Food of Israel – Welcome

Muscat Pumpkin

For those of you linking to this blog for the first time, welcome to The Pickled Tongue! I hope you find the time to look at the archives/categories in the sidebar to the right to see what we are up to in my kitchen here at Lockwood. And don’t forget to subscribe to the frequent updates by signing up to the RSS feed found in the top right hand corner. For those who frequent the blog already, a couple of the below postings have been refreshed so they can be viewed as a whole.Because it’s not what this blog is about, I will be biting my Zionist tongue regarding the political controversy affecting Israel. But before we move into the food, I would first like to address several misconceptions many have regarding life in Israel:

1. Israel is not safe.
When the region is seen on television, the screen is frequently full of horrifying scenes of missiles exploding and crying relatives holding the broken bodies of loved ones… or politicians commenting on the tumult. Because it is difficult to see outside this literal and figurative ‘box’ - and perhaps because it is such a small speck on the map – people may believe that every corner of the country is in a constant state of war. Although I know their intentions are in the right place, many friends – and some family - look at me with a fearful wince and tell me to be careful in my travels. The reality, is that despite a frightening and sleepless evening at my in-laws and even being feet away from a terrorist bombing while living in Israel, I have rarely felt insecure when in major cities. And although the ever dependent tourism economy collapses overnight with the escalations, most citizens away from the fighting - though very concerned – go about their daily lives with little interruption. To say that terrorism is not in the back of one’s mind is not true, but there is also a certain joie de vivre in how this feeling translates to other aspects of life there. To tell someone to “be safe” is perfectly fine. But if you avoid the dangerous areas – much as you would do so in Chicago – there is no real way to be careful other than you how you would be careful not to be struck by lightening.

2. Jews and Arabs do not live in harmony and are strictly segregated.
As a matter of fact, more than half of the establishments I will promote are owned by Arab-Israelis. In the two years I lived and worked in Israel, my kitchen crew was made up of 1 Muslim, 1 Arab-Christian, 1 Israeli and myself. One rule in my kitchen was that there would be no talk of politics allowed and this was adhered to. Several good friends of mine are Arab-Israeli and they are an integral part of the Israeli society. The majority wish to go about their business and live a life in peace and are just as disturbed as Israelis when this is not the case.

3. I will have a great corned beef sandwich while in Israel.
The cuisine of the country is rooted mostly in Sephardic (Jews with Arab descent), and not in Ashkenazi (Jews with European descent) cuisine. In other words, you will not find too much corned beef, pastrami, chicken soup, etc., but more hummus, falafel and such.

4. There is little fine dining available in Israel.
Aside from a few cutting edge restaurants, this for the most part is not a misconception. Though there are a few restaurants worth their salt, fine dining in Israel is pretty much where the USA was in the 1980’s. Additionally, the fact that shellfish and non-kosher meats are very expensive and not in very high demand also dims future prospects. Two restaurants in Tel Aviv worth checking out are Katit in the Neveh Tsedek neighborhood and Rafael in the Dan Tel Aviv Hotel. In Jerusalem, Canella on Jaffa Street is a good bet.

5. The weather is always warm.
Although not nearly as cold as Chicago, there is actually snow and skiing available in the North. And though temperatures in the major cities rarely will reach below freezing, the houses are not insulated and there is no central heating. This makes it difficult to remove a chill in the bones once obtained.

Now that these misconceptions are out of the way, you will find details on some of my favorite foods and places in Israel. As is usually the case when I travel to Israel, I mapped out my trip as much by the places I wanted to eat as much as by the people I wanted to see. Gratefully that says more about the food than about my loved ones.