Israel’s top 10 cafés for coffee

Israel’s top 10 cafés for coffee | Culture

By Jeffrey Heyman
July 21, 2011

Israelis love meeting over a cup of coffee. Over the last 15 years, more and more chains have started offering first-rate java and cuisine. ISRAEL21c picks the 10 best.

Someone visiting cities like Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa could be excused for thinking that the only thing Israelis do is sit at sidewalk cafés and drink coffee. It's not true - they also eat the food at those cafés.

In the last 15 years, coffee chains like Aroma, Cup O' Joe, Arcaffe and Café Hillel have proliferated to the point that their logos are as ubiquitous as McDonald's signs throughout the country.

"Israelis love sitting, drinking coffee and talking," explains Michael Reiner, a student of all things java and the CEO of Ava Coffee, one of the country's leading coffee suppliers.

Whereas Israeli coffee drinkers once drank either botz, the dark, muddy Turkish coffee favored by Middle Eastern coffee drinkers for centuries -- or, if you didn't have the stomach for that, then nes, instant coffee with milk and sugar (a bastardization of the American Nescafé) -- today the drink of choice is Tel Aviv cappuccino (café afuch), a frothy variation on the Italian classic.

"It's becoming known abroad as the quintessential Israeli coffee," says Nicole Fleisher, the administrator of the Israel Coffee Association, an organization formed by several of the leading coffee roasters and chains in the country to raise the level of coffee manufacturing and consumption and promote the industry.

"We have a high standard of coffee preparation in Israel, from the way it's roasted and prepared until it arrives at the table. As a coffee drinker, I would say coffee in Israel is much better than it used to be."

"The biggest increase in coffee consumption and in the quality and variety of coffee in Israel occurred mainly in the past decade - due to the proliferation of the ‘away from home' market, encompassing espresso bars, restaurants and cafes," says Ava's Reiner.

While you can go to any street corner café today and get a great cup of coffee from any number of independent, family-run coffee shops, some establishments have raised the art of coffee culture in Israel to a new level. Here are the best of them.

1. Aroma Espresso Bar


Aroma's coffee always comes with a signature chocolate.
Established in 1994, Aroma's red-and-black signs are as ubiquitous as Dunkin' Donuts signs in the United States, and the fare of Israel's flagship coffee chain is just as dependable. You know what you're going to get when you walk into one of Aroma's 120 cafes in Israel: a wide selection of hot coffee-based drinks, the famous "ice Aroma" frozen coffee slush, and tasty sandwiches and salads.

The company opened its first branch abroad in 2006 in the heart of Manhattan's Soho neighborhood and has since established dozens of cafes in the US and Europe. In June, the café chain opened its biggest ever store in Kiev, Ukraine, after winning the title of Kiev's best coffee shop for the past two years.

2. Arcaffe

Established in 1995 with the aim of bringing real Italian espresso bars to Israel, Arcaffe is more of an upscale Aroma. Its credo is the ability to serve Italian coffee, authentic French breads and pastries with American service standards.

Arcaffe's growth rate is more cautious than Aroma's, with 25 branches dotting the country in mostly high-tech centers and more affluent neighborhoods. But when someone suggests meeting at Arcaffe, you know you're in for a quality experience.

3. Cup O' Joe


Cup O' Joe, Petach Tikvah.
Launched in 1996 in Tel Aviv by American immigrants David Klein and Dov Goldfarb, Cup O' Joe is an Israeli success story. Today the chain featuring great food and gourmet coffee, including possibly the best mocha ice in the country, has more than 60 branches around the country, with 10 more scheduled to open this year.

In May, a subsidiary of the giant Israeli fuel company Delek Group acquired 50 percent of the company.

4. Ilan's

Perhaps the originator of modern coffee culture in Israel, Ilan Shenhav opened up his first coffee shop in Tel Aviv in 1994. The availability of more than 20 types of coffee, including those from Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Colombia and Ethiopia, began teaching Israelis what good coffee was, and opened the doors for the other chains that have followed.

There are now four Ilan's coffee houses in the Tel Aviv area, all featuring ingredients that adhere to the international Fair Trade standard, which ensures a fair price to farmers in the countries producing the raw product. A selection of teas and tea blends, specialty sandwiches and desserts -- including jocolada, a doughy cake that oozes melted white chocolate - is always on the menu.

5. Café Hillel


Café Hillel began in Jerusalem, and is now opening branches across Israel.
From humble beginnings, brothers Koby and Yossi Sherf opened the first Café Hillel on Jerusalem's Hillel Street in 1998. Their concept was to create a cozy "Yerushalmi" relaxed atmosphere highlighted by world-class coffee and food. They clearly succeeded. Today, more than 25 Café Hillel branches are bringing that Jerusalem atmosphere to the rest of the country.

6. Café Neto

Founded in 1995 by Shlomo Avras and Haim Malka, Café Neto has become a favorite for coffee lovers in the center of the country. A dozen branches dot the landscape from Tel Aviv to Hod Hasharon to Ra'anana, with recent branches opened as gas station refreshment stops in Kiryat Gat and Dimona. Another top-quality place to refill the empty coffee cup.

