A tour of food influencers from the United States, Vib Israel (Vib Israel)
Somewhere along the way, in the area of the corner of Radial and Abbas streets, I wonder what these women are really thinking.
Because from my eyes, the neighborhood of hope is, well, the neighborhood of hope.
Very strong in some things (people, booths, a refreshing no-bullshit approach), a little weaker in others (infrastructure, grooming, hidden laundry shafts), and definitely requires some kind of mediation to turn reality into reality.
I absorb them in order to listen, and then slow down my walk a bit to take a picture, managing to capture a picture that, if it weren't for the Israeli flag on the shoulder, could have been put in Naples, say, or any other city that never sought to be the most beautiful, and instead gave you something delicious to chew on the way.
A few minutes later, at the very entrance of the market and before the official tour continues, I get a final answer to the question I started with.
For me, as mentioned, a market.
For them, a perfect spot for a selfie.
The perfect spot.
The Vibe Israel food tour (photo: Walla! system, Yaniv Granot)
Almost Naples.
The Vibe Israel food tour (photo: Walla! system, Yaniv Granot)
These eight women landed in Israel a few weeks ago with well-packed suitcases, which somehow managed to contain both well over ten million followers, and much more room to take delicious things back home.
They came here on the initiative of Vibe Israel, for what was officially defined as a "food tour for American influencers", but it is much better to refer to it with the necessary casualness, and to call it by its name - "everything that Israel should do from now on and forever to improve even a little its information policy , the public's opinion about her, the stigmas and clichés, and start somehow dispelling the myths. Then you'll see how much fun it is here when the politicians don't interfere."
Too long for a slogan, I know, but we'll think of something already.
And she's not even the best thing here
One of the most luxurious pitas in Israel, period
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The real controls.
The food tour of Viv Israel (Photo: Viv Israel)
A busy schedule, and delicious. The food tour of Viv Israel (Photo: Viv Israel)
Their schedule was very crowded as tourists, and even more crowded as foodies.
It began with a relatively soft landing (helped by the babka cake from a bread bakery that was waiting for them in the "Hotel 65" room where they were staying, without a doubt the most effective goodwill ambassador we've had since Uri Sheft started his chocolate doctrine overseas) and with dinner at "Bichicalta" in Nachalat Binyamin in Tel Aviv, and continued from there for almost a week in the truly beautiful Israel.
As mentioned, the Israel of its food, and especially the Israel of its food people.
The first full day took them to the Old City of Jerusalem ("your stomach is much tastier than what I ate in the United States"), to a tour that knew how to make order in the mess, and to a colorful visit to the Mahane Yehuda market of course.
He was signed at Shiral Berger's OPA restaurant, and knew how to tie everything together - especially the passion for vegetables and nature, the next morning at Farma Kultura, the gem of Farma To Table in Moshav Bnei Zion.
Friday dinner (homely and sumptuous) was held at the Alon family in Gadara, and Saturday was dedicated to Nazareth, for its temptations and calories ("Hummus like we've never tasted. Pro tip - use onions instead of pita"), and especially for its Luna Bistro.
This night closes, as most nights close in Tel Aviv, at Jasmino.
A little borax, a little lasagna.
Dilk's love child is a model
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Noise becomes silence, silence becomes cracking, cracking becomes laughter.
continue
I arrange to meet with them on Hagana Street in the city on Tuesday morning, prepared for light walking and heavy eating, among other things because Dilk's is our first stop.
Hot trays come out of the oven, fly through the air and rotate to model the crunch.
"It's about the love child of the borax and the lasagna", Muni Kahlon from "Buka Tours" makes available to them what is probably impossible to make available, and must be tasted.
Noise becomes silence, silence becomes cracking, cracking becomes laughter.
continue
The anchor hoped that he is the Salof and his sons are abundant with dough, of course, and does not even try to explain in foreign language what Kovna is.
Instead, they are asked to hold out their fingers and make a delicious memory out of the buttermilk.
You can't and don't need more than that, but still there is arak, in a serving that saves glasses and increases smiles.
"The best thing about us, and no one will tell you otherwise," explained Kahlon while taking out another bottle of wine from the attached cart, "is that, unlike the United States, here you can drink in public."
A little wine, a lot of story.
The Vibe Israel food tour (photo: Walla! system, Yaniv Granot)
translate to hoh to american.
The Vibe Israel food tour (photo: Walla! system, Yaniv Granot)
"They didn't come to play. They listened very hard, they tried very hard to understand the message, and we also had a lot of fun. In the end, you can see it in what they bring up."
