Mealtime: Dim Sum Station

Chinese dumplings are one of my favorite foods to eat. If I was forced to eat only dumplings for the rest of my life, I could do it with ease. The omnipresent Chinese restaurant that I am familiar with does not really exist here in Tel Aviv. I yearned to find a place to find decent dumplings for my craving. One day walking the streets of Tel Aviv I stumbled upon the Dim Sum Station on Yehuda Halevi near Allenby. I decided to go there with a few of my roommates when the restaurant we wanted to go to had a significant waiting list. The dumplings are frozen and then steamed. They are about 5 shekels a piece which is a good price for something that was frozen. Besides dumplings the Dim Sum Station has noodle dishes such as stir fried noodles and pad thai. If you are ever craving dumplings and are in Tel Aviv, Dim Sum Station is a good choice. They are relatively cheap and they taste great. Enjoy!

Mealtime: Benedict

Living on the East Coast of the United States, having the ubiquitous breakfast joint was an essential part of the food culture. Diners were a second home, with friendly or ball busting service, refills of coffee, and tall stacks of pancakes drowned in natural maple syrup and butter. The eggs were always cooked the way you wanted them to be and were accompanied with toast, and home fries. Living in Tel Aviv, I miss the diner because there is no such thing here. It comes as no surprise that instead of a diner, Tel Aviv has embraced the Brunch concept. At Benedict, you have the ability to order brunch and breakfast 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you could not tell by the name of the restaurant you can order several different ways of having Eggs Benedict, but there is much more to the menu besides Eggs Benedict. There are pancakes, and french toast for those Americans missing those breakfast staples. The menu draws influence not just from the American breakfast. There are breakfast tacos, steak and eggs, shakshouka, a traditional English breakfast, and the Israeli breakfast which is eggs, breads, and salad. With your brunch you are given the choice of brunch cocktail, and side salad. The bread they serve before your meal is fantastic as well. When I ate at Benedict, I had Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon. The only difference between the Eggs Benedict here from back home is that the eggs Benedict is not served on top of an English muffin. It was served on challah. It was delicious and was filling. If you like breakfast anytime of the day, Benedict is your best bet for heaven on a plate then. There are two locations in Tel Aviv, one on Rothschild and Allenby, the other is on Ben Yehuda. If you are craving breakfast at any hour of the day, Benedict is your best bet in Tel Aviv. Enjoy!

Mealtime: Pasha

Walking around the streets of Tel Aviv, you are inundated with multiculturalism. With that multiculturalism comes a huge variety of dining options. There are burger restaurants, hummus joints, falafel and shawarma stands, Chinese, Eastern European, sushi, kebab joints, Italian restaurants for instance. With a huge variety of food choices at someones disposal in Tel Aviv it is not surprising that Tel Aviv has a restaurant that serves Turkish cuisine. Pasha is located across the street from the Cinematheque on HaArbaa Street. I have a friend on my program that is going to be in Turkey teaching and she wanted to know what the food was like in Turkey. The best value I think is the business lunch. With that comes an array of salads, an appetizer and main course.  For salads  there was zhug, a salsa like dish, beet salad, radish and arugla salad, olives, tehina, and baked and stuffed kibbe. For an appetizer I had lachmajoun, a flatbread with a tomato, parley, onion, and ground meat topping. It is like Turkish pizza. My friend got kubbe hamusta which is bulghar wheat with ground meat stuffed inside and was cooked in a flavored broth with carrots, onion, and parsley. For the main course we both ordered the grilled chicken maluba. The chicken maluba had rice, vegetables, and was garnished with almonds and mint. It was absolutely delicious. the chicken was well seasoned and the rice was perfectly cooked. I would highly suggest going for lunch because of the value you receive. An array of salads and the appetizer would be enough for some people. Besides the dishes my friend and I tasted, it looked like Pasha had a variety of dishes that sounded intriguing and delicious. If you want to try something completely different and delicious in Tel Aviv, Pasha is a restaurant for you. Enjoy!

