My favorite eateries in Israel
Much thanks to tafka for letting me coerce her into”tagging” me to write about my favorite restaurants in my beloved country. You’ll notice I like cheap ethnic food. I also love foi gras, but I don’t go to upscale joints that often, so I decided to keep it real.
The rules:
1. Add a direct link to your post below the name of the person who tagged you. Include the city/state and country you’re in.
Nicole (Sydney, Australia)
velverse (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
LB (San Giovanni in Marignano, Italy)
Selba (Jakarta, Indonesia)
Olivia (London, England)
ML (Utah, USA)
Lotus (Toronto, Canada)
Andi (Dallas [ish], Texas, United States)
Todd (Louisville, Kentucky, United States)
miss kendra (los angeles, california, u.s.a)
Jiggs Casey (Berkeley, CA, USA! USA! USA!)
Tits McGee (New England, USA)
Kat (Ontario, Canada)
Cheezy (London, England)
tafka PP (Jerusalem, Israel)
Harry (Modi’in (The City of the Future), Israel)
Mordoch, Agripas, Jerusalem: The Mordoch family are Kurdish and serve the best kubbeh soup in the entire country. Kubbeh soup is a meal unto itself. At Mordoch you can get three varieties - red, green and “kubbeh shel pa’am” - Red kubbeh soup is made with chicken stock, beets, tomato paste and swiss chard. Green (commonly known as Chamutzta) is a really sour soup made with swiss chard, zuchinni and a ton of lemon juice. “Kubbeh shel Pa’am” is basically the same as broth as the Chamutzta but with a ton of garlic. The star of all of the soups however is the Kubbeh itself. Kubbeh are seminola dumplings filled with meat and spices.
Batya, 197 Dizengoff, Tel Aviv: This place has been open since 1941. Check out this origin. It used to be a watermelon stand. The customers quickly became more interested in the food that Batya was bringing her husband than the watermelon and hence Batya was born. This place is old school. You can get even order a side of shmaltz to spread on your rye bread. Their chopped liver is absolutely mindblowing and their chicken soup can cure cancer.
Moshiach Ben David, Frenkel street, Tel Aviv: Shai, of the once awesome and now defunct blog, Shaister, introduced me to this place (I still owe you five shekels) last year and I have returned several times since. It’s homemade Bukharin food. You can look at the menu all you want, but the proprietor will let you know what she decided to make that day. I’ve had incredible soup that was somewhere between a traditional Ashkenazi chicken soup and wonton soup, fried rice with chicken, stuffed vegetables with meat and more. It’s uber-delicious and uber-cheap. It’s not the cleanest establishment, but hey, that’s part of the charm.
Ta’ami, Shammai street, Jerusalem: Hands down, the best hummous in Jerusalem. I have nothing else to say. Go now and let Motti serve you.
Ethio-Israel, Jerusalem: My love affair with Ethiopian food started about two years ago. Until last week I’ve been eating it at every joint in the city except Ethio-Israel. Huge mistake on my part. Ethio-Israel is by far the best Ethiopian restaurant that Jerusalem has to offer. Ethio-Israel is located right behind Jaffa street not far from Kikar Tzion in an area which is quickly becoming “Little Ethiopia.” The food is outstanding, filling and super-duper cheap. I recommend their variety platter which features four vegetable dishes and one meat dish for only 35 shekels (about 8 bucks)!
Ofer Falafel, Modi’in: You wouldn’t expect great falafel in Modi’in. Since opening about two years ago, Ofer Falafel has become my preferred falafel stop, although I greatly respect both Yemenite Falafel and Moshiko in Jerusalem. What makes Ofer so special? Well, for one, the falafel is self-serve. You order your pita, they put in the hummous and you put in your own salads, chips and falafel balls. Falafel joints like this are few and far between. The falafel is always fresh, it never sits around in the oil for hours. Ofer Falafel is also immaculately clean and the service is great. Ofer and his merry band of teenage workers serve with a smile.
I don’t really have any friends who have blogs so I’m not going to tag anyone.
Joost invites anyone?
Anyone out there a Joost beta tester?
Would you like to make me very happy?
Please, please, please send me an invite!
Thanks!
Stuff only I care about….
Green tea may work as an anti-inflammatory for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
How to make a plastic bag keeper.
R.E.M.’s music catalog dissected once song at a time.
