Roots Of Our Faith Tour: November 2010

WEATHER

September - October – November: Autumn

General Weather Description: Some will argue and say that this is the nicest season of the year in Israel. Temperature in Tel Aviv is usually between 16 to 24 Degrees centigrade which are 61 to 75 Degrees Fahrenheit. Jerusalem and the Golan Heights are approx. 3 degrees centigrade colder (5.5 Degrees Fahrenheit), and Eilat is usually 3 degrees centigrade warmer.

What to Wear: Long sleeve shirts and a light Jacket will do the job.

FOOD

Israelis like their breakfast. While the term "breakfast" is identical worldwide, an Israeli breakfast is slightly different from what you had in mind. This article will try to provide you with more details about what an Israeli breakfast is all about.

Fresh Vegetables are everywhere
Israel is blessed with a variety of fresh vegetables. As such, you will find sliced fresh vegetables on every breakfast table. It might be a 5 star luxury hotel or a plain bed & breakfast motel, all of them will serve you some fresh vegetable salad or "Israeli salad" as we would like to call it for breakfast.
An Israeli salad will consist mostly of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and some spice herbs like parsley or coriander. Unlike an "American" salad – this salad needs no dressing what so ever; if you insist you might use some pure olive oil as a dressing for a perfect salad.

Breakfast portions are huge
This probably relates to the Hebrew/Jewish mentality and the breakfast portions are simply too big. If you are not aware of that you will find yourself eating more than needed and that might lead you to gain some extra pounds during your stay in Israel. Take your time, this is only breakfast, and during the rest of the day you will find out that Israeli street food is even better, so you should save some room and appetite for it.

No meat please!
For various reasons it is almost impossible to find any meat in any breakfast in Israel. a "Kosher" kitchen will need to separate between dairy products and meat products, so unless "English breakfast" is explicitly specified, don't expect to find breakfast in Israel with any kind of meat.

Breakfasts around the clock
many places in Israel are now serving breakfasts around the clock. It is not unusual to see people eating their breakfast at 2:00 pm or later, you just need to ask for it as this is a very popular meal and Israelis tend to eat it at late morning hours and evenings as well.

Something for everybody
It really depends where are you going to eat your breakfasts in Israel, but you should expect a huge variety of food on any breakfast table. If the breakfast is a continental breakfast, it will consist of coffee, juice, toast, jam, honey, and a pastry of your choice.

If this is an "Israeli breakfast" you will mostly find coffee, orange juice, fresh vegetables salad, goats/cows cream cheese, fresh bread or toast, olives, butter, and fried eggs of your choose.

If you are staying in a luxury hotel you will find that on top of the regular variety you can expect some fish, cereals, and many kinds of different dairy products as they are very popular in Israel. All in all – there is something for everybody in any Israeli breakfast.

Israeli Street Foods

In fact, in Israel as in many other Middle Eastern cities, “street food” is very popular. Street food may be called fast food, but what gives it a special edge is that some of the places have no chairs, so the client has to finish his meal while standing in the street. That may not sound like the most civilized thing to do, but in Israeli streets you will see businessmen as well as young moms and teenagers eating this way.

Israel’s top street foods are:

Falafel - the most common and affordable street food is served in a pita bread (full or half) along with salad, pickles and Tehina. Falafel balls are usually made of either hummus (chick peas) or ful (broad beans) seeds mixed with parsley and some spices. Those with an edgy stomach may want to try one falafel ball before getting a full serving…

One Falafel serving = one pita with 6 balls = 11 weight-watchers’ points = 10-12 NIS

Shawarma – in Israel (unlike other places such as Turkey) Shawarma is made of turkey meat, and is usually served in pita bread along with salad, Tehina and pickles. The size of the pita may vary, and if you want to get your money’s worth – look at the size of the pita before ordering, and ask for a serving without salad or pickles. This way you can increase the amount of meat you are getting for the same price, and save yourself the second serving.

One Shawarma serving = one pita with approx. 80 grams of turkey meat = 11 weight-watchers’ points = 20-22 NIS

Sabich – the meaning of the word is “morning” in arab, and it is the traditional food Iraqi immigrants introduced to the Israeli street. It may be found on all cities in Israel, mainly in Ramat-Gan. The essence of this food is pita bread with fried eggplants, an egg, salad, tehina and pickles.

One Sabich serving = one pita = an endless amount of weight-watchers’ points = 10-14 NIS

Tunisian Sandwich – is a sandwich usually made from a baguette with many surprises that make a delicious meal. Additions may include: Tuna, egg, pickled lemon, salad, fried hot green pepper etc.

One Tunisian sandwich = one quarter of a baguette = 8-15 NIS

Lafa – usually means a big pita bread which has been cooked in a taboon, and is filled with some shish-kebab, salads and French fries. It is a full meal in itself for quite a big person (I could finish one myself only in my teenage years). Some choose to fill their lafa with goose liver, but that is out of the specified price range and definitely out of the weight watchers points specified below…

One Lafa serving = one lafa with 1-2 shish-kebabs = 20 weight-watchers’ points = 22-28 NIS