7. Café Café


At Café Café, they pride themselves on letting their customers take their time.
A relative upstart on the list, Café Cafe has made great strides since opening its first Tel Aviv branch in 2001. Today the café/restaurant has 105 branches around the country and in Europe.

Offering a more extensive food menu than most of its competitors, Café Café offers a relaxed, comfortable setting for its fare and confidently stands by its motto, "Take Your Time."

8. Espresso Bar


Espresso Bar in Rothschild Boulevard, Tel Aviv.
On the other end of the café scale from Café Café, the Espresso Bar offers the boutique side of things, concentrating almost solely on ... coffee. Established in 1992, making it maybe the oldest practitioner of modern coffee culture in the country, Espresso Bar was founded by four members of a family intent on replicating the coffee, atmosphere and design of an authentic Italian espresso bar. With seven locations today, they must have been on to something.

9. Coffee Shop

There may not be much to differentiate the Jerusalem-based Coffee Shops from the Aromas and Café Hillels that surround them, but the decade-old company with six branches has cemented a foothold on the coffee landscape of the capital with its consistently good drinks and extensive food menu. Significantly, this is the only coffee chain in the country with a branch at the Knesset, performing the patriotic duty of keeping our elected officials alert and well fed.

10. Greg

The only Haifa-based café on the list, Greg's Café was founded in 1994 by an American ex-pat in the Carmel center of the port city. Since then, more than 50 branches have opened around the country with different menus in each, but all featuring the high-quality coffee one has come to expect.

Vogue magazine, in an article on weekends in Tel Aviv, singled out the café with the funny American name as the perfect place to unwind at the end of a day of shopping. There's nothing funny, however, about the coffee. It's top-notch.

Israel's top 10 beaches

Israel's top 10 beaches | tourism
By Abigail Klein Leichman

Dig out the sand toys and don't forget the sunscreen. It's time to hit the beach, and here are some of the best Israel has to offer.

Photo by Michal Fattal/Flash90.

Children wash themselves after a day at Beit Yannai beach.

Life's a beach in Israel. This small country is blessed by three seas -- the Mediterranean, the Dead and the Red (the Sea of Galilee is really a lake, though it does have beaches too). With the help of recommendations from veteran tour guide Joe Yudin of Touring Israel and Hassan Madah of the Tourism Ministry, ISRAEL21c offers you the top 10 beaches in Israel, just in time for summer.

1. Beit Yannai Beach (Mediterranean)

Named after the ancient Judean king Alexander Yannai, the Alexander River north of Netanya was in a sorry state until a 1994 restoration project transformed the area into a lovely, wheelchair-accessible nature reserve. The beach is at the spot where the river runs into the sea.

Considered by many to be Israel's most beautiful beach and kite-surfing locale, Yannai is pristine and quiet. The Israel Parks and Nature Authority has posted signs with information on the natural features of the beach and its wildlife.

You can camp overnight here, and there are picnic tables, restaurants and showers. Don't miss the nearby eucalyptus grove and ancient ruins.

Entrance fee. Information: 09-866-6230.

2. Coral Reef Beach (Red Sea)

Photo by Anna Kaplan/Flash90.

Tourists enjoy a view of the Red Sea from the aquapark bridge at Coral Beach.

The best place to snorkel in Eilat, Coral Beach is a popular diving reef and a family-friendly beach. Its setting on the world's northernmost coral reef affords visitors an amazing place to see the multicolored coral garden and the Red Sea aquatic creatures that inhabit it.

Rent a snorkel, mask, flippers and life jacket, walk along a short pier and step down into shallow warm water teeming with tropical delights. Sunshades and loungers, hot showers and a snack kiosk are available.

Entrance fee. Information: 08-637-6829.

3. Banana Beach (Mediterranean)

Photo by Anna Kaplan/Flash90.

On the beach in Tel Aviv.

The entire west flank of Tel Aviv is one long shoreline lined with beaches. Banana Beach, located on the southernmost edge near Jaffa, has become a sort of hippie bohemian sanctuary on Friday evenings. It's a great place to end a walking tour of Tel Aviv, as young people begin gathering here at sunset for drum circles, singing and dancing on the cliffs.

The rest of the week, it's a fairly tranquil spot where you'll find people sunbathing or playing Matkot, Israeli beach paddleball. The Banana Beach café right on the sand screens films and sports events in the evenings for free. You can rent surfboards and wind surfers, or sign up for surfing lessons, at the Galim surf shop.

No entrance fee; sand chairs available for hire.

4. Mineral Beach (Dead Sea)

Photo by Yaakov Naumi/Flash90.

Sunset at the Dead Sea.

You want mud? You got it. Whereas at many Dead Sea beaches you can buy packets of its famous mineral-rich mud to slather on your skin, at Mineral Beach there's a huge mud pit to climb into. Prefer a natural Jacuzzi? There's one here, too, fashioned out of hot sulfur pools.

