Israel has been on my mind a lot lately….
My Mom is currently there exploring the country for her first time on a “Holy Land” tour, I’ve been researching flights back to Tel Aviv so I can attend this year’s “Mid-burn” Festival, and I recently met some awesome Israelis that I can’t wait to see again.
It had been a country I had been desperate to visit for my entire life. I dreamt of getting lost in the streets of Jerusalem, floating in the dead sea, and exploring the massive deserts. It took me awhile, but I fortunately got there last year thanks to the amazing people at Vibe Israel who organize trips for various groups of online-influencers. Not only did I get to spend 7-days hopping around this stunning country, but I shared this experience with some truly special people. It was a week for the records books…
It’s still my favorite press-trip I’ve ever been apart of !!
You can read all about it here: Top 10 Highlights from One Week Exploring Israel
There really are countless reasons why you SHOULD visit Israel…
For example: the beautiful landscape, the fascinating history, the religious importance, the vibrant culture, the unique shopping, the insane nightlife, the fabulous gay-pride parade, the salty Dead Sea, the undeniably gorgeous people…etc
I could go on and on…
But the truth is…there’s only ONE REASON WHY YOU NEED TO VISIT ISRAEL!
That is the FOOD ! ! !
“Hi everyone. My name is Dave…and I have an unhealthy addiction to hummus”
There’s a reason why I’ve always wanted to visit Israel, and that was mainly to eat the best Israeli food and hummus I could gets my hands on. The ENTIRE WEEK I spent in the country, our VIBE Travel Group was completely spoiled with some of the most delicious meals I’ve ever eaten in my whole life.
I’ve visited a lot of countries, and I’ve had countless unbelievably scrumptious meals – but Israel quickly became the winner for my favorite country to visit for its cuisine.
So I wanted to recap a few of my favorite meals I ate during my trip last year for you. If you’re heading to Israel anytime soon – make sure you check out some of these hotspots!
Jerusalem
My Israeli travels began in the holiest city in the world, but more importantly – it’s where we began our week-long gluttonous adventure.
The first night on the trip, our amazing tour leader Tamar guided us through the narrow alley ways in Jerusalem, and we arrived at a charming restaurant called MENZA (ranked #23 / 616!). After the appetizers, entrees, and deserts were all easily demolished, I knew I was in for a good week.
The main food highlight of Jerusalem though was 100% the breakfast at the Villa Brown Hotel. I can’t even begin to explain how incredible it was to start my day eating that meal (two times in total) in that peaceful garden. Trust me though – even if you don’t stay there during your stay in Jerusalem, I’d definitely find your way there for breakfast!
The last and final culinary adventure I loved was taking a self-guided food-tour with the app BiteMojo. I had never done anything like it before, but it was tons of fun walking around the city, and sampling tons of different dishes. A great way to explore the sensational Machane Yehuda Market and surrounding area!
Luxury Hotel Lunch with a View
When our van pulled up to our lunch stop, I was honestly speechless after seeing this incredibly unique luxury hotel location.
We unfortunately didn’t get to spend the night at the beautiful Beresheet Hotel, but we did enjoy an amazing meal here! The food is top-rated, and is definitely one of my favorite meals I had while in Israel!
Even if we didn’t eat here though, this place was stunning and worth a visit! Perched on the edge of the towering cliffs that overlook the Ramon Crater, this was definitely a meal to remember.
Bedouin Camping Desert Feast
Not gonna lie – it’s moments like this when I realize how truly amazing my job is!
Visiting this Kfar Hanokdim Bedouin Camp was such an unique travel experience, and I don’t think I would have thought of doing this on my own! (VIBE ISRAEL really planned a fantastic trip for us in 2017).
The entire evening we spent there was awesome, but the DESERT Feast was absolutely amazing!! The ambience really played an important role to this as well.
The sun is setting, camels are walking by, and we’re in an Oasis in Kana`im Valley in the Judean desert enjoying a massive meal!
Tel Aviv
Ahh Tel Aviv – easily one of my new favorite cities! If it weren’t so expensive, I probably would have moved there for a couple months already (on a tourist visa). I was loving staying at the Mendeli Street Hotel, because every morning the breakfast at the Mashya Restaurant was absolutely insane!
Fun fact – the FIRST time I ever tried Shakshuka was in Tel Aviv. I’m not proud it took me 28 years to discover this incredible dish, but I’m glad it finally happened!
Last, but certainly not least – one of my top highlights of Israel was dining with a local family, in their house (about 20-minutes from downtown Tel Aviv). This unique culinary experience is called Betzvata, and words can’t express how special this evening was to me! This friendly family opened up their home to us, spent hours in great conversation, and fed us the BEST home-cooked meal I ever could have imagined. They even told us it took them two days to prepare everything!
If you’re planning a trip to Tel Aviv – you MUST look into Betzvata! I’m definitely planning on doing this again in a couple months when I get back to Israel ! :-)
What’s your favorite Israeli dish or restaurant…?
Since I’m planning a return trip to Israel, I’d love to get some recommendtions for where to eat, and what new dishes I should check out! I regrettably only had one week for my first visit, but this time I’ll have a lot more time in the country to keep my stomach happy ;-)
I have to express my sincere gratitude to everyone at VIBE Israel for planning such an incredible week of food and adventure! It was really was the trip of a lifetime, and I’m so excited to get back to Israel very soon! :-)
Thanks for reading!
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