Halloumi Pizza, Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut’s big summer is not stopping at Europe, as it continues with a new special edition, eyeing Greece. The Halloumi Pizza starts with the familiar dough and sauce, continues with mozzarella cheese, and then layers diced tomatoes, thin slices of red onion, and pieces of grilled halloumi cheese. The main twist comes with a small box of honey for dipping, creating an excellent Italian-Israeli-Balkan dance of flavors that somehow doesn't overdo itself and works well on the salty-sweet spectrum. Price: NIS 11.90 as an add-on combo for thin or thick crust pizza.
Summer Collection, Nespresso
The popular coffee company is celebrating summer with a panoramic look at the Mediterranean coast—from the French Riviera to the Balkans, from the Greek Islands to Israel, with a finger on the pulse of temperatures and a resort-style collaboration with Pantone.
Nespresso's "Taste The Summer Moments" collection includes a blend for making iced vanilla almond coffee (limited edition for Vertuo machines based on Arabica beans with a delicate and fun flavor, NIS 29.90 per sleeve), a coconut tropical-flavored coffee blend excellent on ice (NIS 30.5 per sleeve), and an Ice Laggero coffee blend (double espresso size based on beans from Ethiopia and Indonesia, NIS 28 per sleeve). For Original machines, there are Freddo Delicato iced coffee capsules (NIS 27), Freddo Intenso iced coffee (slightly stronger, NIS 27), and a coconut-flavored iced coffee blend (NIS 27).
Additionally, as part of the colorful celebration, Nespresso offers summer recipes on its website and complementary accessories such as popsicle molds, ice trays, travel mugs, and cold coffee bottles.
Wines 2024, Feldstein Winery
The excellent boutique winery celebrates the calendar with a dizzying local collection, unusually aimed at tranquility in our region.
The 2022 Roussanne is a dry white wine from grapes harvested in the Upper Galilee, fermented and aged for a year in French barrels and amphoras, resulting in "an ambitious, restrained wine, self-contained and spicy only by itself," as defined by the winery, and very special, as defined by us. Price: NIS 110.
The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc is a dry white wine from Ben Zimra vineyard grapes in the north, inspired by Bordeaux and the Loire Valley, as well as Burgundy. The result is tangy and balanced, speaking well to the current climate and temperatures. Price: NIS 110.
Shemesh 2021, named after the Mesopotamian sun goddess, is a dry red wine "in a new spirit," reminiscent of white wines with fruitiness-floral-lightness, and can be enjoyed well chilled. Price: NIS 130.
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon was steeped on its skins for 65 days to "clear excessive power, and polish an elegant and restrained expression," then aged for 18 months in new wood, and bottled unfiltered, resulting in an impressive Israeli bottling, and even more. Price: NIS 220.
The 2023 Dabouki from Judean Hills vineyard grapes is an ancient Israeli variety with a nod to Sauvignon Blanc bottles, unique tropical aroma, and elegant seasoning. Price: NIS 110.
The 2023 Grenache Rosé continues the restrained line, providing an excellent combination of freshness-florality, and a rather exciting embrace with one hand in France and the other right here. Price: NIS 110.
Flat Pretzels, Bamba, and Instant Noodles, Osem
The stormy and active summer of the food giant continues with two launches and one expected comeback.
Sour-spicy flavored flat pretzels hit the shelves as part of the preparation for the ongoing Euro tournament in Germany, but let's hope they stay there even after the final whistle, with familiar and successful crispiness, and a good kick of flavors taken from the company's Freestyle Bissli snack.
Curry-flavored instant noodles are also a special edition in an endless series. The new flavors, based on the Israeli love for the East and its dishes, are chicken and green curry flavored noodles and chicken and yellow curry flavored noodles. As usual, only a few minutes of patience are required, ending with a midday fix or a midnight treat.
Lastly, Osem Nestle brings back the brownie-flavored Bamba edition, a targeted summer move offering 60-gram and 150-gram packages, effectively completing - along with the flat pretzels and the instant noodles - a whole sweet-salty meal.
Ready Meals, Starkist Tuna
The successful series of the popular tuna brand expands the range and shelves as expected, launching a triple-news. The new addition to the Lunch Box series is a combination of rice noodles with tuna in Pad Thai sauce (200 grams in total, with 14 grams of protein), which requires heating, of course, and provides a good midday or evening fix. Besides this, there are also salmon mix with red quinoa and vegetables, which was an excellent base for a large and relatively nutritious salad, and a tuna mix with Mujadara, with rice and lentils that also provided a good start to a good meal.
Organic Pasta, Barilla
The leading Italian brand lands its green series in Israel for the first time, a real food announcement. Barilla's organic pasta, based on durum wheat from Italy, contains no pesticides and enjoys the official approval of the CCPB, the European body certifying such products. The first arrivals in Israel, for now, are Penne and Spaghetti, of course, and the overall result is excellent, as expected - with familiar texture, very efficient sauce absorption, and successful taste. Price: NIS 19.90.