“Now That The Day Is Over“, The Innocence Mission’s beautiful collection of lullabies, will make you want to burn your Baby Einstein collection. Buy it for your baby.
Keren Ann makes aliyah. At least one good thing came out of the Second Lebanon War.
Michael Chabon’s new book, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is finally out. Chabon briefly mentions in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the movie film version of Kavalier & Clay, which was going to star Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman has “stalled, totally stalled.” Sigh.
Every child should have a plush Minotaur. I’ve ordered one for mine.
Has the age of politcal accountibility begun?
Doubtful.
The Winograd Report is the greatest single Israeli invention since the Davidka. It’s the first time in a long time where politicians are finally being held accountable for their actions. It’s the straw that broke the camel’s back and it looks like the Israeli people have simply had enough. The dirty politics, the corruption, the self-interest..this is much bigger than outrage over the Olmert government’s handling of the Second Lebanon War. The time has come. The Israeli must stand together - right and left - and say enough is enough. We are on a straight path to self destruction. But it is not too late. It’s time that those serving in the Knesset understand that they work for the Israeli people. They serve the public and must put the national interest above their own. You’d think they’d get the hint. Apparently not yet though. Why the hell was the Knesset half empty for today’s special session on the Winograd Report. We are in the midst of a national crisis and our elected representatives can’t even get off their asses and show up at the Knesset?
Tonight’s rally in Tel Aviv is being organized by Uzi Dayan of the Tafnit movement. I am proud to say that I voted for Tafnit in the last election. In my post leading up to last year’s elections I wrote” title=”http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifhref=\”http://www.theviewfromhere.net/2006/03/election-shmelections.html\”>wrote” target=”_blank”>www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifhref=”http://www.theviewfromhere.net/2006/03/election-shmelections.html”>wrote…
Kadima, feh I say. Everyone I know is voting for Kadima because “they don’t really have a choice.” Thing is, there is a choice. And for me that choice is integrity. Kadima is in essence the first national unity government running on the same ticket. Name one national unity government that made it through one term without falling apart. Ok, I can name one, but that doesn’t take away from my point. This government isn’t going to last. Kadima isn’t going to last. They may have filled their ranks with academics and new faces but the fact remains that corrupt fuckers like Meir Shitreet, Tzachi Hanegbi and Ronnie Bar-On are still in the top spots. Olmert’s hands are the cleanest either……Bottom line is that Kadima is just more of the same - self-interested politicians who represent nobody but themselves. Likud isn’t much better. Bibi’s party (let’s not forget he gave up Hebron) still has Naomi Blumenthal on his list. Blumenthal was sentenced to eight months in jail, a month after she was found guilty of bribery and obstruction of justice. YET SHE IS STILL ON LIKUD’S LIST.
Everyone is promising reform but no one will deliver. They never do. Since 1991, Knesset members have voted to raise their salaries by 90%. And last year NIS 10 million was allocated to the expense accounts of Parliamentary aides. An increase of NIS 10,000 a month per aide, that’s almost double their salaries. Ever watch the Knesset channel? It’s captivating television, let me tell you. It’s lovely to see an empty Knesset majority of the time unless of course when a vote occurs that is likely to topple the government….
…At least 15 members of this past Knesset have been investigated and several have been convicted of crimes. Yet, we continue to vote for the same parties and same politicians who look out for their own interests and not our own.
It doesn’t really matter who wins today. It’s all bullshit. Nothing is going to change. I’ve decided to vote for Tafnit. Never heard of them? Most people haven’t. They probably don’t have a chance in hell in getting in, but at least I’m voting for a party whose positions I believe in. I refuse to be bullied into the “I’m voting for Kadima because I don’t have a choice” attitude. My friend’s have accused me of wasting a vote by voting for a small party. The only waste is not voting at all. Truth is, it doesn’t really matter, nothing is going to change. Same shit. Different election.
Needless to say I was right. But I of course didn’t see a irresponsibly handled war on the horizon. Well, at least one thing will come out of this. Tafnit has pretty much guaranteed themselves a spot in the next Knesset and will no doubt become a force to be reckoned with.
I’ll post photos from the demonstration later. I got ahead of myself. I was in the hospital all morning for my Remicade treatment. I realized that unless I leave at least two hours early, I’d have to walk a fair amount to Kikar Rabin. In my current state and with the humidity as is, not such a great idea. I prefer living another day.
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