When you get tired of floating on the Dead Sea, try the freshwater pool. At this clean and accessible beach, you can rent a towel or locker, get a health treatment or lie on a tanning bed.

The site also has an amphitheater, a cafeteria and showers to wash off the mud and sand. Mineral Beach is on the northern end of the Dead Sea, so it's a fast destination from Jerusalem and the surface is less pebbly than at the more southern beaches. (If you're into sunbathing in the buff, nearby Neve Midbar Beach has a secluded section for nudists.)

Entrance fee. Information: 02-994-4888.

5. Dado Zamir Beach (Mediterranean)

Surfers in Haifa.

This central Haifa beach has pretty gardens along its long boardwalk promenade, beachside restaurants, pubs and coffee shops, free parking, benches and sitting areas, a dance arena (with weekly public dances and Israeli folk dancing on Saturdays), an amphitheatre for summer events, sports and playgrounds and a pool for toddlers. It's even got Wi-Fi.

The picturesque boardwalk runs from its southern tip to the northern part of Carmel Beach next door. For the disabled, Dado offers reserved parking, adapted showers and bathrooms, and ramps for easy access to and from the beach.

Information: 1-800-305-090; 04-853-5606/5.

6. Sironit Beach (Mediterranean)

The Beach Elevator in Netanya.

Netanya has one of the longest coastlines in Israel, and offers eight beaches. What's particularly cool about Sironit, one of the city's southernmost beaches, is the glass-walled Beach Elevator that descends into it from the Rishonim Promenade along the cliff-top. This lets you get from the city center to the seashore in 20 seconds, for just one shekel.

Two breakwaters opposite the beach create tranquil bays for safe swimming almost all year. Sironit has a restaurant, stage and fitness facilities among its other features.

Parking fee. Information: 1-700-709292; 09-882-7286.

7. Metzitzim Beach (Mediterranean)

This northern Tel Aviv spot overlooking the S'de Dov airfield used to be called Sheraton Beach for the hotel that once stood next to it, but was later renamed for the Israeli cult classic film of the same name ("metzitzim" means "peepers").

It attracts a mix of hipsters and families, with calm, warm water due to a man-made lagoon. There's a café-restaurant and playground here, and just south of the main area is a separate section for the religious public, where women are admitted Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; men on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Also in the area you can find beaches catering to gay sunbathers and another where dog-owners are allowed to let their canines romp.

8. Dor Habonim Beach (Mediterranean)

Photo by Nati Shohat/Flash90.

Dor Habonim beach is popular with families.

South of Haifa off Route 4, Dor Habonim ("Generation of Builders") is part of a coastal nature reserve, a relatively remote cove favored by nearby kibbutzniks and families.

Natural rock jetties in the sea are perfect for kids to climb and sit on, and along with natural lagoons, they also keep the waves from getting too rough. The reserve has walking routes that pass through the bays, from which you can see sights including caves and wildflowers.

There are no facilities here to speak of, and it's not accessible by public transportation. But these same qualities are what make it one of the most beloved beaches for Israelis in the know.

Beyond the swimming area is the home of Paradive, where you can go skydiving with a tandem instructor.

No entrance fee.

9. Dolphin Reef (Red Sea)

Photo courtesy of www.goisrael.com

Eilat's Dolphin Reef.

Eilat's public beaches tend to get quite crowded, but if you're willing to pay admission to the Dolphin Reef, you get the added benefit of a quiet beach where you can relax under an umbrella and watch the dolphins, or even join them in the water if you're age 10 or over.

"You'll feel like you're in Jamaica," promises tour guide Joe Yudin. There is a snorkeling and diving center here, as well as an underwater photography center and beachside café/bar. Adults can take advantage of the site's music-infused relaxation pools as well.

Entrance fee. Information: 08-630-0100.

10. Aqueduct Beach (Mediterranean)

Photo courtesy of www.goisrael.com

Aqueduct Beach, Caesarea.

You can't beat this Caesarea beach for its setting among ancient Roman ruins. While sitting on the clean white sand, you'll marvel at the raised aqueduct built by order of King Herod in the first century BCE and expanded upon 300 years later to bring running water to the old city of Caesarea from the springs of Shummi six miles away at the foot of Mount Carmel.

There are no restaurants here (just a kiosk), but neither are there loud music or crowds. Lifeguards are on duty on only parts of the long strip of seashore, which is sometimes also called Arches Beach.

No entrance fee.

New Discoveries at the City of David - Jerusalem

Pilgrim’s Way to the Temple Mount and the impressive tunnel

On the slope of the City of David hill, where the Kidron and Ben Hinnom Valleys meet, the Ancient Shiloah Pool was discovered just a few years ago. This magnificent pool was constructed 2,000 years ago during the days of King Herod, in Jerusalem’s glorious building tradition. This grand pool served as an important meeting point for Jerusalem’s pilgrims, who would arrive in the city to visit the Temple Mount on the three major Jewish holidays: Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth), and the Festival of Weeks (Shavuot). An impressive road once connected the Shiloah Pool to the Temple Mount and served as the central axis for all of Jerusalem’s pilgrims and visitors.

