All the openings (and closures, unfortunately), new menus and limited-edition dishes, festivals and holidays, special meals, and once-a-year events (we wanted to mention New Year's Eve, but we realized long ago that almost every two weeks there's some "International Day" here, and in our locales, that's reason enough for an event).
A visiting chef and a hosting chef, a restaurant that transforms, and a team that changes places, why not, actually. A dish that has its own roof (and walls), but a "hole in the wall" is significant enough for us to report. Eilat and Haifa, Sharon and Shfela, and Tel Aviv (but definitely not just it).
In short, get ready for Israel's food news. And this time - a view to the garden, a view to the park, a view to France. And that's just the first course.
Bon Appétit!
Tapa, Haifa
The excellent balcony of the Hotel Botanica - in the German Colony, facing the Bahai Gardens - is further enhanced with the opening of a new tapas bar.
Led by Wardy Safouri, the menu includes intriguing combinations of white fish and roasted peppers, scallops, and carrot cream; mussels with mascarpone cream and fresh shrimp in butter sauce.
Apart from these, there will also be fried calamari, cubed steak with oxtail filling, paella with seafood, and plenty of wine and cocktails poured and mixed by Eddie Dau.
Birkin, Ra'anana
The large urban park also receives a culinary-alcoholic boost with the opening of a new eatery, with a prominent passion for the mythical French gastronomy and pieces borrowed from it for inspiration.
The leading team includes Yaniv Bublil, Nisso Mugrabi, and Assaf Zilbershtein, and the opening statements speak of synergy between meticulous food, no less meticulous cocktails, and plenty of necessary urban style, leaning on an open kitchen and a large bar, and of course, the park itself.
You can find here, among other things, steak roast, with salsa verde, sesame sashimi with charred pepper cream, grilled zucchinis with orange cream, crispy salmon sandwich with tarragon aioli, green linguine with confit garlic, and roasted artichokes and also sausages and burgers mostly.
The alcohol menu mediates all this with an Israeli and eclectic emphasis - "Ispahan Macron" (vodka, lychee, amaretto, rose water, pomegranate syrup, and lemon juice), for example, "Banana Espresso" (white rum, dark rum, smoked rum, white chocolate liqueur, espresso, vanilla, and banana foam) and also "Basil Mule" (gin, lemongrass syrup, lemon juice, ginger beer, and lemon flavored bubbles. Yes, we've started tasting bubbles now).
Pop-up Perrier, Danon
160 years celebrations of the sparkling water brand gave birth to a limited edition capsule (very limited, only 2,000 bottles landed in the country) designed by Philippe Starck, and also a French corruption showcase with the potential for widespread infestation, facing the sea of Tel Aviv.
The pop-up will take place for three Fridays (April 05, 12, 19) under the auspices of Perrier and as part of the bakery that opens in Tel Aviv port by students of the School of Culinary Excellence. They were asked to create pastries and desserts inspired by Starck's design lines and with a very real French pastry atmosphere, and responded with cream-filled croissants and pears, "A Different Chocolate" croissants and also with "Parisian Flan" and croissants with vanilla cream.
Shishi Nashi UMekomi, HaGefen
The joyous vineyard courtyard gathers creators and pourers for an intoxicating weekend celebration, as required.
The event will take place on Friday (April 05, 10:00-15:00) in the vineyard courtyard on Naam Street and will offer Israeli fashion and plenty of wine, alongside the place's regular and tasty menu.
Here, among other things, will be Mika Winery, Zafririm Winery, and Nahmani Winery, and also a learning session with wine educator Anat Agmon and a tasting of experimental wines.
Umami Chef, Johnny Walker
The well-known whiskey brand refines its even-more-special Blue Label edition for a fascinating collaboration with some of the local culinary world's elite.
The project, taking place throughout April, offers a series of evening meals with a special menu, aiming to provide a personal interpretation of the umami taste, and draw inspiration from it. Here, among other things, Hilel Tavakuli and Midean Siboni, Yuval Ben Neriah, Chaim Cohen and Roko (Kobi Shinian), Gal Ben Moshe, Barak Hasan and Moti Titman who will cook together at "Hotel Motifiori", Naifa Mula, Yossi Shetrit, Guy Arish and also Daniel Tzur and Omer Shadmi who will host Gadi Boor and Jonathan Danon from "Noomi" in the past.
30th Celebration, Papa John's
The launch of its 30th branch in Israel (in Yakum) led the pizza chain to go wild with symbolic celebrations, including dishes (at NIS 30 of course) and scratch cards that it defines as "crazy".
The special menu will offer 15 dishes at this symbolic price, including personal pizza with an extra, spicy rolls, hot poppers, pepperoni rolls, parmesan garlic rolls, chocolate crunch roll and salty bagel rolls, and with each delivery will also come that intriguing scratch card. The potential prizes? Special pizzas, desserts and even a year's pizza subscription.