Eating Out in Israel

Israel has some of the best food in the world and I had a chance to sample some of it while traveling there for this year's Tel Aviv Pride.

Even random places around the shopping districts in Israel have lots to offer, but a proper sit down meal can be difficult to narrow down with so many choices.

Aria is a good place to start off with both an upstairs and downstairs area to dine in. This casual atmosphere offers many seafood choices from oysters to sea fish crudo. The oxtail pappardelle is served in a red wine with root vegetable and is not to be missed.

From dazzling chandeliers to bustling activity, Quattro restaurant in Tel Aviv has a lot of decor to take in. Alex Meitlis has designed an art project that makes for unique pictures and surroundings. Stick around for dessert then snap away for Instagram all night.

The Blue Rooster gives diners a place to eat outdoors with several vegan options. Try the potato gnocchi or the raw tahini without worry.

After working up an appetite from shopping skip over to Yahaloma right on the pier. The staff was super friendly and the food was a solid offering of traditional cuisine.

My favorite spot was on the road to Jerusalem near The Dead Sea. Taj Mahal is part of the Leonardo Inn Hotel and they prepared a Bedouin style lunch. The good looking staff hauled out skewer after skewer until we were busting. We had to belly dance off some of the calories just to not explode. Watch out for cats though, they were hungry and running wild while begging for food.

Our tour of authentic cuisine was complete by the time our last night rolled around, so we switched to some Italian food at the Anna restaurant. A private room to unwind and discuss our adventures was just what the doctor ordered.

A sound and light show at the Tower of David Museum in the Citadel gave us all a feeling of history and hopefully peace to a beautiful country.