First came matzah. Then that mysterious manna from heaven to tide the Israelites over until entering the Land of Milk and Honey. Then came gefilte fish, falafel and chicken soup. Eventually, Chinese take-out, and inevitably, Starbucks and Burger King arrived. Few tourists head to the Holy Land with haute cuisine in mind, but those who still think “Gourmet Israel” is an oxymoron will be pleasantly surprised.
“During my previous visit in 1993, the fancy food was stodgy — meaning French — and not very interesting,” said John Kessler, a food and restaurant critic for the Atlanta Journal & Constitution who visited Israel in January. He recalled an assessment of Israeli cuisine by Daniel Rogov, the food critic for Ha’aretz and Le Monde: “The best anyone could say about it was that Israeli breakfasts were good.”
As the economy soared from 1986 to 1996, so did the cuisine scene. In record numbers Israelis traveled overseas, experiencing the finer things in life. Upon returning home, they expected more from restaurants.
Chefs traveling abroad to cooking schools began to appreciate the ancient indigenous culinary traditions, as well as the unique Jewish dishes introduced by immigrants from more than 100 countries. Dubbed “Med-Rim,” this old-new cuisine employs esoteric spices such as the biblical hyssop, seafood of the Mediterranean and River Jordan, olive oil, superb local dairy products, and the bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables.
“A new generation of chefs with excellent training are marrying good technique with local flavors into a gourmet context,” Kessler reports. This Med-Rim or “Land of Israel” cooking is exemplified by the renowned Eucalyptus in Jerusalem. Owner and chef Moshe Basson — who won the 1999 couscous championship in Sicily — is often called a food archaeologist because he garners ideas from the Bible, the Mishnah and local cultures. When not in the kitchen, he’s foraging the Judean Hills for plants for his nouvelle Israel dishes.
Instead of grape leaves, Basson uses leaves of wild cyclamen and khubezia (mallow) to create dolmas. His figs stuffed with chicken and tamarind sauce are exquisite, as is the signature Ma’aluba, a steaming chicken casserole flipped upside-down on a platter. Baluza, the famous Turkish orchid bulb ice cream (or halvah cream), adds a delightful finale.
Even the breathtaking view of the Jezerel Valley from the ever-popular Herb Garden Restaurant on the slopes of Mount Gilboa won’t distract from its tempting offerings. Lovingly operated by the Mass family in an unpretentious log chalet, a typical meal commences with homemade breads and herb spreads; labane-mint cheese balls served with dried fresh tomatoes, sumac and zatar, a pungent Mideastern spice; and baked mushrooms filled with goose liver and pine nuts, topped with marsala cream sauce. In addition to a range of beef and chicken selections, the restaurant offers trout baked with thyme, and two ostrich dishes, one a fillet stuffed with smoked goose breast, basil and kachkaval served with caper pesto. And where else could your taste buds delight to lavender ice cream drizzled with sage caramel sauce? A rising star in the north is the fledgling Nitsa & Moshe, located on Route 98 winding up to the Golan Heights above the Sea of Galilee. Chef Nitsa Block personally oversees every dish that leaves her kosher kitchen. The traditional mezza selection of appetizer salads includes exquisite hummus and tahini, a very verdure tabouli, salads of carrots, potato and zucchini, and three eggplant offerings, each one tastier than the next. A favorite vegetable is baked cauliflower in a reduced lemon sauce. Nitsa is hounded by kosher chefs around the country trying to coax from her the secret ingredient of her creamy, non-dairy orange mousse dessert, but she remains mum. An ongoing challenge — especially in Israel’s kosher hotels — is creating top-quality dishes within a kashrut framework. But under the genius of head chef Rafi Cohen, La Regence at Jerusalem’s King David is Israel’s only hotel restaurant to appear in the Gault-Millau French dining guide. This 25-year-old prodigy, who began his culinary tutelage under his Moroccan grandmother, tied on a kitchen apron at the King David at the age of 13.
“I think that kashrut and gastronomy are bad friends, ” says Cohen. “If you go to a small ethnic restaurant, it will be kosher by heritage. But if you are trying to create a French or Continental menu, it’s unlikely to pass the test. But here [at La Regence], something new happened.” Something as in a “big miracle happened here.”
The diminutive poached quail egg served on a herbed mouse was as sublime as it was delicate. The Grouper Ceviche with Green Bean Salad was precisely spiced with lemon, coriander, pepper and thyme. The hearty Ragu of Lamb couldn’t be tastier, as was a fillet of rouget (red mullet) served with a tapenade of anchovies. Chef Cohen goes to all degrees to demand the freshest ingredients, shipping live cows from Australia, the United States or Holland.
In Tel Aviv, where few restaurants are kosher, the competition is fiercer. The casual, but pricey, Mul Yam (“Facing the Sea”) is appropriately located in Tel Aviv’s old port. Here, Israel’s elite can often be found sipping the latest Golan Winery sauvignon blanc over an entrée from the minimalist catch-of-the-day menu: Offerings may include crab soup with herbes de Provence, oysters, grilled St. Peter’s fish, calamari risotto or Seafood Fettuccini Nero. The wine list is extensive, the service impeccable.
Perhaps Arcadia in Jerusalem and Keren near Jaffa come closest to haute cuisine in Israel. Keren’s elegant atmosphere — a beautifully restored wooden house shipped over from Maine in 1866 — only enhances the delicacies of the French-European influenced dishes of chef Chaim Cohen. Among them: spinach, foie gras and egg in an adaptation of Shak Shuka, traditionally a pastiche of meat, egg and vegetables; crabmeat with feta cheese; and for those with more chutzpah, ragout of veal offal with white bean puree. For dessert, the frozen blancmange in melon soup is a must.
“Israelis have made the transition from eating to dining,” says Rogov, summing up the country’s culinary revolution one evening over dinner. “In the early Zionist years, the emphasis was on survival, and indulging in the extravagant of fine food and wine was frowned upon. Now, with the growing affluence, Israelis feel less guilty.”