Eating in Tel Aviv

First off, thank you to those of you who have asked me when am I going to blog again (including Lia, who wins for “most creative” as she posted a message in our ongoing game of OMGPOP, and Nurit who also wins because she asked me “how the honeymoon was going”). I am flattered and a bit overwhelmed (but rest assured, I am mostly flattered. Really flattered. Actually, I am Huge-Grin flattered).

Rafi has been here for 12 days now and I am really taking a “vacation within the vacation.” We have done a lot and at the same time, nothing. Perfect.  

Since I have had the luxury of only doing what I feel like doing all these weeks, I have tried to plan around what he likes doing on a vacation, which means: going to as many restaurants as possible and walking about between meals. For him, the walking tours minimize any activity that includes the word “museum” in it.  I bought a map and placed all the recommended restaurants on it, cross-referenced to a write-up. This way, wherever we are in Tel Aviv, there are always at least 6 recommended restaurants nearby. With all this, I have had precious little time to blog.

But I do want to keep up with the blog as I am not taking a lot of pictures and the blog is definitely meant to be my keepsake. As a matter of fact, in re-reading a few earlier posts I realized that (1) I am already forgetting some things I did and people I met and ideas they shared with me, and (2) I am not noticing as many things as I did at first. I guess I have been here a while. I am blending in.

On his first Friday morning here, I wanted Rafi to experience the fabulous atmosphere on Dizengoff Street watching people watchers sitting at the endless number of outdoor cafes, so we walked there first. We then went to the Tel Aviv Port and had lunch with Emanuela at her favourite seaside restaurant, Fortuna del Mar, in the Tel Aviv Marina close to the Carlton hotel.   

I am not sure they totally hit it off, especially when she explained to Rafi who she was planning on voting for in the next elections and why. Actually, I am not really sure of this since, along with the grilled fish, we polished off two bottles of excellent Israeli wine.

With Emanuela

That evening, we had made tentative dinner plans with Isaac, a friend of a friend of Harley and Jessica’s. Isaac is a fun guy, with a most interesting background: born in Ethiopia, of an Egyptian father and a Sudanese mother, and raised in London. He comes to Tel Aviv very often, has a place here and knows all the cool people and places. I had met Isaac before and enjoyed his wonderful stories and insights but after that huge late afternoon lunch, I was kind of hoping we would not hear from Isaac that day – but we did. So we joined him for dinner.

Isaac suggested we go to a new restaurant in Tel Aviv, one I had not seen in any of the restaurant guides I have been consulting, called The Blue Rooster (HaTarnegol Hakachol). Someone posted a video here. What a find! 

HaTarnegol Hakachol is a seasonal restaurant making use of local raw materials, and adorned by two fireplaces more than two centuries old located in a brand new building quite away from the hubbub of the city. We got there before Isaac (no, we weren’t hungry; we are just on-time sort of people). The restaurant was full but we complained about the table we were given anyway (yes, we do fit here), so they sat us at a better table. A few minutes later, however, the owner came and moved us to the best table in the house (what did she do with the patrons sitting there, I wondered) as she realized we were with Isaac.  Soon enough, Isaac arrived with a friend, Nicole, a lovely Brit who moved here a few years ago.  The meal was unbelievable in several ways, especially after the waiter brow-beat us into the Tasting Menu.

Now, everywhere else in the world, “Tasting Menu” means a number of small dishes to sample (sample!) the menu. Here, it meant full-size dishes of the complete menu. After eight (8!) full-size, Israeli-scale appetizers for the four of us, the waiter started bringing the main courses. We had to be quite firm telling the waiter to limit them to three only. The waiter was cross but acquiesced. When the time for dessert came, the waiter did not bother asking us and simply brought 3 full-sized portions of three types of ambrosia…

We got home pretty late and very happy.

The next morning, we had to get up early as 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. The Judean Hills are a mountain range in Israel where Jerusalem and several other biblical cities are located. The mountains reach a height of 1,000 metres.

I had asked Nisim where we were going, but he said it was a surprise.  I am loving surprises these days.

More tomorrow... We are off to dinner at a cool restaurant called Coffee Bar ("one of the most loved restaurants in Tel Aviv.") - and we need to walk 32 minutes.