Shops and businesses once lined the length of the Herodian Road and enjoyed the road’s centrality and the wide exposure that they had to the many pilgrims who filled Jerusalem on the holidays. The way that leads from the Shiloah Pool in the direction of the Temple Mount reached 600 meters into the valley whose Greek name once was the “Tyropoeon” which means the valley of the cheese mongers. During the Hellenistic Period the road was lined with the shops and factories of dairy product manufacturers, such that when the winter rains would come, the valley would be washed clean of the refuse and smells that were a by-product of the dairy industry.

During Jerusalem’s Herodian period the road was paved and at its foot, the Shiloah pool was formed in order to store water for drinking and for the bathing purposes of the visiting pilgrims. The road became more central and important because of the increasing pilgrimage phenomenon and because of the importance of the Shiloah Pool in the culture of the pilgrims. Specifically, the Shiloah played a critical role in the Libation Ritual ceremony - during which the waters of the Shiloah Pool were brought as an offering at the Temple Mount itself. The pool of Siloam (Shiloah) has a very important place in the Christian world, for it is the place where Jesus hilled the blind men, as we can read in John 9, 7, in the New Testament.

The excavations of the Herodian Road began just a few years ago and little by little that road has been revealed to us in all its glory. Abutting the road, a major drainage channel from the days of Herod has also been uncovered. The Herodian drainage channel, which runs beneath the Tyropoeon Valley, was first discovered at the end of the 19^th century by the British Palestine Exploration Fund (P.E.F.). The channel was rediscovered during excavations conducted at the City of David by the Israel Antiquities Authority, under the direction of Prof. Ronny Reich from the University of Haifa. The drainage channel is over 700 meters long from the western wall in the north to the pool of Shiloah down south. It was essentially a manmade tunnel built underneath the Herodian Road whose ceiling was made up of the rectangular paving stones of the road above. Its purpose was to channel the water that flowed down the slopes of Mount Zion and the Temple Mount and to gather the water into a reservoir at the bottom of the valley. The drainage channel thus protected the road from flooding during the pilgrimage holidays and kept the pilgrims to the Temple Mount clean and dry. One of the most impressive things about the drainage channel is that it is not quarried out of stone, but rather, constructed at a standard that was unusual for its time – a tribute to a king for whom the quality of construction was everything.

The impressive tunnel was recently cleaned as far as the western wall of the temple mount, and today, it is possible to walk through it from the pool of Siloam to the western wall, and feel as the pilgrims of the 2nd temple period felt 2,000 years ago.

Sections of the Herodian Road itself have been excavated, and unique steps have been revealed along its length. These steps appear in a few places along the valley between the Shiloah Pool and the Temple Mount. The entire road is paved with smooth, wide, stone steps, which alternate between short and long in length. This design was intended to create a distinguished ascent to the Temple Mount for pilgrims and to prevent running and indecent conduct when ascending to the Temple. Additionally, the unique arrangement of the steps allowed pilgrims to see both the Holy Temple and the steps in front of them intermittently during their ascent, creating a walking experience that was both safe and inspiring.

In the drainage channels beneath the road, impressive artifacts were discovered from the time of the Great Revolt against Rome. The channels themselves and the rare artifacts discovered bear a striking resemblance to the description of Josephus in his book “Wars of the Jews,” Volume 6, which tells the story of the Jews who hid “in the tunnels beneath the Shiloah.” Thus, this new excavation was able to authenticate Josephus’ moving historical description of the aftermath of the Revolt in Jerusalem.

Today, the excavations in the Tyropoeon Valley have reached already as far as the western wall itself and the Davidson archeological park around the Kotel (western wall of temple mount). It is possible to start the tour in the Pool of Siloam, and walk up through the Herodian ancient road continuing along the whole tunnel underground. A thrilling adventure that will take you back in time.

For more information call 02-626-8700 or visit www.cityofdavid.org.il

Author:

Shahar Shilo - researcher and expert Tour Guide for Ancient Jerusalem

Upcoming concerts in Israel not to be missed!

PAUL SIMON, BOB DYLAN AND DURAN DURAN LEAD A HOT SUMMER LINE-UP OF POP CONCERTS IN ISRAEL

Once again, major venues in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem (among others) will host a strong line-up of pop stars performing to locals and tourists alike this summer.

The legendary American singer/songwriter Paul Simon will be returning to Israel for a concert at Ramat Gan Stadium on July 21 - just one month after fellow 1960s icon Bob Dylan will play the same venue (June 20). Simon, who has appeared in Israel twice before a solo performance in 1978 and with his former singing partner Art Garfunkel, will arrive as part of a world tour promoting his latest album, So Beautiful or So What.

