enjoyed eating at Manta Ray, but with time their menu, satisfies less and overall, we were a little disappointed. We'd like to see them renovate and update the menu. It's not enough just to have the beach location, you need to back it up.

Manta Ray
Alma Beach
Tel Aviv
tel 03 5174773

Red/Green Tahini (Techina) Spread

2010-06-27T11:50:00.004+03:00

Tahini (or techina as it is called in Hebrew) is a basic ingredient in the Israeli kitchen. It is eaten everywhere and by everyone; smeared with a pita, spread on a sandwich, as a salad dressing or in our kitchen, on soba noddles. Tahini cookies are favorite sin of mine too. The core to a good tahini recipe is a good raw tahini paste (or techina golmit). You can find very good options in Israeli grocery stores, but the best raw tahini paste we found was in the Machane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem.

For the Red (Roasted Pepper) Tahini Spread
Ingredients
1/2 cup raw tahini paste (i like to use Harduf Organic Tahini from whole sesame, but any good tahini paste, like Yona or Gamal will do)
10 roasted and peeled red peppers
juice from 1/2 lemon
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 piece ginger, the size of a garlic clove, peeled
1 chopped red chili (use half if you don't love spicy)
salt and pepper to taste

The Recipe
Blend all the ingredients in a food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste. The spread can easily be turned into a salad dressing by thinning it out with a little bit of water.

For the Green (Herb) Tahini Spread
Ingredients
1/2 cup raw tahini paste
1 bunch of parsley
1 bunch of coriander
10 basil leaves
juice from 1/2 lemon
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 piece ginger, the size of a garlic clove, peeled
1 chopped red chili (use half if you don't love spicy)
salt and pepper to taste

The Recipe
Blend all the ingredients in a food processor. Add salt and pepper to taste. The spread can easily be turned into a salad dressing by thinning it out with a little bit of water.

Kaymak @ Shuk Levinsky

2010-05-22T18:42:00.002+03:00

Lately we've been doing some of our grocery shopping at Shuk Levinsky, an open air market in the Florentine neighborhood of Tel Aviv. After an hour of arguing with vendors and stocking up on nuts and spices it's nice to sit down and take a break, read the newspaper and have a sandwich. Kaymak is the perfect place for this. Choose between their delicious sandwiches and daily specials. The company is warm and the arak flows freely.

An Iraqui sandwich special: techina, fried eggplant, hard boiled egg and lettuce on whole wheat gebetta .

Orange gazoz (home-made soda pop) and cucumber sticks.

Turkish coffee and a carrot muffin.

Kaymak
49 Levinsky street
Shuk Levinsky
Tel Aviv

The Hand Factory

2010-05-21T11:46:00.003+03:00

The Hand Factory is a great postcard shop in Old Jaffa.

They also did a wall drawing at the recent Fresh Paint Art Fair.

and another in 2009 on Messilat Yesharim street (Tel Aviv)
The two wall drawing photos are from Julien Roux's website.

The Hand Factory
Julien Roux & Elanit Leder
15 Netiv Amazalot
Old Jaffa
tel 054 9205592

BILL and Chimera

2010-05-21T11:24:00.008+03:00

Summer has arrived and a recent gust of dance performances in Tel Aviv has left us pretty busy balancing work and play. Last week we went to the premier of BILL by Sharon Eyal and were truly amazed. The movement, costumes, lighting, everything was precise with just the perfect amount of crazy/wild. It has been a while since we have seen truly forward thinking choreography. We loved it and can't wait to see what she does next.

Last night we continued our summer dance binge at Chimera where we enjoyed 13 short dance pieces by the Batsheva Ensemble. If you hurry, there are 2 performances left over the weekend.

images from the Batsheva website.

Thai House

2010-05-17T10:35:00.002+03:00

As we eat out in Tel Aviv on a regular basis, we have recently noticed the lack of selection in world cuisines. It is almost impossible to find an authentic East Asian restaurant that serves anything but sushi. Pakistan to China, Africa and South America are not represented at all in the local food scene.
That said, there is one exception: Ba'it Thailandi (Thai House) is not only a genuine Thai restaurant, but one of the better estzablishments in the city. The restaurant serves traditional Thai dishes made with real Thai ingredients, grown specially for the restaurant on a farm outside Tel Aviv. Their Tom Yam soup is an absolute must with the right amount of tangy flavor and their Som Tam (a spicy green papaya salad) tastes almost as if you are eating in a food stall in Bangkok. For main dishes just take any of their wonderful curries or stir-fries. For dessert, if you have room, the sticky rice with mango is to die for. This is by far one of our favorite places in Tel Aviv. We wish they would redecorate, though...

