Worldly Ramblings: A Foodie's Delight!

So, if you know anything about me at all, I take pictures of my food... And I was specially requested to make this post, so here it is! Some of these photos have been posted to Facebook, but they don't come with mouth-watering descriptions. ;)

The first night we were here, I went to the Green Cow (by Inge's apartment) and had falafel and grapefruit soda. Now, grapefruit soda just might be my favorite drink in the entire world (other than Guarana). It's sweet, it's sour, it's pulpy and amazing. The falafel is also amazing. Crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, you'd never complain about being a vegetarian ever again. They have enough people here who are, that it's heaven to eat out and keep kosher/vegetarian.

THE most DELICIOUS strawberries you will EVER EAT are right here in Tel Aviv. Even the white ones are bursting with sweet flavor!

These are brought to the table like bread and oil in the States. Hot chickpeas that are surprisingly crisp and delicious. And, for the pickle-lovers, cabbage and carrot salad with a spicy (like, pickle spicy) dressing. These chickpeas taste like those hot boiled peanuts every southerner loves (at least this one!). The cabbage is usually a bit too soured for me, but there have been some really amazing ones!

Schnitzel fingers and fries. What can I say? It's the healthy version of chicken fingers; a light breadcrumb coating and fresh, white meat, pounded to perfect tenderness. The fries, sorry, "chips", are tasty, but not a single restaurant serves them with salt! I've taken to carrying salt packets with me, since they don't salt anything, which makes my high salt diet difficult, to say the least!

Now, this, I've raved about before, but I can't get enough of it! Light! Refreshing! Sweet! Tangy! It's like drinking relaxation! Limonana, (a combination of limonada and nana, the Hebrew for lemonade and mint), is the most incredible drink to sit on the beach and sip. Keep your Mai Tais, Pina Coladas, Daqaris and whatever else you want. No alcohol is needed for this drink of pure delight!

We went to Max Brenner with Michele's friend, and I had the most incredible hot chocolate. Sweet, but not sugary, with excellent amounts of cinnamon and vanilla, it was perfect for the cold night. It was also served in their special "Hug Mug" which is specially designed to hold in both hands to drink. It's sort of like a Chinese/Japanese teacup, except bigger and sort of oblong rather than round.

Michele got a sweet tiramisu crepe... Let's just say it was gone pretty rapidly. =]

When in Israel, go for the fruit! My fruit and granola from Max Brenner was incredible, especially with their chocolate shavings and chocolate infused honey!

Gilad had the most Israeli dish - it was chocolate whip, which had a consistency between pudding and mousse. With the chocolate balls and syrup on top, it was delightful!

So, next to campus, between the main gate and our dorms, is the King George restaurant. I was feeling particularly in the mood for hot dogs, so I got the kid's meal, and look, it came with stickers! The hot dogs were cut and fried almost exactly the same as the hot dogs I ate in Puerto Montt, Chile. They were delicious!

I have a fascination with vending machines, and I'll tell you why. Vending machines are filled with the food that the locals eat the most when they're rushing or just needing a quick snack. Obscure, random things don't get put in vending machines because they wouldn't be bought and therefore they wouldn't make money. So I got these out of the vending machine and had NO CLUE what they were. But they were in the vending machine, so they must be good... Or at least popular...

So they look sort of like the puffed Cheetos, and they have the same texture and pretty much are the exact same thing... except they're peanut butter flavored! And really good! I didn't think there was a way to make peanut butter any more enjoyable, but the flaky, light texture of these means you can eat all of them and not feel disgusting! (Granted, it was a little bag, but sometimes peanut butter sticks all over your mouth and you feel like you've eaten a lot more than you have, but these don't do that!)

Israeli pizza... mmm, the joy! It's flat, it's crispy, it's cheap, and oh, so good. Pizza is pizza is pizza, right? Yeah, pretty much. But this is fresh tomatoes, fresh cheese, and baked when you order. Amazing!

This was also from King George. Delicious beef and mushroom pasta. They like cooking things with soy sauce. Still good, though. Sort of like beef stir fry with the wrong kind of noodles...

And now we get to the candy and stuff I've bought at the grocery store...

Don't ask me how to say it. Just know it's like a giant kit-kat wafer bar thing, and that it's delicious.

I don't know how to rotate these, so bear with me. These, other than their funny shape, are also pretty good. They're very similar to the Kinder Bueno or Sohno de Valsa, or for Americans, filled with hazelnut creme stuff, like what's in the middle of a Ferrero Rocher.

BEST ISRAELI CHOCOLATE EVER! This looks like tree bark, and I can't remember the name, and I've gone through two bags already, but it's the most amazing chocolate ever! It melts in your mouth and is creamy and delicious!

This is my afternoon snack... As I said, the best strawberries in the world!

So Aroma is pretty much like Starbucks or Panera or Atlanta Bread Co, but their specialty is iced coffee. Now, most people think iced coffee is normal in the states. Take coffee, pour over ice, tada! But here, it's blended with milk and sugar and ice and is like the most amazing slushy ever. I don't know how they get the consistency just right, but it's great!

Hey, look! Kinder Joy (no "eggs" or "surprise"). Since they got their own post in Belgium, they'll get their own post here... Keep your eyes peeled!

Just for reference, this is what I've been eating fairly frequently - strawberries, pasta, and cucumber/tomato salad with lemon and garlic. All fresh, all amazing!