Chololetta, Shokoletta,Chocolata or, of course,שוקולטה

Greetings from Rosh Pina, where the lovely wife's extended family held an amazing reunion of cousins. Rosh Pina is in the heart of the Galilee, where we were staying in a beautiful resort called Mizpe-Hayamin. This hotel is not overly child friendly, however, and we needed to find somewhere else to have our large reunion. Our Israeli relatives made reservations at שּוֹקולטה and we were glad they did.

I couldn't really find the right spelling in English of this place, although they do have a passable english menu and most of the staff spoke english rather well. So I will stick with the hebrew name or use Chocoletta, which I think is the closest. It is located on the top of the hill of the old part of Rosh Pina, near the synagogue. It may take a little effort to find. The phone number is 04-6860219. The restaurant itself has the feel of "old Israel," with vaulted ceilings and lots of stones.

The specialty of the house is clearly dessert, of which there are many. Boy 2 had a layered chocolate mousse cake which he particularly liked, and a chocolate pie was also quite good. The dinner was good as well. It was dairy, and I liked the shakshouka (of course, I always like good shakshouka). Other things that people liked included the pasta dishes (you could choose your pasta and your sauce!), and salads.

So, if you end up in the Galilee, and want a cool place to eat and drink (and of course, have dessert) that is not full of tourists, try Chocoletta (שוקולטה ). You'll be glad you did.

Sammy's(Sami) Restaurant in Jerusalem: "That Place is Good"

Aha. Back. I have some catching up to do. Its been a bit crazy the past few days, and then I went to Jordan sans computer. Thankfully I am back, sunning in the beach at Eilat, and trying to write about some of the things that I ate.

We seem to have spent most of this trip eating Schwarma or falafel, and I thought I would write about the place that I enjoyed the most of this list (although I really didn’t have a bad one, and have discovered a new, if fattening, taste for laffah, the large flat bread that these products are rolled instead of the smaller, healthier pita.

Sammy’s in Jerusalem is located right near the Mahane Yehuda Market. It is kosher. Sammy’s, which half looks like it belongs in Jerusalem and half in the old Lower East Side, has a full menu of falafel, schwarma, schnitzel and chicken liver. But they also have “baby chicken,” which I think is Cornish hen, as well as goose liver, which is foie (except that is served in bulk on a plate). All is good. The mezze are excellent as well. I even liked the kebob’s, which I have usually find somewhat dry in Israel. The only weak spot is the chips, which are soggy fries at best.

So, even if you’ve never wondered why people prefer hamburgers to schwarma, its worth trying out Sammy’s in Jerusalem. A worthwhile trip!

addendum: clearly i mispelled Sami's name as Sammy.  My bad.  I wondered why I couldn't get the address and phone number in this most connected country...here it is.
Sami
Agrippas St. 8
Machane Yehuda/Nachlaot
02-625-0985
Sunday to Thursday, 11:00 to 2:00

Greetings From Israel: Cavalier Restaurant, Jerusalem

Greetings!  Its Friday morning here as I type away, reasonably not jet lagged for my first full day here.  Last night we took a walk from our hotel to the Cavalier Restaurant, which is located at 1 Ben-Sira Street, Jerusalem (02/624-2945). I admit to being a little worried at first, as it was billed as a "French" restaurant and the last thing that I wanted after a 10 hour flight was fancy French Food with Two Children. I should not have been worried. The place, although very attractive as a place to eat, was not precious in any way and we were quite comfortable eating there with our well behaved (and, yes they were) children. The food was surprisingly good as well.

Stand-outs amongst the appetizers included a shaved artichoke dish (pictured), goose-foie (which was extremely good), and a tuna-carpaccio with sesame seeds and soy.  Salads were good if you are in a healthy feeling mode.

As for dishes, I really liked the drum fish, although it is quite dense.  The lamb chops were good, as was the lamb and cous-cous.  The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the pounded veal, which tasted a bit too much like schniztel for my liking.  Desserts were also good also, particularly the tarte-tatin.  And Israeli wine in Israel, so far, is good!