Tom Yam Soup

Som Tam

Red Curry with chicken and potatoes.

Ba'it Thailandi (Thai House)
8 Bograshov, on the corner of Ben Yehuda
Tel Aviv
tel 03 5178568

Lunch at Mezze

2010-05-01T23:36:00.002+03:00

This small vegetarian restaurant has been under our noses for quite a while, but we only began eating there recently. The menu is laid back and the dishes are not too sophisticated. Mezze offers tasty and well balanced imaginative veggie options perfect for the health conscious (we spotted many a dieting local celebrity there).
The highlight of their menu is the absolutely delicious tahini (techina) of the week, with combinations such as tahini with yogurt and dried tomatoes and tahini with chili and oranges. The mains are mostly rice and grain based dishes all very tasty and filling. We had black rice with pumpkin, azuki beans, herbs and goat feta cheese. It was rich in flavor and texture. The special of Indian vegetable stew with whole grain rice was simple, slightly sweet and also very good.
Mezze also offers a menu of shakshuka, sandwiches and salads options and an array of small mezze dishes. Highly recommended.

The secret tahini and freshly chopped salad

Black rice with pumpkin, azuki beans, herbs and feta cheese

	Indian vegetable stew with whole grain rice Quinoa and sprouts with yogurt sauce Mezze 51 Echas Ha'am St. Tel Aviv tel 03 6299753

Dinner at Chloelys

2010-04-20T12:59:00.002+03:00

We went to dine at Chloelys with high expectations as we were told it was one of the best fish restaurants in town. Entering the restaurant we were surprised to see a large, busy and child friendly space.
The food was definitely good. For starters we tried the soup of the day, a large bowl of Cold Gazpacho with Parsley Sorbet, and an excellent dish of Hand Made Smoked Salmon. For mains we went only for fish, and tried a very good Gilt-head Bream Fillet on Grape Leaves with Bulgarian Cheese Filling and a heavier dish of Grey Mullet Filet with Gnocchi.
Generally speaking, the food was done very well. But we can not agree with the overly positive reviews associated with the restaurant. It takes more than just good fish to make us satisfied and we found the dishes to be very standard, some even boring, not to mention a bit overpriced considering the atmosphere and poor service. Chloelys is a good option for big family dinner, but not an intimate night. It wouldn't hurt refreshing the menu.

Cold gazpacho with parsley sorbet

Hand made smoked salmon

Gilt-head Bream Fillet on Grape Leaves with Bulgarian Cheese Filling

Grey Mullet Filet with Gnocchi

Dacquoise Praline. A mundane dessert.

Chloelys
16, Aba Hillel Silver st.
Ramat Gan
tel 03 575 9060

Lunch at the Container

2010-04-18T11:13:00.002+03:00

After the 1 1/2 hour walk to Jaffa we were famished so we sat for an excellent lunch at The Container, a new bar by Chef Vins Muster at the Jaffa port. We loved the location, surrounded by fishing boats on the dock, and the airy atmosphere of the hangar. It's a great place for lunch and also great for an evening out, not to mention a welcome alternative to the yuppie Tel Aviv port. We sat on the bar and ordered three delicious dishes: root vegetable salad with Jerusalem artichoke and truffles, smoked forel with horseradish and grouper steak in butter and herbs. We loved them all and will be back for more...

The Menu is mostly fish and seafood base with some salad options.

The kitchen.

Some fellow diners.

Root vegetable salad with Jerusalem artichoke and truffles.

Smoked forel with horseradish.

Grouper steak in butter and herbs.

The Container
Jaffa Port
tel 03 6836321

Peres Center for Peace

2010-04-17T23:39:00.003+03:00

Today was a gorgeous day and we took a walk through Tel Aviv south to Yaffo to check out the fairly new Peres Center for Peace designed by Fuksas Architects. Apparently they have been opened since December (we stand corrected). We must re-visit some time during the week to check out the interior. Finally, a piece of architecture worth visiting!

