MyTLVadventure: Eating in the Judean Hills and Yaffo

On Saturday, April 21, Nisim and Malka (my sister’s sister-in-law and her husband) picked us up to go on a day-trip to the Judean Hills – and the outing was dreamy.

After less than an hour on the road, the adventure started with a stop at a local boutique winery, in an area referred to as "little Tuscany." Wine Spectator writes: “Driving through Israel’s Judean Hills is a bit like driving through Tuscany or Napa. Vines line the hills on each side of the winding road, and wineries are set among the forested rolling landscape, spotted with wildflowers. Just 25 miles from the Mediterranean Sea, the Judean Hills has a more moderate Mediterranean climate than that of northern Israel, remaining green even in the heat of the summer.”

Precisely.

We arrived at Katz Winery at 10 am or so for the appointment with the wine-maker, Mr. Katz, but the gate was closed. A harried wine-maker's wife rushed to the gate to unlock it and we drove in. We met the wine-maker, sitting like a pasha at an outdoor table with a few ready-to-go glasses in front of him. I knew immediately this wasn't going to be your average winery tour.

Mr. Katz had been a chemistry professor at Hebrew University in a past life but at some point decided he would rather apply his expertise to something more fun, namely wine-making. His is an organic winery, and he uses his knowledge of chemistry to improve on G-d's given grape juice. He told us lots of stories as we sampled the wines (so, really, I cannot recall any of them; it was 10 am after all) but I do remember that when he stepped away for a minute to fetch the next bottle and Nisim asked the wife, who was tidying up, how long the presentation would be, she rolled her eyeballs, shook her hand in a very Israeli way and said words to the effect of "Pfft! He could go on forever!"

The wines are excellent but Mr Katz is only able to produce a relatively small quantity. He sells only locally. He was stunned when a restaurateur who manages the new, super-posh Bereshit Hotel in Mitzpeh Ramon bought his whole supply at once. Mr. Katz’s best quote: "Wine-making is poetry."

Malka enjoying some poetry

After about an hour with Mr. Katz, we headed to two farms in the area. The first stop was at Sataf, a goat farm in another most idyllic place, for a cheese-tasting. Getting there I was simultaneously glad and sorry that Nisim and Malka have a brand-new SUV as he had to drive such a nice, shiny new vehicle on such a rough pebble road (but we were comfortable; that’s important too).

In the Judean Hills

The farm is located west of Jerusalem, down the eastern slope of Mount Eitan by the Sataf Springs. This area has known agriculture for the last six thousand years. The farm was started in 1974 and has an organic vegetable garden based on the ancient technique of terrace farming, a goat herd of 170 heads and an award-winning goat cheese dairy. The artisanal cheeses are both delicious and (bonus!) do not really taste like goat cheese. Not surprisingly, Rafi got tempted and bought way more cheeses than we could possibly consume back in Tel Aviv.

Cheese-tasting

(Being us, we could not help ourselves to try and figure out their business model: the farm is only open to the public two days a week, and they are packed when they are open. Their cheeses are more expensive than what similar cheeses would cost in Canada, including the Israeli-owned Carmelis in the Okanagan, BC. So, all in all, we put our mental calculators away: a great business.)

The second stop was at Har Haruach Goat Farm, close to an area called Nataf. They also produce organic cheeses using ancient methods, and they are also open only two days a week. But I think we were too full from the previous cheese-tasting so we did not stay long -- and just drove straight to lunch.

Lunch was at Rama's Kitchen, located in one of the most spectacular locations possible, high up in the Judean Hills in Nataf, just 15 minutes outside Jerusalem. It offers a really stunning panoramic view of the piney mountains. Theirs is a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern menu, dominated by local produce grown right there. It is also usually open only two days a week (what's with the two-days a week work week? I am liking the sound of that.)

This restaurant has been in existence for 80 years, and recently two famous chefs bought it and now cook with what they grow (and getting directions by speaking in Hebrew to a Thai farm worker was something, I tell you).


Organic Farm. Thai workers who speak Hebrew.

Humus with red beet puree and pine nuts


Grilled 'pizza' with lamb and tahini sauce

Grilled Fish and grilled lamb chops

It was a wonderful day and we very much enjoyed Nisim and Malka’s company and conversation. The drive back was smooth and relaxing, with Israeli music playing softly on the radio...

Now, after such an outing, normal people would have just taken the evening off. We didn’t.

We had plans for dinner in Jaffa with Rafi’s cousin Avi, his mother Lydia, as well as his daughter Hamutal, her husband Simon and their gorgeous baby daughter. They invited us to a restaurant offering authentic Arab cuisine "with a Galilee orientation" called Haj Kahil, located right across from the Clock Square in Jaffa.

The weather was mellow and Rafi had not yet walked to Jaffa along the Tayelet watching a sunset, so that is precisely what we did.

Sunset walk to Jaffa

Clock Square, Jaffo.Sunset

The restaurant was amazing. The waiter started us off with the traditional huge number of Arab salads for appetizer. As a joke I said to the waiter, "I don't think there is enough food" but I think he took me seriously and kept bring more and more appetizers. The piece de resistance was their leg of lamb stuffed with rice and raisins and almonds. Rafi also had lamb kebabs in a spicy tomato sauce served in a closed bowl with a bread crust.