Eat Well: Charcuterie

Now is the time to enjoy the outdoors in Israel. The unbearable summer heat has yet to hit, but the weather is perfectly warm enough to enjoy an evening meal outside without needing to jostle for space next to an electrical heater.

Yaffo immediately comes to mind in such weather, because of its concentration of dining and nightlife options that are tucked away in HaShouk HaPishpishin. The streets of the old flea market which, during the day can be somewhat of a tourist trap, come alive with a diverse crowd at night, several hours after vendors' stalls have been closed.

One of the largest and, perhaps, best-dressed crowds can be found in front of Charcuterie, a restaurant that spills out of its tiny closet-like space to take over nearly an entire block with tables and a makeshift outside bar. The menu is decidedly simple, with several typical appetizers, pastas, salads and, of course, the tasty platters of charcuterie meat for which the place is named.

The music is loud and the drinking is heavy. Well-heeled Tel Avivians converse animatedly and the entire scene eventually assumes the look of a lively street party. Charcuterie's new extension, a similarly styled bar with a small selection of the restaurant's meats and appetizers, occupies a corner spot just a few doors down, thus increasing the block's traffic.

Reservations are essential, unless you're a small group happy to angle for a position at the outside bar, whose seats are kept open on a first-come-first-served basis. The whole menu can still be ordered here, making it a perfect option for those hopping back and forth along the flea market's alleys, shifting through the different scenes at Yaffo's plethora of new outdoor dining options.

3 Rabbi Hanina St.
Yaffo Flea Market
+972 03 682 8843

Eat Well: Joz ve Loz

There was never any question of how to start this blog...Joz ve Loz was the very first restaurant I dined at in Tel Aviv and nowhere else in the city has since trumped it.

There's something magical about this place. The tucked-away, nondescript, signless entrance. The colored lights hanging above the patio and the love poems written on every menu. The mismatched furniture. The rumored story of the place being started by a lesbian couple who have now broken off (I can't verify this one, but the place does bleed romance). The feeling of being snuggled between the highrises in a secret garden. The hum of the air conditioning system. The bikes and broken pots in the corner.

The selection changes daily, based on whatever fresh ingredients the restaurant picked up at the market that day. What never changes, however, is the fanciful, distinctly Mediterranean kick that is applied to these crisp market findings. Unexpected mixes of flavors and textures is what characterizeds almost all of the dishes.

On a recent night, there was an Asian salad with lychees, nuts, greens, and herbs. Grilled octopus on slices of toasted bread. Delicate ceviche drizzled in olive oil, with crunchy nuggets of salt, pomegranate seeds, and basil slivers. Lamb chops atop a burghul and tomato salad. Homemade pasta and gnocchi with asparagus, celery, spices and parmesan. A large, yet simple, entrecote with roasted potatoes. Small white fish encrusted with herbs, to be dipped in yogurt. Lamb roasted in the oven for six hours, served with tehina and lentils.

I usually like to drown my meals here with their house wine, a South African red. But they do have a full bar and bottled beer. One beer is served on tap: Tibe, from the Palestinian village of the same name. It's light in color, somewhat sweet in flavor. A nice option.

Dessert here is simple. Perhaps malabe, or flourless chocolate cake. Make sure to get some of their strong Arabic coffee or at least black tea with mint to gird yourself for the rest of the evening's festivities...

One caveat: The menu here is only in Hebrew, so if you can't read, you will have to smile a lot and thank your waiter for taking the time to translate. It is not an easy task to find the English words for many of their more obscure ingredients and cooking techniques.

51 Yehuda Halevi
+972 3 560 6385