Pre-Yom Ha'zikaron

2010-04-17T21:17:00.001+03:00

The Tel Aviv municipality all set up for the big national morning day.

A Family Vacation at Villa Melchett

2010-04-16T12:37:00.001+03:00

Come March, we went to the Kinneret, on what has become an annual family vacation at Villa Melchett. Once belonged to Lord Melchett's family, the turn of the century villa and the surrounding grounds are situated right on the beach. Anyone can rent the place. L did and got us spending 3 wonderful days of lounging around and relaxation. We were a bit displeased with the management, but the luxurious rooms, professional kitchen, fish pond, 2000 square meters of grass, hammocks, oriental tent and the open view to the Sea of Galilee kept us very content.

The Moroccan lounge in our bedroom.

The villa from the front garden

Going on a walk

A content family member.

Cairo!

2010-04-10T13:51:00.000+03:00

The last two days we spent roaming the streets of Cairo, a beautiful, over populated fascinating city. We'll definitely be back.

Zamalek neighborhood, as seen from a bridge over the Nile.

Inside the Sultan Hassan Mosque

A fellow explorer at the Khan Al-Khalili market.

Medieval gates at Khan Al-Khalili

Details of... Hieroglyphics

2010-04-10T13:40:00.000+03:00

Sharia as-Souq, Aswan Market

2010-04-10T13:32:00.000+03:00

What We Ate... In Egypt

2010-04-10T13:18:00.001+03:00

Whenever we could we ditched the hotel buffet and ventured into town to try local specialties.

A staple street snack is ta'amiyya- the famous Egyptian falafel. The pita is stuffed with falafel and an array of salads. Tasty, but a little dry.

In Luxor we went out to dinner at the authentic Egyptian restaurant, Sofra. They offered a delicious variety of mezze and tasty local stews.

We ordered some of the delicious mezze- lentil salad, labane and tahini.

Sofra
90 Mohamed Farid street
Al Manshiya, Luxor, Egypt
phone: +20 (95) 235 97 52

We were surprised to find fresh fruit juices offered almost everywhere in Egypt. We tried guava juice (yumm...) and karkadai -a juice made from dried hibiscus flowers- (yummier...)

We also stopped for furkish coffee and mint tea at a tea house in the Khan Al-Khalili, Cairo.

The Nile

2010-04-10T12:56:00.000+03:00

While in Aswan, we took a felucca ride on the Nile. A very cliche tourist attraction- we went for sunset- but beautiful nonetheless.

We went down to Egypt.

2010-04-10T12:52:00.001+03:00

During the Passover holiday we joined A+L for a 9 day organized tour of Egypt. We don't do group tours, but as it was paid for, we thought it ridiculous to resist. It was a tumultuous journey. We joined forty 65+ Israeli travelers and wreaked havoc on the land of the Pharaohs. Egypt is an incredible country with much to see and do. We recommend going solo as it is safe and a major part of the fun is meeting the locals, an impossible feat when you're in a group tour.

The first day was all about the PYRAMIDS. Amazing.

Pyramids and tour buses.

The Sphinx.

The King's Night - A Different Tel Aviv Bachelor Party

2010-03-01T10:12:00.002+02:00

A bachelor party is one of my least favorite things. I usually know only half of the crowd and the conversation topics are rarely anything but real-estate and womens' breasts. So when I had to part with the Queen for a night of heavy drinking with fellow men, I was partly discontented.

We are not an ordinary group, so the bar of choice had to be something with a twist. Mommy's Place is a karaoke bar which caters to foreign workers from South-East Asia, China and Africa, and is located on a dingy street not far from the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station. My worries disappeared the moment I set foot at the door. This was another world.
It had everything you would expect from a South-Asian karaoke bar: the pink lights, the cheap shots of whiskey, lots of smiles and some very talented Thai divas, performing only the latest pop songs. The food was also a surprise. An excellent genuine Thai menu at very reasonable prices (rare in Tel Aviv).
The night continued to Joy's Bar, a very sleazy dance bar on Allenby street, which as I recall (by then I was seriously drunk) had two chubby blonds dancing on the bar? And then to Hummus Ashkara, an old Tel Aviv establishment, to seal the alcohol with a 3 am bowl of heavy hummus and pita.
It was a crazy night, just as bachelor parties are supposed to be, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Watching my macho friends sing The Total Eclipse of The Heart, or dance with potential drag queens to Madonna and Ricky Martin, I understood what it was all about -simply being free with your closest friends, something we should all practice more.

