Monday May 5 - Haifa, Israel

We left Ceasaria and contiued north to Haifa. Haifa was on my list for 2 reasons. Second, it's supposed to be the most beautiful of Israeli cities, which it may be (but Jerusalem and Tzfat are a tie), and first, because my friend Uri, the owner of King David Pizza around the corner from my house, (416) 636-3456 , 219 Wilmington Avenue, North York, made me promise to visit his brother at his restaurant in Haifa. I must say that only once so far have I had a falafel that has equaled Uri's while in Israel. I am going to keep looking, but Uri's are still number 1! Driving into Haifa, you see the mountain rise up from the sea as you near the city. Soon your field of vision is filled with the homes and buildings that cover the side of the mountain on your right, with the Mediterranean on your left. Very reminiscent of San Francisco. So we began looking for 248 Histadrut St. Past the harbour, past dozens of used car lots, past a cement factory we went. Further and further along, the area seemed to be getting more and more like someplace one would not expect to have a restaurant. But suddenly the building got newer and we came upon a shopping plaza with a number of new stores and North American chains. There, on the corner was 248. But Uri's brother Yossi does not own just one, he has 2! The first is a Kosher restaurant that serves steaks and the second, right beside it is one HaYam Hacohel, which serves both steaks and fish. I went to HaYam Hacohel to find Yossi, and was treated as a long lost brother! We talked about the restaurant, Haifa, Uri and the rest of the family - 7 brothers and 3 sisters - and he introduced his father and sister to me. I asked Yossi to order for me and the meal started with 14 different appetizers, Israeli salads, olives, pickled vegetables, fried zucchini. Lunch was a grilled fish called Denise, which is farmed in the Red Sea near Eilat. A 5 star meal in a beautiful restaurant! Toda ma-od, Yossi! Next stop: Rosh HaNikrah