When I want to get a good understanding of a new place I visit I do three things:
- Open the radio - What do you hear? talking or singing? politics? pop? rock? what is it all about?
- go to a kiosk - get yourself in a convenient store, the most simple one. A Schpati in Berlin, Off license in London Kiosk in Israel, Periptera in Greece. Look around, what do they sell, how much do they sell it for. This will tell a story about the people of the place. What kind of kitchen accessories do they sell?
- Check out the street food! So this is the most important part, and what if there is no street food you might ask. BAD sign. Food wise i mean. Culturally it's a problematic sign. It could mean in some places that food does not symbolises joy but more of a functional thing. A way to stay alive. It might be more common in cold places but i believe that also the coldest place should have a common street dish that's should fill the heart and the stomach in a traditional tasty way.
Some places have so much to offer you can go crazy, like Belgium for example or Italy as everybody know or Spain but did you know that Israel is crazy for this exploration?
And obviously once you hit a good place for street food exploration you should be curious about all the rest.
Now let's start.
I took this pic @ Barzilay Farm - Ahad Ha'Am St 6, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel - Vegan/Vegetarian
If you went to Israel and came back with no amazing culinary memories you definitely did something wrong!
There is just so much to try and taste and you can start by exploring Tel Aviv alone.
The most enjoyable part of the food in this area is the ingredients, if someone is using a bad or non-fresh materials he is really trying hard. One of the things that makes this place a food Mecca is the fact that even the most common simple dishes are fresh and incredibly tasty and clean. The vegetables are one of the best you can find and this makes a huge difference taste wise.
Once simple food is amazing and associated with joy and life and friendship it starts building up as well to the highest level of cooking as well. But it's build upon the best basics which makes every meal a celebration.
In Israel the problem is not the low level food and not the high one as well, the problematic category is the medium prices and that's because the basic level is relatively high and the high level too so medium places that don't actually offer a great understanding of cooking always try to appear more sophisticated and interesting than they actually are. You might go to a well designed place with an "impressive" menu (I use "" because late on you will find many places that replicates the same basic menu) that doesn't live up to the promise. Too many places happen to fall into this category and this is why you should choose well and not just drop in to every restaurant that offers an eggplant and some tahini.
I did gather a few places you should definitely try exploring, some high end and some basic as hell, but this is where it gets exciting because enjoyment comes in many levels as you will find out quite fast!
Good luck!!
Onn
* I'm really sorry if at some point along the road some places will get closed, this is unfortunately the hard reality in Tel Aviv
