This is part 4 of the series. Read parts 1, 2, 3 if you haven’t.

More Yaffo

That last week of my recent trip to Israel I ate a lot; often in Yaffo. The food is just too excellent. The great Adí Levinson took me to a local restaurant whose name I can’t remember. Right after you order they bring about a dozen little plates with a dozen different things. Most of them I don’t even recognize. They are generically referred to as “salads”. You’re full before the main dish is even brought out. Thankfully being full has never before stopped me from eating before.

Knaffe

This was a new one to me. After a huge meal, we went to a nearby bakery to get some coffee and some knaffe. Knaffe is a milk-based cheesy dessert with a strange chewy consistency, covered with milk, some of the stuff they put in baklawa and pistachios. They make it in a big tray and we had the perfect timing to get there just as a fresh one was being taken out one from an oven; just like the ones used for baking pizza. Awesome stuff. I haven’t found this one locally but if you know better let me know.

Tel Aviv coffee shops

In Tel Aviv, there are coffee shops everywhere. The citizens-per-coffee-shop ratio is around 3. They are also always packed 24 hours a day, which makes you wonder if anyone other than coffee shop workers actually have jobs (my guess: no). Two reasons why these places are packed.

1. Halva (חלבה) flavored croissants: Everyone knows what halva is (the sesame paste candy thing that gets stuck in your teeth for months). But have you tried a croissant made out of it? Delicious.

2. Poppy seed cakes (pereg/פרג, or in Yidish mon/מאָן): I love this stuff. I love it. It’s like a drug except it isn’t. Or is it? Check out the pie in the picture below. Wow. I want.

Stay tuned for the upcoming last installment in this series. Almost done. Really.