T + A in Tel Aviv
Our Israeli friends mentioned that the last Israel post left them feeling a bit homesick, so I promise in this post I'll only say horrible things about the country.
Like how disgustingly blue and clear their sea is, how horribly filled with flavours and life their markets are, and how repugnantly juicy their lamb is.
Things like that.
On the first morning of T+A in T A, A humoured T and took her to the Carmel Markets.
We had a game plan:
1) find dates
2) find tasty Israeli sweets
3) find a man in a wine shop who looks like our work friend (his brother).
Of course, all good game plans begin, for Andy, with coffee.
And apparently also pomegranate juice:
The market started with stalls selling cheap plasticky crap, but very rapidly segued into the good stuff:
Just look at all those variations on a spicy theme!
The desserts were also 'pretty sweet' (sorry).
I grabbed a few, but the greatest haul of all was this beauty:
Shortbread-like pastry, date puree inside. Much like my beloved Kahk (a sweet passed down from my grandfather).
There was a breif pause for sunning ourselves, but I was keen to keep moving.
Hey look!
The moving bird gets the cactus (or something).
Kinda pretty, but, like its dragonfruity kind, not a lot going on in the flavour department.
We headed up the coast towards the old city...
Pausing a little on the way to pose, and take pictures of furry and feathered friends
I don't think he liked me...
But seriously folks- how amazing is that water? The Tel Avivians must totally 'heart' it- which possibly explains this fellow:
Although it could be lyre?
Or a mouth with really bad teeth?
We found our way into the old city, but had some trouble working out our landmarks. Too many vaguely-churchy-clock-towery-things and not enough clarity as to which was which.
Plus I think we entered the city from the wrong direction.
Still, the area that we were in had plenty of art- both inside and out.
We hit a rather cool statue/archway on our way into the centre. It's called the 'statue of faith' and depicts three biblical stories- The 'Fall of Jericho' on the top, and 'The Sacrifice of Isaac' and 'Jacob's Dream' holding it up.
This tiny little thing is the clock tower. I guess in its defence, it is quite old. But it wasn't really 'guiding us through the city with its towering magnificence'.
Ok, so I know you read my blog and think 'good greif they are eating a lot'.
But you have to remember that there is time passing.
Plus a lot of walking.
And actually, maybe it's better if you go for a little walk just now so you can truely appreciate the magnificence of the food to come.
Behold- LUNCH!
This was Andy's choice- slow cooked beef in a tomato-herb-spice-delicious sauce.
I'm going to say it: 'Never in germany has any man ever put so many flavours together in such a synergistic way.'
The meals were accompanied (and I mean that in the most accurate and musical definition of the word) by 'salads', which were of course also flavour-bursty wonderfullness.
I rewarded him with a bit of my Lamb Skewer:
Which is, frankly, easier to share if you have two:
The food was amazing- and I think this stands true even in the absence of long-term lamb-lust.
The place is called Haj Kahil, and it's right next to the Clock Tower in Jaffa. Our Israeli friends recommended it to us, and I'm going to 1+UP the recommendation.
Not only was our food super great, but everything else that went passed us while we were eating also looked incredible- I think we have to go back to Israel just to try their stuffed lamb neck.
We spent the afternoon following The Feed loitering and wobbling around Tel Aviv.. I didn't take so many photos...
That evening, our Israeli friends, who had also managed to wrangle a work-sponsored visit to Tel Aviv and surroundings, picked us up, gave us a 'Locals Tour' of the nearby area, and then took us to Cafe48.
Yes, for more food.
And I have to admit a massive bloggers shame here- because I didn't take any photos of that food.
And it was Amazing.
They have a bunch of crazy fusion miracles which don't can't be given justice by the descriptions on the menu:
Try to imagine how awesome Roasted beets with gorgonzola, truffle oil and sterkino cheese (whatever that is) tastes.
You know what? You're not imagining hard enough.
And that is why you should just book a flight, and try it yourselves.
There were four of us, which allowed us to try a nice selection of different dishes, and I would definitely suggest you go with friends so you can do the same.
Massive thanks to G and T for spending time to show us around their hood (and their food!).
Oh yeah, and their Eis:
CONVERSATION