Kosher Dining in Israel: Holy Satisfying

by Lori Gardner for Jewish Food Experience

If you’ve visited Israel on an organized tour, you likely have fond memories of eating falafel on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem or sitting on a Tel Aviv restaurant’s waterside deck enjoying grilled meat and salatim. Those are certainly the images that come to my mind—particularly when I think about kosher dining during my last visit to Israel in 2010.

In the United States, Mediterranean and specifically Israeli cuisine is growing in popularity. The media focus on Israel as a dining destination is on the rise, with articles in the New York Times, Travel and Leisure and Forbes. Then there’s the film In Search of Israeli Cuisine narrated by Michael Solomonov and the Tel Aviv episode of Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix. If you’re paying attention to any of this, it’s likely that your next visit to Israel will include a focus on food.

Sufganiyot (Chanukah doughnuts) at Marzipan Bakery

As I read, watched and listened to all this attention on Israeli food, my hunger for a visit grew. When an opportunity arose to accompany my daughter, son-in-law and infant granddaughter to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv over Thanksgiving, my husband and I rushed to the computer and began planning. My head spun as I tried to narrow dining decisions for what was to be a heavily food-centric vacation.

In particular, we researched kosher venues, which are far more compelling compared to eight years ago. There are more fine dining options, more international cuisines represented, more street food and an increase in the number of markets and cafés with eclectic offerings that extend beyond the traditional.

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