On Thursday evening, my city came under rocket fire for the first time since the Gulf War 20 years ago. Now, we’re in the Middle East here, but I’ve generally tried to avoid politics on my blog. But writing about food seems a little frivolous at the moment when the …
The tables were packed, the music was booming, the alcohol was flowing and the crowd was jovial. But this wasn’t a bar, and it wasn’t a night out, either. Nope — it was just another Friday morning at the Salouf Bakery in the Hatikva Market. Perched on barstools, we were …
From the street, it looks like little more than a shack, nestled among boutique hotels and beach revelers in one of north Tel Aviv’s most expensive, touristy neighborhoods. Woven reed walls protect it from prying eyes. Most of the time, it’s closed. But on Saturdays the doors open, and those …
We’re in the midst of the largest social protests in decades. At the center of it all is the cost of living — the economy is powering ahead, but people are being left behind. We pay high monopoly taxes, and consumers are starting to realize that. Banks, supermarket chains, communications …
The Levinsky Street market always makes me stop. I pass through nearly every day on my way to work, and regularly restock on coffee beans at David’s spice shop and spices at Pereg (no more than 80 grams at a time — that’s what fits into my jars). I get …
Traveling through Thailand in 2008, we fell in love with the cuisine — fresh vibrant vegetables prepared with an exotic array of spices. So exotic, in fact, that you couldn’t find them all here. Determined, I asked a few random Thai women at the Carmel Market where they found fresh …
I don’t usually feel like a stranger in my own city. I observe minute changes in the scenery as they occur, and I probably could get around with my eyes closed, that is, if I weren’t afraid of walking into a tree or getting hit by a car. Yet there …
I guess I lack holiday spirit. It’s Hanukkah, but I haven’t been able to get in the mood for grease. After making six types of latkes last year, and frying them in more than enough oil to keep a hanukkiyah burning for eight days, I went a different route this …
Brunch is beyond a tradition in Tel Aviv — it’s a culture. Every self-respecting restaurant offers a breakfast menu, which invariably includes “Israeli breakfast” — generally speaking, some form of eggs, a leafy or chopped vegetable salad, assorted white cheeses, a few other spreads, some bread, coffee and/or fresh juice. …
