(4 out of 5 hot dogs)

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I returned last week from my 10 day free trip to Israel, a land where hummus flows like water.  Actually, more freely than water  (There is a major drought, but apparently no shortage of mashed up chick peas.)  I didn’t have any milk or honey in the land of milk and honey, but I had a slew of delicacies that are hard to come by on this side of the Atlantic.

Ronen’s Yemenite Food Bar
Gallery Street, Sefad, Israel

Sefad is the center of Kaballah in the world.  After visiting, I still have no idea what  Kaballah is, but I did get to eat a really awesome snack for 20 shekels ($5).  In his stand, a Yemenite cooks lachuchs to order: made in a pan like a crepe, filled with vegetables and spices, and then rolled up and wrapped in paper.  The Yemenite told me that lachuch was the first bread in the world, but after some minutes of research on Wikipedia, I was unable to verify, so the verdict is still out. Anyway, I couldn’t help but feel more spiritual as I took a bite, because I am 90% sure that Madonna has eaten from the same stand.

Abouelafia Shawarma
Yeffet 4, Tel Aviv Jaffa, Israel

A Israeli Shawarma is like something you’d get at a Halal cart in NYC, except better.  A lafa (flatbread) is filled with chopped up lamb meat, and then whatever else you want.  I’m talking pickles, cabbage, hummus, tomatoes, FRENCH FRIES, and more.  At this restaurant, I got a Shawarma plus a drink and unlimited sides for 25 Shekels ($6.50).  Most Falafel/ Shawarma stands have a whole table of free sides sitting out for to add to your meal: fried bread, cauliflower, mushrooms, cucumbers, pepper, etc.  If you are really cheap, you could go in and eat a whole meal of sides while “waiting to order,” and then shalom out of there.

חיישה שגפמ
The Boardwalk, Eilat, Israel

After a night of drinking but not getting drunk in the resort town of Eilat, I needed something to nosh on, but there wasn’t a pizza joint in sight!  So I ordered a boureka for 15 shekels ($4).  A boureka is a triangle puff pastry covered with sesame seeds and filled with various ingredients.  Mine came with feta cheese and tomato sauce, and then was sliced open and a hard-boiled egg was added.  Basically, a freshly assembled Hot Pocket minus the microwave: a perfect food to follow up one, two, or ten l’chaims.