Juicy

When you spend some time in Tel Aviv, it's hard to miss the ubiquitous presence of juice & smoothie stands.  Fresh fruit and vegetables are precociously perched on every inch of free space in the Juice stand, and their bright colors beckon thirsty pedestrians to quench their thirst with some natural goodness.

Every juice stand makes your drink to order, so there's no pesky preservatives to be found!  

Whether you fancy fruit or veggies of the blended or masticated variety, the Juice Man can help you out in a few moments of chopping, blending, and grinding.

I'm partial to nutrient rich juices made of pure vegetable, because they give the body the quickest nutrient boost.  The fiber is removed from the vegetables when they are juiced, so the nutrients are readily absorbed into your system quicker than the traditional way you may eat your veggies.

A little juice stand on the corner or Melchett and Shenkin street offers my favorite juice combo.  named the "Complete" juice, this concoction will surely rev up your body like none other!

Complete Juice:

1 stalk of celery (leaves included)

1/2 Lemon

1/2 inch piece of ginger

2 beets

2 Israeli cucumbers

1 small apple

1/2 teaspoon of ground flax seed

2 drops of extra virgin olive oil

Drink up!

by: Rachel Brender

A Chinese Shabbat by Andrea Mann

For most Jews, Chinese food is a Christmas ritual. We look forward to Christmas 364 days a year. Not necessarily for the same reasons as those who observe the holiday, but rather, we are counting down the days until we can happily stuff ourselves with wonton soup, chop suey, chicken lo mein, and vegetable fried rice. Why do all jews (at least in America) flock to the local Chinese establishments on December 25? Finding a nice jewish husband might be part of it... but more likely it's to kvetch to other Jews about how every restaurant and every store in town is closed. There's not much else to do on Christmas day.


Well, this year I experienced my first christmas in Israel. There were no bright lights illuminating the Tel Aviv palm trees to forwarn me of the approaching holiday and the lack of snow definitely didn't help alert me either. Every store and every restaurant in Tel Aviv remained open. And it wasn't until a friend pointed out that it was, in fact, Christmas that I realized I actually missed the festive music blaring from the speakers of every store in town. So, since I wasn't limited to chinese cuisine on Christmas, I decided to break tradition. Instead, I instated a new Friday night ritual: Chinese Shabbat.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Every Friday evening as the sun starts to set, restaurants and shops quickly begin ushering out their last customers, sweeping up the remnants of the day, and locking up their storefronts. This past Friday as the city began to quiet down, my friends and I took it as our cue to head over to Long Sang for a Chinese feast. Apparently, we weren't the only ones with this idea. As we approached the entrance of the restaurant, located on Allenby near the intersection of Ben Yehuda, we noticed several other hungry patrons waiting to devour their own Chinese Shabbat dinner. When selecting a restaurant, I take a large crowd as a sign that the food must be worth the wait. Thus, we waited.

The restaurant is pretty small, without a proper entrance or waiting area. So, after standing outside on the sidewalk of Allenby for twenty minutes, staring through the large glass windows at everyone else's plates piled high with typical Chinese fare, we were finally called to our table. We immediately ordered some soups and appetizers to quell our hunger. I enjoyed the tangy Hot and Sour soup with chicken and mushrooms, which had just the right amount of kick to it. After wishing we could order every item on the menu, but knowing that we would never be able to evenly divide the leftovers among the five of us, we settled on a few Chinese classics like eggrolls, sweet and sour chicken, lo mein, vegetable fried rice and then added a chicken and cashew dish to even out our table of heavenly fried chinese deliciousness.

Vegetable Lo Mein

I'm not sure why I was surprised to find such authentic Chinese in Tel Aviv, nestled among the Falafal and Shwarma stands. Israel is, afterall, pretty damn close to Asia. Apparently, Long Sang offers two menus to it's customers. One for more "westernized" Chinese cuisine and one that contains more traditional Chinese items. 

My only disappointment? No fortune cookies came with our bill!

Well, and that there weren't any leftovers...

