Where are we going?
On the Railway Road - a main axis that passes through Binyamina, right next to the train station under an ancient pecan tree shed, is the pod track "Mezlika". Not a breathtaking open landscape and not agricultural fields surrounding it, but a few picnic tables, the road of the railway road and a bit of tangled vegetation. This food court, located in the place where the legendary "Falafel Binyamina" operated for decades, does not come to eat in order to sit in nature - you come for the smoked meat sandwiches and the special deli prepared there.
"Mezlika" Food Track // Photo: Hila Dudal
What do we eat?
The smells of smoked meats and joyful light music, immediately bring the guests of the pod track into the appropriate atmosphere. Using two computerized stations placed outside, you can order from a variety of sandwiches with smoked meat and special spreads. Each is inspired by a different place in the world and is named after a famous figure identified with it. Alongside Israeli beer from the "Hero" brewery, we tasted the "Ruth Bader Ginsburg RBG" sandwich - a New York sandwich with a pile of hot corned beef and cabbage stew in a soft, cloudy parana bread, in which pepper aioli and mustard were spread with great precision. "At first we called the sandwich 'Woody' Allen but changed because people didn't like the name," they explained to us.
RGB sandwich, photo: Hila Dudal
The second sandwich we tasted was "Sophia Loren" - Italian style of course. The sandwich was assembled in a sourdough cereal bun with just the right size. Thin slices of Italian turkey, cherry tomatoes and arugula were placed in it to lighten the occasion, it was seasoned with slightly sugary balsamic, basil oil and moss (hyssop). "There is someone who smokes the meats for us, we get fresh breads every day, the spreads and all the sauces and pickles we prepare by hand," the owner, Hadar Cohen, explained to us, elaborating: "We have pickled meat, sauerkraut, mango chutneys, pickled onions and more."
You can also order, just like in a deli, smoked meats by weight, the spreads or just snack on sausage dishes. "Basically every sandwich is supposed to take you in its flavors to a different place in the world," Cohen explains. "My husband, Daniel, and I traveled around the world a lot when I was an air stewardess. We are very 'foodies', love food and tasted a lot of special bites - from street food to the most 'fancy' food, that's how we got the flavors. The hardest job is to stay accurate all the time." The couple is accompanied as a culinary consultant by Chef Shahar Levy (Master Chef contestant).
Italian, photo: Hila Dudal
Where to travel?
There are many attractions and hiking trails in the vicinity. In them, you can visit the Binyamina Winery Visitors Center or the new "Binyamina Days" house that tells the story of the colony. Enjoy a spectacular view of the area at Moran Vardi Lookout located in the southwestern part of Ramat Hanadiv or hike in Ein Aviel, which is actually a route along Taninim Stream, with a succession of springs and pools.
Spring in Binyamina area, photo: Gil Eliyahu Ginni
Travel diary:
"Mezlika" is a family business owned by the couple Hadar and Daniel Cohen. They established the place about three years ago at the height of the COVID-19 period, "precisely when a lot of businesses closed and people didn't work," Cohen says, adding: "We had the idea in our heads even before. I remember asking ourselves - now is the time to start a business? But we decided that this was actually the right time because food is comfort and it's the best thing we can bring to people at a time like this. When things started rolling, it was crazy. We were shocked by the number of people who came to us, because we didn't even advertise – we just opened the window."
The food track is named after Hadar's grandmother, Mazal z"l. "My grandparents had the first deli in Hadera, it was called Kol Tov and by the way, there is such a dish on our menu," Cohen says, adding: "When my father was a teenager, he worked there. They would make delicacies, bring things from Levinsky Market in Tel Aviv. We decided to give this deli our interpretation."
Hadar and Daniel Cohen,
Kashrut of the local
rabbinate Derech HaMesila 51, Binyamina Givat Ada
Sunday to Thursday 11:00-22:00 and Friday 11:00-15:00
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