Modern Israeli done oh-so-good

A quick two-hour flight takes me from Istanbul to Tel Aviv. A not so quick immigration experience takes another hour and a half. I've confirmed that it is possible to get an Israeli stamp on a separate piece of paper and it's also possible that this will cause them to want to question you more than is normal. All's well that ends well, though, and I'm off to Jerusalem with my parents.

It's late afternoon when we arrive at the hotel, so we decamp and catch the live World Cup game happening just then, Japan's victory over Cameroon. With my daily football fix fulfilled, we head to dinner. Our destination, Cafe Paradiso, is a modern Israeli place in the German Colony neighborhood.

The first appetizer is bone marrow braised in red wine and garlic. This is decadent, rich, and flavorful. After my mom teaches me the proper way to eat such an item (tilt a whole one on your plate and then scoop out the marrow), I am in protein-rich heaven. To perfect the dish, we have the just-right utensils and some very good and very fresh wheat bread to soak it up.

This was a winner.

The salad appetizer was Bulgarian bread salad. This had a delightful combination of toasted pita, tomatoes, onions, olives, cucumbers; to top it off was a creamy feta cheese dressing and some sprinkled paprika. Oh, delightful! Fresh vegetables, nicely cut; great seasoning, rightly apportioned; and the croutons, excellent and not at all soggy. Yum, yum, yum. I should make this at home.

My main was Dushpara from Bukhara. If you're wondering what that is, well, join the crowd. That was the full description on the menu. It turned out to be large tortellini like dough wrapped around lamb, with a rich chickpea, pearl onion, and middle eastern spices broth. It also turned out to be delicious. The flavors were so strong and so well-balanced in this dish. Another winner. The only complaint I could come up with was that the lamb fillings were a wee bit small compared to the out-sized tortellini, but that's a minor quibble.

To round out the meal, my mom got fried sardines and my dad got a fish kebap, sans sticks. Both were tasty, with the sardines taking a prize for being tasty whilst being incredibly fishy as well. Oh, and a bottle of Israeli wine that was an homage to Fellini was a nice accompaniment!

If we are lucky enough to eat like this throughout our time in Israel, that would be fabulous. It would also give Israel an unexpected victory on the culinary front.