Chop Chop: Tel Aviv

Everyone loves a good stir fry for themselves for a meal. It is a meal that everyone likes to customize for themselves. What if I told you there is a restaurant that allows you do just that here in Tel Aviv. Chop Chop is the spot for you to create your very own stir fry creation. It is pretty easy once you understand how to order. You first pick your base of either a variety of rice options or noodle options. Then you choose your choice of sauce. After the sauce you can choose between a plethora of vegetables and toppings to make your stir fry the way you want it. For an additional cost you can add steak strips, chicken, shrimps, or tofu. The possible combinations at Chop Chop are endless. You can easily eat there every day and eat something different every time. You can find Chop Chop centrally located at the corner of Eliezer Kaplan and Ibn Gavirol. If you are not in the mood to get out of the office of bed, Chop Chop does have delivery service as well.

Dede: Florentine

Living in Florentine, Tel Aviv, you stumble upon a variety of dining options ranging from the classics to the more out of the ordinary and inventive options. Nestled on the quiet Uriel Acosta Street in the heart of the neighborhood is Dede. Dede serves a unique egg crepe stuffed with a variety of fillings both for omnivores and vegetarians alike. They even now have vegan options for those in that crowd. The atmosphere is very relaxing, great music selection, friendly staff, and most importantly the food is fantastic.  Dede really attracts every part of society that calls Florentine, home. It attracts the stoners, hipsters, punks, artists, students, and those just wanting to look cool and important. Great food and drink at a great price is really what brings me back time and time again to Dede. If you want a true Florentine experience, head to Dede.

Schnitzel Beer

Schnitzel is universally loved here in Israel. It is comfort food and quite frankly I have not met someone who does not like it. Its food that warms the soul and can make anyone feel better about themselves. Here in Israel you will most likely find schnitzel made from chicken, usually the breast. It is pounded thin, breaded with golden bread crumbs, and then ultimately fried to golden brown. Served immediately from the fryer and onto your plate is how most like their schnitzel. Cold schnitzel never really works, unless you are too hungover from the night before. To find the schnitzel of the neighborhood, you can head to Sderot Washington where you will find Schnitzel Beer. Yes, that is the name of the restaurant. They specialize in big buckets of hot, crunchy, and juicy schnitzel to accompany your favorite cold adult beverage.The buckets come in sizes that range from personal size to enough for two people. They come with a side of shoestring french fries, salad, and all the sauces you would want. The prices are pretty decent as well. Not worth an arm and a leg, plus the beer is cheap which is always a good thing. Just head to the heart of Florentin, and sniff out the schnitzel. Once you smell it you will know you have arrived.

Men Tenten Ramen

A bowl of noodle soup is one of the most comforting meals that I can think of. It soothes the soul, and can even cure you when you are sick. A dish that rejuvenates the soul as well as satisfies any hunger. Many great food cultures feature a dish like this. There are many variations of noodle soup found throughout the world. I grew up on my Nana's chicken soup with noodles and the matzah balls. The Vietnamese grew up on pho. In Taiwan they are crazy for beef noodle soup. While in Malaysia laksa is the go-to noodle dish for the masses. Yet the noodle soup that has become extremely trendy hails from Japan, and that is ramen. You might be thinking its just ramen, the same old noodles you can get for a dollar at the corner store while you were broke in college. Yet the world of ramen is actually quite deep, and more interesting than the instant ramen that we are most accustomed to.

High quality Japanese style ramen is taking the world by storm. Famous places like Wagamama, and Momofuku are stylish examples of just how far this trend has gone. The key to good quality ramen, is a quality stock, fresh noodles cooked to order, and of course all of the necessary condiments. To my surprise there is such a place here in Tel Aviv that offers quality Japanese style Ramen. Located in the Rothschild/Allenby Food Market is Men TenTen Ramen and Izakaya.

Men TenTen Ramen is the spot for Ramen in Tel Aviv. Men TenTen offers five styles of Ramen. The first on the menu is the Tongara Ramen. Tongara Ramen consists of a pork and chicken stock that has been simmered for over 18 hours. The ramen noodles are homemade and cooked to order. The ramen soup is garnished with a slice of roasted pork, scallions, bamboo shoots, and a soft boiled egg. One noticeable distinction for this ramen is that the broth is extremely rich and creamy. That is because it has been cooking for a long time so the fat from the chicken and pork actually emulsifies and becomes part of the stock. If you do not like pork, try their chicken ramen soup called the Torigara. For the vegan and vegetarians there are two options. One option is a take on Japanese style curry with their homemade noodles, potatoes, carrots, and curry broth. The other option is a seaweed and mushroom based ramen soup garnished with deep fried tofu, carrot, and daikon radish. The final and most unique version ramen Men TenTen serves is the Tsukemen ramen. Tsukemen ramen is unique in the the noodles are served on the side and are meant to be dipped into the concentrated soup broth. Add-ons include additional noodles, soup, slices of pork or chicken, deep fried tofu, or soft boiled egg.

To start or accompany your ramen meal, Men TenTen also offers a variety of traditional Japanese dishes. A variety of gyoza(potstickers) are on the menu with pork, chicken or mixed vegetable fillings. Another Japanese delight they serve is call Kushikatsu, which is deep fried skewers of either chicken or pork. Besides these absolutely delightful side dishes, they also over Karage(Japanese fried chicken and Tonkatsu(deep fried pork or chicken cutlet).

I think I have said everything that has to be said about this place. If you have not been yet I highly suggest checking this place out. They have absolutely delicious and beautiful food so you really have no choice but to check it out.