Northern Eats

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

A Weekend North

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.

Caravan Inn

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

Nanuchka

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

Elkali

Another morning coffee (with a side of work).

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

Breakfast at Pua

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

Charcuterie

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

Breakfast at Manta Ray

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

Kaymak @ Shuk Levinsky

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

Thai House

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

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