120
NOVEMBER 2012
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
THREE PERFECT DAYS
||
TELAVIV
BOARDING PASS
Legendary nightlife, delicious food, world-class art—Tel Aviv has it all, and United can get you there with nonstop service
from its New York/Newark hub, which connects with dozens of North American cities. Before boarding at Newark Liberty International Airport,
consider purchasing a day pass to relax in a spacious United Club; memberships are also available.
For more information, go to united.com.
by Tel Aviv literary light Etgar
Keret. You briefly wander along
Shenkin Street, the city’s toniest
shopping strip, then head west
until you hit the Yemenite Quar-
ter, home of the famous
Carmel
Market
,
in which everything from fresh produce to lug-
gage is peddled at a furious rate anddeafening volume. By
now you’ve worked up a hunger, and are in the mood for
hummus. Youaskanelderly couple for a recommendation
and they walk you several blocks to their favorite stand,
only to find it’s closed for Shabbat. The wife apologizes
profusely, but you tell her not to worry. “But what will
you eat?” she frets.
Following the husband’s advice, youmake for
Hummus
Mashawa
,
a renowned Arab-run establishment (meaning
it’s open). Themenu is inHebrew, but thewaitress guides
you through it. You order the house hummus, ground to
order, served hot, toppedwith crushed, spiced fava beans
and accompanied by hot sauce and
mekhalel
(
pickled)
veggies. It’s nourishing and flavorful, and, finished with
a cup of strong coffee, costs about six dollars.
Next stop is the
Tel Aviv Museum of Ar
t
.
You enter
through the old wing, passing under a mural by Roy
Lichtenstein, and explore the formidable collection, with
works by Klimt, Pollock and Kandinsky. In themuseum’s
erratic, angular Herta and Paul Amir Building, you check
out a fascinating exhibit titled “The Museum Presents
Itself,” which plots the history of Israeli art, from the
pastoral scenes intended to convince people to relocate
here to themore jarring political pieces of themodern era.
A er a lazy dip at the beach, you point your feet north
to the Tel Aviv Port, a new development best known for
the Port Market and the Tel Aviv Farmers Market. Here
you find
Kitchen Market
,
a restaurant that overlooks the
Port Market and draws most of its ingredients from it.
Dinner is a mind-blowing marriage of locavorism and
molecular gastronomy: corn foam consommé with
mussels and shrimp; porcini crème brûlée with
bresaola
(
spiced, air-curedbeef); warmterrine of slow-cooked lamb
with crushed chestnuts; and duck breast served with
pickled cherries, prosciu o and sherry sauce.
Immensely satisfied, you stroll outside to the restau-
rant’s wooden deck and lean against a railing over the
restless sea. You stay here for a while, resisting the urge
to hit the town one last time. You keep on resisting, too,
right up until the moment you succumb.
Hemispheres
editor in chief
JOE KEOHANE
is still recovering
from Tel Aviv.
IN THE THICKOF IT
From top, Kitchen
Market’s seafood-
filled corn foam
consommé; sprawling
Carmel Market