Other stars performing in Israel this summer include:

· 1 June: Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias

· 12 June: DJ pair Kruder and Dorfmeister

· 19-22 June: American musician Laurie Anderson

· 12 July: American DJ-musician Moby

· 20-21 July: Jamaican reggae star Ziggy Marley

· 30 July: Veteran British rock stars Duran Duran

· 3-5 August: Underground rock musician John Cale

· 1 September: American alternative rock band Jane’s Addiction

· 7-8 September: Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos

· 17-18 October: Veteran English singer Marianne Faithful

· 22 October: Swedish band Roxette

· 22 November: French singer Mireille Matthieu

Two-wheeler Tel Aviv | environment

Two-wheeler Tel Aviv | environment

Two-wheeler Tel Aviv

By Abigail Klein Leichman
May 24, 2011

Israel's commerce and culture center rolls out a citywide bike rental program to encourage fitness while easing traffic and pollution.

With 150 bike stations around Tel Aviv, residents and will find it much easier to get about the city under their own steam.

For Tel Aviv-Jaffa residents and workers sick of skyrocketing gasoline prices and incessant traffic jams, the introduction of a new pilot bike-rental project this month couldn't have come at a better time.

Like some 200 other cities across the globe, Israel's commercial and cultural center was looking for ways to encourage fitness and discourage fossil-fuel consumption. The launch of Tel-Ofan (ofanayim is Hebrew for bicycle) synchs with the municipality's mutimillion-shekel investment in additional bike lanes to serve about 400,000 residents and many thousands more who commute in for work.

Tel Aviv-Jaffa Economic Development Authority CEO Sharon Kenan tells ISRAEL21c that Tel-Ofan began with 40 stations and 450 subscribers, expanding daily to reach an eventual goal of 150 stations with up to 20 German-made bicycles each.

Using an electronic key fob, the subscriber picks up a bike and then parks it at the destination station. There's no charge for the first half hour, and if the bike is docked for at least 10 minutes, the user's "clock" restarts from zero.

"The purpose is that we want people to share the bikes," explains Kenan, who heads the project on behalf of Mayor Ron Huldai. "While you're doing whatever you're doing, someone else will ride the bike you docked."

Signup can be done on Tel-Ofan's website; via a toll-free phone number (*6070); or in person at City Hall. Annual subscriptions cost NIS 280 (about $64) or NIS 240 for Tel Aviv-Jaffa residents. Eventually, daily and weekly subscriptions will be sold as well.

Simple idea took complex planning

Kenan's staff worked on Tel-Ofan for three years before rolling it out. One of the trickiest operational details was how to make sure that when somebody comes to a station there will always be a bike available in good condition, and that the station of destination will always have a free docking place. That problem was tackled with the assistance of mathematicians at Tel Aviv University, who established formulas after researching typical bike-riding patterns in the city. Based on those formulas, trucks will patrol the rental stations on a regular basis, balancing supply and demand.

Another major challenge, according to Kenan, was to ensure a completely stable information technology system managing the project under the hood. And to deal with possible theft, damage and vandalism of the bike fleet, the EDA put both physical and electronic safeguards into action.

Now that all the pieces are in place, the next step is to physically accommodate the expected increase in bicyclists. To answer this need, the municipality is investing many millions of shekels to add to its existing 65 miles of bike lanes.

"In the last five years, we've invested 10 million shekels per year in constructing bike lanes, and for the next five years the municipality has tripled the budget for this project," says Kenan.

"Strategically, the ultimate goal is to increase awareness of bikes as a means of transportation and increase the number of people using them, which will substantially reduce traffic problems and air pollution."

Israel's top 10 tourist sites | briefs

Israel's top 10 tourist sites | briefs

Did you know.....

Masada became the most visited pay-to-enter tourist site in 2010, climbing above the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo and the Ramat Gan Safari Park, according to Dun & Bradstreet Israel.

Last year, some 762,992 people visited Masada, the ancient fortification near the Dead Sea, while 718,902 people visited the second most popular site, the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.

Masada reported that its revenue rose 26 percent to NIS 34 million in 2010, compared to NIS 25.7m. in 2009.

The Hermon National Park (Banias), one of the sources of the Jordan River in the Golan, also rose, from ninth place in 2009, to fourth place in 2010, with 663,000 visitors.
The trailways of the Ramat Gan Safari Park weren't quite as busy in 2010 as in 2009, when the safari park was the second most popular site. In 2010, it fell to fifth most popular pay-to-enter site.

As tourism to Israel grew last year, so too did the overall number of visitors to paid tourist sites across the country. According to Dun & Bradstreet Israel the aggregate revenue of Israel's top ten pay-to-enter tourist sites rose 13% to NIS 143 million in 2010.

The top 10 sites listed in order:

1. Masada
2. Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
3. Caesarea Antiquities National Park
4. Hermon National Park (Banias)
5. Ramat Gan Safari Park
6. Ein Gedi Nature Reserve
7. Hamat Gader Hot Springs
8. Underwater Observatory, Eilat
9. Kumran Caves, Dead Sea
10. Yamit 2000 Water Park, Holon

Tel Aviv Top Five: Most mouthwatering desserts - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

Tel Aviv Top Five: Most mouthwatering desserts - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

Tel Aviv Top Five: Most mouthwatering desserts

The city is overflowing with sweet delights from every imaginable ice cream flavor to rich French patisserie.

