Shiksa in Israel

a Taste of Israel in Manhattan

One of CSJ's cousins asked us if we didn't think the falafel and hummus in Israel was far superior to that in New York (I already touched this subject in a post about falafel).

After time, we realized that pretty much all the food in Israel was better than food in New York - a realization that hit us hard while trying to satisfy our cravings upon return.
And then we went to Olympic Pita.

ShiksainIsrael is committed to reporting and sharing information about Israel, but she must make an exception for this great restaurant in Manhattan. Fantastic soups, laffa bread, numerous salads and meats...Olympic Pita is a real treat, and a real taste of Israel.

on Fridays they close 2 hours before shabbat, and on Saturdays they open 2 hours after shabbat.

Neck at El Baboor, the VIP Lunch

avert your eyes, vegetarians, the Shiksa eats animals (though she does pause when it comes to poultry).

To the left is a picture of a braised and stuffed (with rice) lamb neck we were served for lunch at El Baboor. I actually wanted to order a sort of pot pie I saw at another table, but the good waiter convinced us we were VIP's, and we fell for it, so we agreed to the mac daddy entree: neck.

Notice the steamy rice in there? The dish came to the table and I momentarily regretted our choice (mostly because it was gigantic for lunch). One look at the inside, however, and I was placated. And once I tasted the tender/moist/succulent meat, I was in heaven. CSJ too.

The spine itself (the bones) were pretty cool, as you can see. The spinal cord made me gag, but I was able to continue eating after I hid it under some rice. All in all our neck experience was fantastic. Though I must suggest you have it for dinner, not lunch (unless you're not planning to eat dinner that day).

El Baboor is in Umm El Fahm. Don't turn right into the town, stay on 65 towards Afula and the restaurant will be on your left, up a sort of hill. You'll see the sign. Holy cow I'm giving directions like my mom.

Ein Kamonim

I had read about Ein Kamonim in my wonderful cookbook but had no idea how to find it – the cookbook’s biggest flaw: no list of things mentioned and their corresponding addresses, phone numbers and/or websites, a major disservice. Thankfully you have the Shiksa as your guide.

Ein Kamonim (off Hwy 85) is run by the Ovrutski family. They make cheese and olive oil and have a restaurant (how does all-you-can-eat cheese, salad, and bread sound?). They also run workshops and will conduct group tours by appointment. Call: 04-698-9894

Ein Kamonim transliterates themselves as Ein Camonim (that's their web site). So why am I stuck on the "K"? I guess it's because that's how I first read the name.

Most popular cheese: Tal HaGalil. it's a hard cheese matured in bay leaves. Ask the cleaning people at the David Intercontinental how they like it (we left some in our mini fridge).

Carta directs us to Ein Kamonim

As much as I can complain about Carta Atlas City Maps – way too cute to be useful – I must give Carta credit for bringing us to Ein Kamonim, the goat and olive farm, shop, and restaurant off Road 85 (the north side) between Roads 806 and 65.

Ein Kamonim is getting its own post. This post is meant to praise Carta for that type of notation. Carta is great on relatively empty roads, when precision is unnecessary.

Tel Aviv-Jaffa Hummus Expert

To the lovely gentleman I met at the Jaffa Visitors Center:
Please write in and let us know where to find the Best Hummus in your wonderful city.
Thank you

To readers (while we wait): Dani in Jaffa has a former Abu Hassan chef, and we are told it is much cleaner than the once-considered-best place for hummus.

Falafel

 

many Israelis asked us if we thought the falafel in Israel was millions of times better than the falafel in the U.S.

being more patriotic than I realized, I generally defended U.S. falafel by saying I am spoiled because I live in a major city with a wide variety of cuisines (read: I was sort of denying that Israeli falafel was better).

that being said, yes the falafel in Israel is considerably better than you will find almost anywhere else. I have to say that's because it's more fine and more moist. maybe someone can elaborate for me? ingredients? preparation?

 

Food in Israel

 

I don't think you can get a bad meal in Israel. You can get an okay meal, but the quality of local produce makes it nearly impossible for bad to happen.
I'm not saying everything is great, or that there's not a scale, but I am saying that food/eating in Israel - even with the numerous restrictions - is mostly quite good.

I guess it's hard to mess up vegetable salads and purees, the national staples. What's cool is the variety of the staples - more or less lemon, more or less garlic, more or less smokeyness, etc.

And breakfast, of course, is great. Breakfast deserves its own post.