Congratulations E and M!

Mommy's Place,
10 Bnei Brak St.

Hummus Ashkara,
45 Yirmiyahu St.
tel 057 938 1339

Hamentaschen for Purim

2010-02-27T09:18:00.002+02:00

It's Purim and hamantaschen have started popping around town already for a few weeks. This year it seems the bakeries raised the bar on fillings, spanning from the traditional poppy seed to marzipan and indian-spiced dates. We found the real twist this year with these flavorful treats at Lehamim Bakery, which together with a large variety of sweet fillings, also sells a choice of savory ones - beet, cheese and herbs or potato. Interestingly, these are also very tasty.

Happy Purim everyone!

Beets in your hamantaschen anyone?

Cheese and herbs

Lehamim Bakery
99 Hachashmona'im st.
tel 03 5618111

Tzadok Ben David, Outside the Museum

2010-02-26T19:54:00.003+02:00

A late Wednesday morning we passed by the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. The line for the Tzadok Ben David exhibition extended through the whole square, confirming the great hype surrounding it the past few weeks. Not to say the installation isn't worth the wait, but it definitely shows the power of good PR. This is the first time we've seen a line like this in Tel Aviv.
The exhibition, by the way, closes tomorrow.

Hora, Bat-Sheva Dance Company

2010-02-24T10:47:00.001+02:00

Last Saturday we went to see Hora, a Bat-Sheva Dance Company performance, and enjoyed all 60 minutes of it. The curtain opened to a stark stage surrounded by neon green washed walls, with only one long wooden bench. A beautiful setting for a moving performance. The choreography and dance execution were immaculate. Strong movements, some almost acrobatic, were delivered with strict accuracy, sensitive to space and time. All this was enhanced by the minimalist lighting design which changed the stage with every nuance.

Hora, by Ohad Naharin

Performed by the Bat-Sheva Dance Company

Photos from the Bat-Sheva website

Pink in Yaffo

2010-02-16T22:45:00.003+02:00

Took a stroll through Yaffo (Ha'armon st.) and found this interesting architectural phenomenon. A flat and simple elevation with a laced wall -mashrabiya- creates an inner courtyard used for circulation. Cool, no?

Sachlab, a gooey delight

2010-02-16T22:35:00.000+02:00

We topped our lunch with a quick desert break of malabi and sachlab at an unnamed stand on Jerusalem Blvd. Sachlab is the perfect dessert comfort food and a great winter treat. It's a porridge of milk, cornflour and sugar topped with cinnamon, coconut flakes and crushed pistachios.

94 Jerusalem Blvd., Yaffo

Lunch at Abu Al-Abed

2010-02-16T22:17:00.002+02:00

This Saturday we did something we hadn't done in a very long time. We joined some friends for lunch at Abu Al-Abed in Yaffo for, what we truly believe to be, the best authentic Arab restaurant in Tel Aviv. This place embodies everything we like about family-run Middle Eastern joints. It has the same decor and ambiance (do-it-yourself kitsch architecture) and the same order-eat-and go method, but their menu is much more extensive. In addition to the regular hummus/pita/salads trio, you can get yourself acquainted with some local Jaffa specialties and wonderful choice of grilled skewers. Things we like to order here are: fried shrimp, kebabs, siniya (a baked ground meat and tehini dish), cauliflower with lemon and garlic and kubbeh . Their salads and hummus are also excellent. It's well worth the long wait outside on a Saturday afternoon.