By City Mouse Online

Five options for which it would definitely be worth abandoning your diet.

Vaniglia ice cream parlorLocation: 98 Ibn Gvirol Street Tel: 03-602 0185 Price: One scoop of ice cream - NIS 13; two scoops - NIS 18; three scoops - NIS 22

In the middle of one of the city's busiest streets, stumble upon a chilled, sweet paradise. In the Vaniglia gelateria, cool yourself down with ice cream flavors that you won't find anywhere else.

Sample the alfajores ice cream alone (or with a scoop of white chocolate and cardamon ice cream for a sumptuous combination). Other praiseworthy flavors include pavlova, honey yoghurt with pine nuts, banana yoghurt with dates and pecans, lemongrass yoghurt, and blueberry and port with raisins. Cool, tasty, and appealing even in winter.

Kurtosh Hungarian patisseriePrice: NIS 22-25 per pastry.Location:Branches on Lincoln, Bograshov, and Dizengoff streets Tel: 03-5280606

Sweet scents waft out from the Kurtosh bakery and its cylinder-shaped delicacies. You might not believe that a simple pastry can drive you crazy until you taste the hollow pastry tube.

Choose between regular, cinnamon, milk chocolate and even pistachio flavors. For those looking for something simple and tasty, try the regular pastry, which, despite its name, is actually a superb mix of cocoa and sugar.

Mini popsicles at DIP ITPrice: NIS 12 for a mini-dip; NIS 15 for a maxi-dip. Location: 142 Ibn Gvirol Street Tel: 03-5465414

Among sworn sweet lovers lies a truly rare subspecies - those whose favorite frippery comes in the form of a frozen treat on a stick.

At popsicle parlor DIP IT, all you need to do is choose the size and flavor of your iced treat (vanilla, chocolate, caramel or pecan), and the sauce you want it to be dipped in (chocolate, candies, meringue pieces, Oreo cookies, toasted coconut, almonds, granola, pistachio and more).

Mini pastries at Boutique CentralPrice: NIS 4.5 per pastryLocation: 90 Frishman Street, 171 Dizengoff StreetTel: 1-700-700061

The excellent Boutique Central chain offers sweet mini pastries at ridiculous prices. Take for example, the mini Savarin soaked in rum, covered in cream, and topped with a cherry.

Not convinced? How about a mini St Honore - a cream puff filled with vanilla cream, whipped cream and caramel.

Still unmoved? Then try the mini mocha or chocolate flavored eclairs. It doesn't get more Paris-chic than this in Tel Aviv.

Nothing but chocolate cake at Ben-AmiPrice: NIS 24 Location:Ben-Ami Bakery, 22 Nachmani Street Tel: 03-5609960

Those still unfamiliar with King Albert Square should score themselves a big minus on their knowledge of Tel Aviv. The beautiful Ben-Ami bakery is located in the city's most European quarter.

One dark cake stands out against the background of the shop's white walls and furnishings. The aptly named "nothing but chocolate cake" is made on site and contains no flour at all. It is served at room temperature and every bite is pure bliss.

Related articles:Top 10 ice cream parlours in Tel AvivSweet talk

Courtesy of City Mouse (mouse.co.il)

	Kurtosh's delicious cylinder cakes

Soul in a Bowl / Kip curry salad- great recipe

Soul in a Bowl / Kip curry salad - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

Soul in a Bowl / Kip curry salad

The Dutch apparently stole, or at least drew influence, from curry-chicken salad, with mayonnaise, from their colonies in Indonesia.

By Doram Gaunt

The Dutch apparently stole, or at least drew influence, from curry-chicken salad, with mayonnaise, from their colonies in Indonesia. Whatever its origins, this is a tasty, unconventional salad that will appeal to lovers of Asian cuisine, and particularly to those who enjoy the mixture of fruit and meat.

	Kip curry salad

Ingredients

500 grams of chicken breast, chopped in small cubes

A tablespoon of vegetable oil

Half a cup of mayonnaise, best if home-made

One green apple, chopped in small cubes

A cup of pineapple, cut in small cubes

A teaspoon of fresh curry powder

A spoonful of coriander seeds

One green onion A handful of black raisins

Salt and pepper

Preparation

Heat oil in a pan; when it is hot, fry the chicken cubes, until their color turns to white (too much frying dries the cubes ). The chicken can also be fried in large bits, and then cut after the cooking. Put the cubes in a bowl, and let it cool. When the chicken has cooled, add the other ingredients to it, and mix. Keep cool. The salad is tasty when eaten alone, and excellent when eaten as a sandwich.

doramg@haaretz.co.il

Israel's Top Ten music festivals | culture

Israel's Top Ten music festivals | culture

Music may not be the first thing to spring to mind when you think of Israel, but festivals across the spectrum abound. Here are the country's top 10.