Mealtime: Shakshouka

When life gives you tomatoes and eggs what would you do with them? Ask Israelis and they would say you could make Shakshouka. Shakshouka's origins are debatable, but many claim it originates from North Africa. Shakshouka made its way to Israel from North Africa with North African Jews that moved to Israel when their living situation in their countries became intolerable. Shakshouka is basically eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. Usually it is served in the same frying pan it was cooked in and is served with bread for dipping. It is a staple in the Israeli kitchen because the ingredients to make are usually on hand. There are as many recipes for Shakshouka as people how cook it. Everyone makes it differently. That what makes it a unique dish that everyone should try when they are in Israel. It is also extremely easy to make in the home kitchen so you should give this recipe a try next time you want to be adventurous.

Ingredients:

4 tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic

1 onion

tablespoon of chili paste

 1/4 cup water

1/4 cup tomato paste

cumin

salt 

pepper

eggs  

Method:

With the tomatoes make an x opposite the stem. Then place in boiling water for about 30 seconds to a minute. Take out of the water and rinse with cold water. This should make peeling the skin of the tomatoes easier. When the tomatoes are peeled, chop the tomatoes, and onion. After that you should mince the garlic. In a frying pan you should cook the chopped onions until they become translucent. Then add the garlic and chili paste until fragrant. Once fragrant, add the chopped tomatoes, cumin, tomato paste, salt, pepper,and a 1/4 cup of water. Cook until the sauce combines evenly. When the sauce is combined add the eggs and cook them to your liking.  I like my yolks a little runny so I cook my eggs for a shorter amount of time than other people. If you do not like runny egg yolks, then you should just cook the eggs longer. Serve in the same frying pan you cook with and alongside some bread for dipping. It is a delicious way to enjoy eggs in a non-conventional manner. It is good anytime of the day and just because it has eggs in it does not make it a breakfast only dish. I hope you decide to try Shakshouka in the future, it is delicious and healthy for you. Enjoy!

Street Art in Tel Aviv: part 7

I have one question to ask you, are you ready for more graffiti and street art from the streets of Tel Aviv? I if you are I hope you enjoy my seventh installment of Tel Aviv street art. If you are not familiar with my other posts the graffiti in Tel Aviv varies from tagging, to stencil tags, to actual murals, and political graffiti. Here is the seventh installment, enjoy!

Pasta Basta

This might be a broad statement, but I believe that most people have an affinity for eating pasta. In this age of globalization, you can find pasta or noodles of some sort on the shelves of many grocery stores and markets across the world. Here in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, there is a restaurant that is democratizing pasta as a meal. This restaurant is called Pasta Basta. Pasta Basta is democratizing the traditional bowl of pasta by allowing their customers to customize their own dish. By personalizing the pasta, the customers have almost complete control over how the pasta will taste. You can choose from a variety of sauces including a beet meat sauce, coconut curry, pesto, or traditional marinara sauce. Besides the sauce, customers can choose their own pasta and add ins. The combinations a customer could make at Pasta Basta are many. I had fettucine with coconut curry sauce, smoked tuna, and broccoli. I went with a fried of mine and she had the whole grain fusilli with pesto and sweet potato. These are just a few of the choices you can make when you decide to dine at Pasta Basta. Within a few minutes of placing my order, my food was ready and I was eating. It is fast, delicious, and easy on the wallet.  If you are near Shuk HaCarmel in Tel Aviv, try Pasta Basta. There is another location in Jerusalem near Shuk Mahane Yehuda. I highly suggest Pasta Basta if you are a pasta junkie. Enjoy!

Street Art in Tel Aviv: part 6

I am pleased to announce that I have a sixth installment in my quest to photograph the graffiti I see here in Tel Aviv. If you are not familiar with my other posts the graffiti in Tel Aviv varies from tagging, to stencil tags, to actual murals, and political the graffiti. Here is the sixth installment, enjoy!