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Feb. 15, 2008
Top gastronomic destination
Tel Aviv offers visitors a wide range of high-quality restaurants.
RHONDA SPIVAK
Between its falafel stands and its gourmet restaurants, Tel Aviv has become a top destination for food. The city has become a "culinary superpower," where a unique gastronomic culture has blossomed, said Miki Nir, executive chef of the Dan Panorama Hotel.
Nir, who has been working at the Dan Panorama for 17 years, said that the food he serves has adapted over time. "We used to serve a lot of Jewish food, with Eastern European flavors. But now, there is less of that and more Middle Eastern dishes, with distinctly Israeli touches. We are taking the recipes that our mothers made at home and are adapting them to new gourmet standards."
According to Nir, Tel Aviv's foodmakers have had to cater to the increased number of international tourists. "Tourism has been exploding in the last year in Tel Aviv and elsewhere in the county. The Dan Panorama is completely full all the time, and the situation is the same for all the other hotels along the beach strip. You can no longer just book a room for a night; a seven-day minimum is required. We anticipate that it will be the same throughout the spring and summer. We've noticed a real increase in the numbers of business travellers. When it comes to food, the business traveller wants a high level of professionalism and service," he said.
Nir said he makes it his business to go to all of Tel Aviv's upscale gourmet restaurants to sample the offerings of other well-known chefs. "There has been a real development in the genre of gourmet food in Tel Aviv in the last few years," said Nir. Top restaurants in this genre focus on super-fresh, locally grown vegetables and chefs create superb seasonal dishes based on some of the highest quality of ingredients from the market, such as okra, Jerusalem artichoke, green beans and leeks, he explained.
"The chefs are using French techniques with local Israeli, Middle Eastern or Arab touches," said Nir, adding that prices at these gourmet restaurants range from "expensive" to "very expensive" to "very, very expensive."
Four gourmet restaurants that Nir recommends are Cordelia (under chef Nir Zook) in Jaffa, Rafael's, under chef Rafi Cohen, Moul Hayam, at Tel Aviv's port, and Roshfeld, a bistro. All are known for their innovative and exacting chefs and also for their attention to detail and professional service.
"But the best restaurant in all of Israel is Tel Aviv's Katit," said Nir confidently. "It's three or four years old, it's nouveau kitchen and is known for its combination of taste. But, it is yakar me'od me'od [very, very expensive]."
Nir said that the culinary culture in Tel Aviv is being influenced by the fact that, in the last few years, there has been a wave of French Jews who have immigrated to Israel, and many who have bought second homes in the country. More restaurants with French cuisine, or that are influenced by it, can be found today in Tel Aviv and more patisseries have popped up in the Sharon area in general.
Avi Slama, who owns La Mer restaurant on Tel Aviv's main beach strip, has a lot of French dishes (such as salade niçoise) that cater to French tourists. "Even through the second intifada, business was OK, because the French tourists kept coming," he said.
Chef Roman Elazarov, who was trained by Nir and also works at the Dan Panorama, said, "In Tel Aviv, the food is best in the summer, when there are a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables available."
Elazarov, who has a young family, prefers the steakiyot (common steakhouses) of Tel Aviv, restaurants that focus on grilled meats, hummus and fresh vegetable salads. One of his favorites is Yitzhak HaGadol, in Jaffa. "People stand in line to wait for the food and it's expensive, but they are willing to pay," he noted.
As well, Elazarov, who also does private catering, likes to take his family to Pinat Hashlosha, in nearby Rishon Letzion, which he said is a "very authentic" and affordable Middle Eastern restaurant.
"Everyone in the food industry is excited about the prospects for the upcoming months. Already, this year has been one of the most successful years ever for tourism. We are preparing for a big wave of tourists who will come to celebrate Israel's 60th birthday in the spring and expect there to be lots of tourists this summer," said Elazarov.
Rhonda Spivak is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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