Israel is too often perceived through an exclusively political, religious or historical lens. An equally compelling current for locals is music. The country is chock-a-block full of music festivals. Whether your preference runs to jazz, rock, classical, choral, rap or klezmer; whether you enjoy the desert, the mountains or the heart of the city, you'll find an event tailored to your taste.

ISRAEL21c culled dozens of music festivals from across the country. Only festivals that are exclusively musical were included, rather than more broadly defined events that also include music (such as the annual Jerusalem Arts and Crafts Festival, that features a nightly concert).

In random order, here are Israel's Top Ten Music Festivals:

1. Jacob's Ladder

The crowd enjoys the moment at Jacob's Ladder.

Yehudit and Menahem Vinegrad, two immigrants from the UK, bemoaned the lack of quality folk music when they arrived in Israel in the late 1960s. Their response was to start Jacob's Ladder, a festival that, from modest beginnings on a muddy kibbutz hill in 1978, has grown to become a wonderfully homey, folk music event that attracts talent from around the world and thousands of revelers within the country.

Jacob's Ladder is now held twice a year at Kibbutz Nof Ginosar on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Most attendees pitch tents for the three days of nearly non-stop folk, country rock and a smattering of blues from some 45 different performers. A Canadian bluegrass combo, The Abrams Brothers, headlined for several years, with Celtic music taking the main stage in 2010. On Friday nights there's an Irish music jam session that stretches into the wee hours.

Jacob's Ladder is known as an "Anglo" festival although, over the years, a good number of Israelis have joined in. The laid-back atmosphere is renowned for safety (theft is rare) and cleanliness (everyone pitches in to pick up the trash at the festival's end).

2. Abu Ghosh Vocal Music Festival

Music in the Crypt at the Abu Ghosh Music festival.

Classical music fans rejoice every year during the September/October Succot holiday and then again in May/June at Shavuot, when the Israeli Arab village of Abu Ghosh is transformed into one large concert hall. Centered in the historic Kiryat Yearim church, with street performances popping up in the alleys, groves and grottos of the village, the festival features Israeli orchestras performing choral works.

This past Succot, one could enjoy the music of Schubert, Bach, Mozart and Brahms with a special "baroque hit parade" thrown in for good measure. Curiously, there was also a one-off program saluting folk music stars of the 1960s.

The festival was launched in 1957, but took a 20-year break from 1971-1992. Thousands of Israelis attend, especially from Jerusalem, which is only a 10-minute car ride away.

3. Guitar Festival in the Desert

A relative newcomer to the Israeli festival scene, the Guitar Festival of the Desert, as its name indicates, is a celebration of all things guitar. It takes place in the Negev Desert between Beersheba and Mitzpe Ramon and has positioned itself as a family-friendly event, with kids under five admitted for free and under 12s paying half price.

The two-day lineup is impressive, with a mix of up-and-coming and veteran Israeli performers, which in past years has included Yael Deckelbaum, Tree, Dudu Tasa, the Coldplay-esque Miss Flag, and even '80s hit maker Corrine Elal.

The keyboard and horn-free show also features guitar workshops, open mic stages, and nightly jam sessions. If you get sick of the picking, there are regular yoga classes, too.

The Guitar Festival is held in the fall, when the desert weather is a perfect antidote to the rain that is (hopefully) blanketing points further north. Accommodation is primarily campsites; you can rent a tent.

4. In-D-Negev

At In-D-Negev, indie rock music is the main focus.

In-D-Negev is held at around the same time and not too far away from the Guitar Festival. It's a musical extravaganza in the desert of a very different kind. Now in its fourth year, its name is a play on words that emphasizes its focus on Israeli "indie" rock music.

Ever heard of Lovegrenade? How about Mad Bliss, The Aprons or the Underwater Fireman? No? Then In-D-Negev should be an ear-opening experience. The festival runs for three days and attracts upwards of 4,000 music lovers who pitch their tents in an open area next to Kibbutz Gvulot, home to one of its co-founders.

Gvulot was established in 1943 to explore ways in which agriculture could flower in the desert. That mission has been expanded to help independent bands to blossom in a supportive environment where everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame. If it weren't for Gvulot, the bands might be relegated to basement clubs in seedy parts of Tel Aviv.

5. Red Sea Jazz Festival

Israeli saxophonist Eli Degibri is one of the musicians who plays at the Red Sea Jazz festival.

Jazz music aficionados head down to Eilat every August for the annual four-day Red Sea Jazz Festival, which features nine concerts a night, six "clinics" with guest artists, and popular nightly jam sessions. The music ranges from New Orleans jazz to big band, Latin and World music.

The venue is big - there are indoor and outdoor spaces with as many as 4,000 seats overlooking the water at the Eilat Port - and the festival attracts many overseas performers. Original compositions by local musicians and a nightly showcase of youth jazz bands are part of the mix.

Since its inception in 1987, the festival has hosted a veritable who's-who of international jazz stars, including Chick Corea, the Mingus Big Band, Tower of Power, The Manhattan Transfer, Ricki Lee Jones and Spyro Gyra.