Abu Al-Abed

92 Yefet st., Yaffo

tel 03 681 4665

Yoezer Bar Ya'in (Yoezer Wine Bar), Tel Aviv

2010-02-13T22:48:00.000+02:00

This weekend we did dinner at an old Tel Aviv establishment, Yoezer Bar Ya'in, an Alsatian (French-German) restaurant that serves mostly meat. The food tasted very good. The meat was of high quality and everything was hand-made (sausages and cured meat). We ordered a dinner for two consisting of a starter of cold cuts and a main dish of choucroute garni (sauerkraut with sausages, potatoes, and other salted meats). Both dishes were enormous and hard to conquer as they were cholesterol-charged. Luckily we ordered beer, which helped. We managed to finish half of our main course and took the rest to go. For dessert we had a small plate of marzipan, which was delicate and not too sweet.

We enjoyed the food. We really did, but we have some complaints (quelle surprise). First and foremost, they must update and balance the menu- the portions were waaaay too large and heavy andthe plating unappealing- piled high sausages donot look good (this is not the middle ages). Secondly, they must renovate. Old establishments must raise the bar with time.

Yoezer Bar Ya'in
2 Yoezer Aish Habira St., Clock Tower, Jaffa
tel 03 6839115

Gordon Street Happening, Tel Aviv

2010-02-13T22:09:00.005+02:00

On Fridays we often take walks around Tel Aviv, each time in a different neighborhood. This Friday we ventured south to Gordon street where a street happening -Shitut- was in full swing. We had some very good frozen yogurt at Tamara and then continued to some galleries which were politely speaking, not as good as the frozen stuff. About the galleries, in general they were an incoherent mish-mash of mediocre art. These galleries have remained the same for years and continue to disappoint. The street performances, on the other hand, were a lot of fun. We like seeing neighborhood initiatives. Go Gordon!

Tamara
96 Ben Yehuda and the corner of Gordon St.
tel 03 5234449

Breakfast for Lunch, Hamitbachon, Jerusalem

2010-02-11T19:57:00.005+02:00

Hamitbachon (The Kitchenette), is one of our favorite local Jerusalem hangouts and a known meeting point for the poor architecture students of the adjacent Bezalel Academy. Assaf serves up a simple, no nonsense menu of hummus, shakshuka, soup and sandwiches, made daily in a little shack on Narcis street.

Breakfast includes hummus (made by Assaf every morning), eggs the way you like them, israeli salad and 'cafe botz'.

Hamitbachon

A little shack on Narcis St. (off of Shmuel Hanagid), Jerusalem

Opening Hours: 12pm-12am

The Child Dreams, We went to the opera

2010-02-07T00:06:00.001+02:00

We loved loved loved "The Child Dreams", an opera adaptation for a Hanoch Levin play by Gil Shohat. It's an expression of despair, escape and hope woven through a story of mother and son during WWII. The post-modern musical score, although newly written, was a bit dated for our taste. But, the performance of the orchestra and opera singers left us satisfied.
The visuals, by the Austrian-Irish artist Gottfried Helnwein, were a whole other story. They varied through the opera from the traditional to the hyper contemporary with elements of sci-fi.
Above all were the sophisticated dialogues which kept us glued to our seats with our eyes wide open (a rare occurrence for us as we often tend to dose off during less intriguing performances).
You can't go wrong with Hanoch Levin.

Photos taken from Gottfried Helnwein's website

"The Child Dreams" is an Israeli Opera production, performing at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center.

New Haircut!

2010-02-06T20:05:00.001+02:00

Got a haircut at Yossi's. He's the best. We always let him do his thing... and are always happy with the results. More details at The Queen Likes.

Yossi Maman
234 Ben Yehuda St.
tel 03 5440191 / 03 5441737

What They Ate... Messa, Tel Aviv

2010-02-02T14:58:00.018+02:00

We made reservations three weeks in advance for a Friday dinner for a table of four. This was probably unessasary, but we had very high expectations from, what we had been told, was one of the best restaurants in the country.

It is not that we were disappointed. Messa is one of the best restaurants in the country. The food is superb, the design, decadent and the service, satisfying. We were, however, looking forward to something more intriguing, considering that this restaurant supposedly serves high-end dishes with a touch of molecular cooking methods.

For starters we had caramelized goose liver carpaccio with raw tehina, date honey and black sea salt flakes which was surprisingly excellent but also heavy and too large to conquer, a delicous dish of vanilla flavored grilled shrimps on polenta and lightly scorched tuna sashimi on eggplant mouse. The starters were all very good, but were all sweet. This was a surprising choice for the begining of a meal.