Since when do you have to be hungry to eat? By Andrea Mann

A little well-known fact about Jews... we love to eat. Put a Jewish family together in a room and I guarantee there will be food involved. It’s no wonder the thousands of restaurants in Tel Aviv continue to thrive.

Another well-known fact (or at least a seemingly true stereotype) about Jews... Jewish mothers and Jewish grandmothers demonstrate their love by relentlessly overfeeding their children and grandchildren. You might not be very hungry, in fact, you’re probably not even the least bit hungry, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be eating.

Mid October and it's still hot!

By Laura Goldstein
Well it’s the second week of October in Tel Aviv, Israel and it is still mind numbingly hot! I can't help feeling jealous of friends at home and cooler parts of Israel putting on their fall sweaters as I sweat just walking down the street in the blazing sun. To avoid the overwhelming heat I have been exploring Tel Aviv after nightfall and/or indoors. 

Last Wednesday night I went to a concert at Levontin 7 featuring the lovely Shiri Hadar. She was performing songs from a solo project apart from her successful, world touring band Izabo.  She uses her sweet voice and plays her keyboard set to pump out spacey electronic notes to create her unique brand of dreamy indie pop. It was hard to believe it was her first time playing a solo gig! During her performance she also showed a video about how she produced the music video for her recent single Water.

Shiri Hadar at Levontin 7

             I heard about the concert through my friend Shoshanna who works with a band manager in Tel Aviv. Another artist that she recommended to me is Karolina, a well known indie-funk-reggae rocker in Tel Aviv. Her new music video for Smile 2 Me (sung in English) is an ode to the city's street artists

Tel Aviv: Eat Fresher by Andrea Mann

Living in Tel Aviv has made me seriously question the validity of Subway’s “Eat Fresh” campaign. And, rightfully so. Tel Aviv is one of those cities where you can walk into any restaurant, be it a hole-in-the wall in a dark alleyway or a grungy looking stand in the middle of the overcrowded Shuk, and you will be greeted with the freshest ingredients available. Seeing as there are al fresco markets on every street corner offering an array of rainbow colored fruits and vegetables, it’s not surprising that restaurant goers have come to expect the freshest of the fresh.


Yet, for some inexplicable reason, after being in Tel Aviv for a few weeks, I started to miss my simple turkey and swiss sandwich. So, I shamefully admit that I ventured over to Ben Yehuda to hit up the classic example of “fresh” food: Subway. I was overly excited as the sandwich artist toasted my turkey and cheese on honey oat and doused it in ranch dressing. (This may be the only restaurant in Tel Aviv that has ranch). But when all was said and done, it was just a Subway sandwich and I was disappointed in myself for expecting otherwise.

Eager to satisfy my taste buds, I decided to check out a little kiosk that my friend had recommended. Nestled among the trees on the median strip of Ben Gurion and Dizengoff is an unobtrusive sandwich kiosk that my friend referred to as “Dizzy Sandwiches”.  Although there is no evidence on the little wooden hut and you can't find any information about it on Google, I later discovered that this hidden neighborhood delicatessen is officially named Arieli's, after the owner's son.

So, you don't eat Falafal everyday? -Andrea Mann

The night before I embarked on this wonderful journey to spend the next chunk of my life living in Tel Aviv, my parents graciously took me out to what I'd like to refer to as "the last supper". Upon graduating from college, I refused to join the real world. Thus, my decision to move to Tel Aviv instead of getting a 9-5 job required that I support myself financially. I have often been referred to as fiscally irresponsible… so I knew this would not be an easy feat.

As my parents and I were sitting at a beautiful bistro in downtown Cleveland, I meticulously studied the menu, eagerly anticipating what my last meal would be. Our Jewish family friend is the head chef of the restaurant, so you can probably imagine the amazing home cooked Jewish-style dishes from which I had to choose. I finally looked up from my menu and announced that I was ordering the brisket and potato latkes. My dad looked at me and sarcastically remarked, "Right, because you won't be eating any of that in Israel." My parents had never been to Israel before, so they had quite a skewed perception of what to expect.