6. Tamar Festival

The Tamar Festival - a well deserved getaway.

Imagine rocking out to some of Israel's top rock performers at sunrise on Masada. That's a highlight, but not all that the Tamar Festival, held annually during the intermediary days of Succot, has in store. Stages situated all around the Dead Sea area - one in a dry riverbed canyon, another in the botanical gardens at picturesque Kibbutz Ein Gedi - provide a well-deserved getaway for Israelis after the intensity of the Jewish High Holy Days.

Performers at past festivals have included Israelis Asaf Avidan and the Mojos, the Idan Reichel Project, Groovatron and MC Carolina; as well as Balkan Beat Box and US import Matisyahu.

The Tamar Festival runs for five days; the concerts are at night, so you can do some daytime sightseeing, hiking or just relaxing in a Dead Sea mineral spa.

7. Woodstock Revival Festival

Chances are that most members of the youthful audience at the annual Woodstock Revival Festival in Jerusalem weren't even born when the seminal sixties concert took place at Max Yasgur's farm in upstate New York. That hasn't stopped this mostly Anglo crowd from grooving on the synthetic grass of the capital's Kraft Stadium to a line-up of Israeli bands channeling the likes of The Who; Janis Joplin; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young; and Jimi Hendrix.

The vibe for the Jerusalem Woodstock festival is more chill than party, although there is a teenage throng bopping away next to the stage. Performers have included blues maestro Ronnie Peterson doing songs from Bob Dylan (who wasn't actually at the original Woodstock); popular Israeli singer/songwriter Geva Alon whose interpretation of Neil Young is spot-on; and Lazer Lloyd performing Jimi Hendrix in a foot-long scraggly beard and adding a local twist: an electrified version of HaTikva, Israel's national anthem.

The festival is held in August, when Jerusalem's mild nights are a welcome contrast to the blazing summer sun. One of the Woodstock Revival's organizers quips that the event, taking place on the outskirts of some of Jerusalem's more religious neighborhoods, is not about re-creating an atmosphere of free love, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. "The rock and roll part, yes. But not the other stuff," he says.

8. Safed Klezmer Festival

Photo by Flash90

Musicians taking part in the Safed Klezmer Festival.

Long known as European Jewish "soul music," the Yiddish word klezmer originates from the Hebrew klei-zemer, meaning musical instruments. So it's no surprise that the annual Klezmer Festival in the northern Galilee city of Safed is all instrumental.

Launched in 1988 and now featuring over 100 performances, the August festival fills every nook and cranny of the city, with outdoor shows playing in the picturesque narrow alleyways and courtyards of Safed's artists' quarter, as well as in the Red Mosque. Local artists set up their wares on craft tables along the main pedestrian walkways. The festival also includes a number of musicians playing tributes to the late singing Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach.

Despite the cramped layout, the festival attracts a whopping 10,000 to 15,000 klezmer enthusiasts, both religious and non-observant.

It's also an interesting mix of Jewish traditions: Safed is considered the birthplace of Jewish mysticism and a major Hassidic base. The mash-up between the two often leads to surprising artistic creations.

9. Jerusalem International Oud Festival

Musicians at the Jerusalem Oud Festival.

One of the more unusual Israeli music festivals is dedicated to the oud, a Turkish instrument that looks a bit like a pear-shaped guitar and is played throughout the Middle East, from Syria to Armenia. The festival, which is held annually in November and organized by the Jerusalem Confederation House, takes place in Israel's capital as well as in the city of Nazareth in the north.

The oud festival is a multicultural experience with concerts by Israeli, Arab, Indian and French performers. Other ethnic instruments played during the event include the zurna, duduk, jumbus, dahau and nai. In past years, there have been special programs presenting creative interpretations of the work of classic Jewish poets, such as Rabbi Yehuda Ibn Ezra, a literary giant of the Golden Age of Spain, as well as kabbalistic texts such as the Sefer HaYetzira.

The oud is an acquired taste, but those who enjoy its lilting, mysterious sound will appreciate this unique, only-in-Israel music festival.

10. Ein Gev Festival

The granddaddy of Israeli music festivals, the Ein Gev Festival, is now in its 66th year of showcasing Hebrew singing groups and choirs. Held at Kibbutz Ein Gev on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee during the intermediary days of Passover, the festival hosts more than 70 vocal performances including every one of the country's 300 singing groups, some of whom have been together for decades.

While still quite popular, the Ein Gev Festival is less cutting-edge than it was in its earlier years, when the event brought culture to the "distant" northern region of the country. These days, it appeals particularly to Israelis who enjoy following along with the nostalgic classics of the country's pioneering days.

Every day offers free amateur choir performances as well as activities for the young (Grandpa Yossi's Carpentry Shop) and young at heart (a guided cruise around the expansive lake).

Heavyweights of the classic Israeli songbook have joined the festival in past years, including Yehoram Gaon, Geula Gil, Hedva Amrani, Moshe Baker, Amotz Brontman, Nira Sapir and others.