We then recieved complimentry creamed onion soup in small metal shot glasses. It was refined and aromatic.

The main courses were seafood couscous, a generous portion of seafood in an excellent broth of crab, lemon and thyme with a portion of regular couscous on the side, a heavier dish of caramelized salmon over coconut risotto and eggplant cream, which again was excellent but sounded more interesting than it was, and a special of grilled makarel served with a nice and casual sweet asian dressing.

Our shared dessert on the other hand, esspresso cream with sugered almonds, was sadly unrefined, overly sweet and looked like a giant brown blob.

In conclusion: beautiful, tasty and well conducted, but could do more.... What can we say...it's very hard to please the Royals.

Onion Soup

Vanilla Shrimps on Soft Polenta

Tuna Sashimi

Grilled Makarel

Seafood Couscous

Messa

19 Ha'arbaa St. Tel Aviv

tel 03 6856859

A Trip to Tel Afek, near Rosh HaAyin

2010-01-31T00:57:00.007+02:00

Friday was sunny and gorgeous, so we gathered our motivation, joined forces with Y, and ventured out of the city and into the pastoral landscape of Tel Afek. The nature reserve includes an Ottoman fortress, a lake and an abundance of green plains. We took a short walk around the site (it was easy and wheel chair/baby carriage accessible). It was a much needed outing and lots of fun.

Antipatris Fortress

An Abandoned British Water Plant

Rosh HaAyin from a distance.

A caterpillar! We really need to get out more.

A Hazy Day in Haifa

2010-01-27T23:41:00.007+02:00

Hotel Montefiori, Tel Aviv

2010-01-27T19:01:00.104+02:00

The restaurant at Hotel Montefiore prevails upon being a hip French brasserie with a touch of Vietnamese. This is a slight overstatement as we do not consider a garnish of corriander or steamed bok choy to suffice as Vietnamese influence. But, we completely forgive for the food and atmosphere are top noch.

We entered and were asked to wait a few minutes during which we were served a glass of cava. We don't like waiting but we like cava.

For starters we ordered the beef carpaccio with hazelnut oil which was simple and very well executed and a fun and fresh amberjack seviche with hot green pepper, avocado and coriander.

The main coarse was a delicious and light grilled sea bream with lemongrass cream and a tender braised goose in a caramelized sauce with kumquat. We loved the goose and licked our lips till the very end.

For dessert we had saint honore, cream puffs filled with creme pattissier and accompanied with whipped cream, a perfect ending to a perfect evening.

Hotel Montefiore is a favorite. They also offer business lunch and drinks from 5-7.

Reservations are a must.

Amberjack Seviche

Beef Carpaccio with Hazelnut oil

Sea Bream with Lemongrass

Saint Honore

Hotel Montefiori

36 Montefiore St.

tel 03 564 6100

OUR NEW WEBSITE

2010-01-23T20:37:00.002+02:00

www.theroyalex.com

These are a few of my favorite things

2010-01-23T20:19:00.001+02:00

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels,
door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles.
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings.
these are a few of my favorite things...

Tucked away between the many clothing stores on Ibn Gvirol, we rediscovered an old establishment we liked very much. Edit Pastries (pronounced 'Idit') has a large selection of scrumptious pastries and what not. You might even get asked out on a date by a 85 year old. How fond. We love when this happens. They also won the 1966 Miami Beach Gold Medal (for what we're not sure, but we'll assume for their pastries). This fact is still on their business card. It's a cute place and a perfect respite from the trendy cafes all over town. Old style recipes with a 1950s air.

Apple strudel

Edit Pastries
85 Ibn Gvirol street, Tel Aviv
tel 03 5249613/ 03 5230505

And then we ate a ROAST BEEF SANDWICH

2010-01-23T19:38:00.006+02:00

Well, what can we say, Ruben stole our heart with their absolutely delicious deli-style sandwiches. They have four sandwich options on their menu all layered with roast beef or turkey (or a mix of both), home made sour kraut, lettuce, red onion, mayo and mustard all gloriously sandwiched between light and fluffy whole wheat bread. Oh, and a yummy pickle on the side. Influenced by their handmade roast beef, we made some of our own at home.

