Debbest Top 10 Israeli Foodie Dishes in August.

As promised, this month I didn’t just eat in restaurants close to home but traveled around the country. The list below includes delicious dishes from my travels in the Galil, as well as some other meals along the way in Petach Tikva, Herzliya and Netanya. My highlights this month were a Wagyu Denver Steak at Valero in Jerusalem and a Smoked Asado Sloppy Joe at BP Bistro in Netanya.

In chronological order, here are Debbest dishes in August:

1. Lamb Meatball Sandwich @Chicho (Kosher), Shop Time, Petach Tikva. I was in a hurry to get to a meeting so I went for a meatball sandwich, served with spinach, mangold, tachina and matbucha. There is also the option to order the meatballs in a bowl with bulgur wheat and Moroccan salads.
2. Truffle Pizza @Yesh Po Pizza (Kosher), Nahariya. It was just a small local pizza parlor in central Nahariya, but I loved the dough and the truffle cream, mozzarella, mushrooms and parmesan topping was decadent but not too rich. My friends had a margarita which was not as flavorful but I was very happy with my selection.
3. Knafe with Turkish Ice Cream @Knafe Cafe (Not Kosher), Yarka, Galil. Knafe might be one of the current food trends in Israel but if you want the real deal, go to a real local knafe cafe like Knafe Cafe in the Druze village of Yarka. The Turkish Ice Cream topping was made from sheep milk and the slightly sour taste cut the sweetness of the knafe.
4. Smoked Asado Sloppy Joe @BP Bistro (Kosher), Netanya Kvish Hahof. This was the perfect pit stop on our journey from Nahariya to Jerusalem. The service was friendly and the tables were well spaced out. I enjoyed the sloppy joe and my friend loved her burger. The side salad was a generous portion and was not just a boring green salad. There are so many dishes on the menu to choose from, I can see why BP always gets great reviews.
5. Shawarma @Bo Nohal (Kosher), Herzliya Pituach. This is one of my favorite grill restaurants in Israel. Maybe it is the sea air, maybe it is nostalgia as I have been going there for years or perhaps the fact that the people who work there are always so friendly and helpful. The salads are fresh and the shwarma and schnitzel are great!
6. Veal Schnitzel @Cafe Yehoshua (Not Kosher), Jerusalem. While a good chicken schnitzel is easy to find all over Israel, a good veal schnitzel is far rarer. Well cooked with a perfectly crunchy crust.
7. Wagyu Denver Steak @Valero (Kosher), Jerusalem. This was my first time trying Wagyu beef and I was not disappointed. The beef was so soft and full of flavor, without the need for any sauce or fancy presentation.
8. Wagyu Entrecote @Valero (Kosher), Jerusalem. Although the Denver cut was my favorite, the entrecote was also delicious. It is a more fatty steak than Denver but it was seared and served nicely sliced on a hot plate to keep it warm.
9. Pistachio Sorbet @Buza Ice Cream (Kosher). The woman who served me insisted that this was a sorbet made with water and no milk replacement. This was the creamiest sorbet I have ever had, maybe the oil in the pistachio created the creaminess but either way it was delicious. The second scoop was caramel cinnamon sorbet which was also great.
10. Beef Carpaccio @Sogo Bar (Kosher), Nahariya. The thinly sliced sirloin was drizzled with balsamic vinegar and mustard and served with chargrilled toast. We sat in the covered terrace area but there was still a fun vibe overflowing from the main restaurant, which is not always the case with outside areas.

As well as the above restaurants, this month I also visited a distillery, a jam factory and an organic winery.

• Julius (Kosher), Kibbutz Hanita, Western Galilee. On the Israeli border with Lebanon is a small distillery making brandy, gin and bitters using locally grown juniper and other flavors. Breathtaking views and deliciously potent alcohol. What a great combination.
  

  

  
• Bustan Confiture (Kosher), Lotem, Galil. There is no official visitor’s center but the owner was happy to talk to us about the history of the boutique jam company, while his staff cooked fig and arak jam and chimichurri in large vats in the kitchen. We tasted a variety of jams, including fig and arak, cherry tomato, lychee and plum.
• Lotem Winery (Not Kosher), Lotem, Galil. I tasted only the red wines which were all great but the Lotem Merlot 2018 was my favorite, which is strange as I normally prefer Cabernet Sauvignon. I also enjoyed the labneh and Druze pita that I ordered with the wine. From the terrace of the winery, there are amazing views of the Galil with the Kinneret in the background.
  

  

I had a few other meals in August that didn’t qualify for this list:

• Focaccia @Cafe Hatzvi (Not Supervised), Urvot Hamanim, Pardes Hanna. This small local cafe was totally overwhelmed with the number of people visiting on a hot Friday afternoon. Perhaps on a quieter day, it would be more enjoyable.
• Cheese Platter @Jacob’s Farm Cafe (Kosher), Kfar Haroeh. We wanted to order a cheese platter with cheeses of our choice but were told there was only one pre-packed cheese platter to choose from. We were very disappointed by the quality of the cheese and the bread that came with it was very dry. Not the standard I expected from Jacob’s.
• Burger @300 Gram (Mehadrin), Betzet, Galil. My burger was so salty I couldn’t eat it so I sent it back (something I very rarely do). The waiter said that nobody else had ever complained and there was nothing they could do to make it less salty. My friends had ordered a mixed meat platter so I tried some of their meat, which wasn’t salty but in my opinion, it wasn’t good either. I think this is the sort of place you go to for quantity over quality!

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