"Coming on a tour here is a very special situation because for us, hope is home," said Kahlon, who founded the happy company about five years ago together with Assaf Salant, "Our concept is an intelligent and rich food tour, but at eye level, and from our point of view, everything was born in the neighborhood. This is our flagship tour, our best-selling tour, and it probably serves even more tourists and tourists from abroad, for whom coming here - instead of Carmel, say, or Sharona - is less trivial." We take our conversation to the Amiga deli
and watch the great culture shock that is Amba , continue to the Cuban feast from David Habib and Sons, and open another table at the wonderful Butka 23, trying to translate into spoken American both "Friday's challah with schnitzel", also "chips like what was in a king's cart", and "Sabih". The results, as expected , complex, although they also close with Arak, so nothing to complain about.
"We came to Vibe through mutual friends, and from the first moment it was clear that there was a click here," Kahlon added, "What interests us is not only to show beauty and positivity, but to tell a complex, brooding and authentic story about people and places through food. We deal with the content, opening a bottle Wine while talking, and in the end it's an excellent tool to tell a story. Here, with Eitan, there was something even more special, they didn't come to play. They listened terribly, they tried terribly to understand the message, and we also had a lot of fun. In the end, you also see it in what they bring up."
tell the story
The food tour of Viv Israel (Photo: Viv Israel)
The eight participants were formed through preliminary research by "Vibe Israel", and through the mediation of Rachel Yerks ("EZPZ Mealz"), who leveraged her previous visit to the country (and a previous tour with Boka) into another happy return, with friends.
She was joined by Chelsea Lourdes ("Chelsea's Messy Apron"), Julie Clark ("Tastes of Lizzy T"), Kimber Mathern ("Easy Family Recipes"), Melissa Griffiths ("Bless this mess, please "), Bev Widener ("Bev Cooks"), Courtney O'Dell ("Sweet C's Designs") and Aubrey Kuta ("Real House Moms") - eight cooks-recipes-foodies, who are both food professionals and social professionals who maintain exploding accounts on a daily basis and requested platforms.
The most delicious parts of the country.
Vib Israel's food tour (Photo: Samdar Kfari)
Multiculturalism on the table.
The Vibe Israel food tour (photo: Walla! system, Yaniv Granot)
"The best and tastiest and most impressive is to start with food. It was our kick-off, but it's also the best starting point for everyone"
"Success from landing".
Romi Barak (Photo: Samdar Kfari)
This delegation actually created a positive publicity octopus, which is the core of the activity of Wave Israel, an association founded in 2009 by the entrepreneur Joanna Landau to improve the opinion of the young public in the world towards Israel.
"We choose to emphasize the most beautiful, everyday, fun, and innovative parts of us," explained CEO Romi Barak, "and we knew that the first tour after the forced shutdown of the Corona must be about food." The ambition, as she defined it, was to focus on the tastier parts of Israel, and to put
together A relatively homogeneous tour of women who are also mothers. "Our country has a lot to offer, the best breakfasts in the world of course, but also excellent restaurants and multicultural food.
The best and tastiest and most impressive is to start with this.
It was our kick-off, but it's also the best starting point for everyone."
Opening a table, opening a rack.
Butka 23
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I say goodbye to the tourists (and the schnitzels) when the clock still doesn't show lunch time, wondering if I'll ever be able to put something more in my mouth, and knowing at the same time that they've only just begun, and are expected to continue the day with another Sabih, and open a table in North Abraxas as well.
To all of these, morning trips to Jaffa and the flea market, dinner in front of the Animar sunset, a visit to the local food-tech through the Chunkfoods company, and also, because we really haven't eaten in a long time, a concluding brunch were added.
Emba, with an appetite.
The Vibe Israel food tour (photo: Walla! system, Yaniv Granot)
Hebrew of Arak.
The Vibe Israel food tour (photo: Walla! system, Yaniv Granot)
These stations naturally left countless experiences, photos and a positive aftertaste, and the binge of stories and releases I made on their accounts somehow manages to combine everything into one wonderful meal - the Jerusalem etrog man and Cuban beets at the same Friday dinner, "Israeli Salad" and a pastry with shawarma, a blue breakfast- White ("Big Yes For Me") and something hot to drink, because "Israel takes its coffee and tea very seriously".
True, there was also a McDonald's in the middle ("Embracing our American identity because we owe Diet Coke from the machine"), but what foreign country of yours didn't include a brief appearance of yellow rainbows in the middle? "I understood that this tour would be successful from the moment their foot landed in
Israel ", said Barak, "You saw in the story and on social media that they are excited and that they come with a lot of expectations.
Even today, weeks after the tour, they upload content from Israel, it's simply amazing."
She recreates the Friday dinner ("a dizzying success that combined tradition and emotion"), remembers a specific enthusiasm for strawberries in the fields, and also knows how to point out the single moment when one of them uploaded a reel on Instagram trying to summarize the tour in Jerusalem, took a Jerusalem pretzel, tore a piece of it and explained to the followers that no 'Eat it with cream cheese, but with za'atar.'" A small moment of Israeli everyday life in general, but also stomach, heart and tearful eyes. Let the food win.
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