The roast beef sandwich

The turkey sandwich

Ruben

112 Yehuda Halevi street, Tel Aviv

tel 077 490 8050

i ♥ ma poule

2010-01-23T19:20:00.006+02:00

Somehow, we often find ourselves starving on Ben Yehuda street. The perfect solution is I ♥ ma poule, a laid-back chicken rotisserie joint we rely on in these situations.

Lunch: a plate of rotisserie chicken potato, rice, peas and carrots all on a cute gingham tablecloth.

I ♥ ma poule

98 Ben Yehuda street, Tel Aviv

tel 03 5220424

Halva & Tehini

2010-01-17T21:52:00.005+02:00

Halva and tehini are products made from sesame seeds and staples in the Israeli kitchen. At the market we went in search for these creamy delicacies and found them...
We left Jerusalem with a doggy bag filled with goodies.
Lately we've been experimenting with tehina in our kitchen, exploring new recipes and eating it for breakfast with toast and homemade jam. For years we've been loyal to Techina Gamal, often traveling to Jerusalem to refill our supply but while at the market we decided to try something new.

Poppyseed Halva & Oat Halva

The BEST TEHINI we have ever had! We'll need to go back soon for a refill.

Fruit leather.

Mamlechet Hahalve
10 Etz Hachaim street, Machane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem
cell 054 7936895

Mizrachi Cafe

2010-01-17T21:46:00.005+02:00

While at the market we stopped off for lunch at an old Jerusalem favorite... Mizrachi: the perennial student hangout/uber-Jerusalem scene. Here basta (market stall) owners sit side by side the B+B (Bakah boheme). You can order a cafe botz, "mud coffee", though we prefer their excellent cappuccino. They also offer daily baked goods and a menu of salads, sandwiches and soups.

Mizrahi
12 Shazif street, Machaneh Yehuda Market, Jerusalem
tel 02 6242105

Mushroom tortellini in butter and sage.

Feta ravioli with greens, pear and parmesan.

Coffee and cake: this is the place with the best coffee in Jerusalem, hands down.

Spices in the market

2010-01-15T00:59:00.008+02:00

We lingered around the market on the lookout for spices and dropped by Avraham Yechezkel's stall. We walked away with oats which we later made into porridge.

Avraham Yechezkel: coffee, spices and grains

Etz Hachaim street 32, Machane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem

tel 02 6252675

Coffee beans & cinnamon sticks

Candied ginger and sun-dried tomatoes

Tea

Spices

How we buy our cheese, Jerusalem

2010-01-15T00:24:00.005+02:00

When in Jerusalem we never miss out on a trip to the produce market, Machane Yehuda. We also never miss the best cheese store in Israel, Basher Fromagerie, located in said market. They have a large selection of imported and Israeli cheeses and professional staff eager to advise. We never leave without some goodies...

Basher Fromagerie
Etz Haim street, Mahane Yehuda Market, Jerusalem
tel 02 6257969

Camembert

Grape jam & baguettes

More saint mor please.

Sandra, Tel Aviv

2010-01-13T17:25:00.002+02:00

We recently discovered Sandra, a quaint little studio in Florentine that makes and sells houseware. From vases to wall hangings, the objects are all handmade in the studio, including some lovely fabric toilet paper hangers and colorful bags. It's fun even just for a peek.

Sandra, 28 Washington Blvd Florentine, Tel Aviv tel:03 518 6234

Jewelery Shopping, Tel Aviv

2010-01-12T23:54:00.014+02:00

Sadly no. We didn't spend our daily walk shopping around for expensive accessories. Nevertheless, the window display at Talin's caught our eye. This shop sells Israeli designs only and also initiates some interesting local student projects which are later sold in the store. With your endless funds, we're sure you'll be able to find something to go with your outfit...

Talin's, 231 Ben Yehuda St. Tel Aviv

Passed by the Yarkon Today....

2010-01-12T23:07:00.001+02:00

Our New FASHION BLOG!

2010-01-06T12:47:00.002+02:00

This is our new FASHION BLOG THE QUEEN LIKES. hope you enjoy it!

The Royals