HaNamal 24’s Molecular Cuisine

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HaNamal 24 is located on Haifa’s hopping street of the same name. Chef Ran Rosh, a graduate of Paul Bocuse’s culinary institute in Lyon, brings a classic French approach to many of his dishes here, with bold dashes of “molecular cuisine” techniques and a healthy reliance on local ingredients. His rich and generously portioned dishes offer unexpected combinations of flavors: scallops with olive polenta and a creamy sauce with just a touch of vanilla; beef carpaccio with sea salt and a whiff of violet balsamic; a mullet fillet with slightly sweet risotto and a pear stuffed with goat cheese, cardamom, and saffron.

“Our idea was to position ourselves at the peak of fine dining in Haifa and the North.”

— Guy Avital

HaNamal 24’s interior, a labyrinth of rooms big and small, was designed by architect Nathan Faibish to recall rustic Tuscany—indeed, Faibish imported wooden flooring and window frames from Italy and repurposed them here as part of the restaurant’s furnishings. The décor and the food at HaNamal 24 add up to a truly extraordinary experience. As co-owner Guy Avital puts it: “Our idea was to position ourselves at the peak of fine dining in Haifa and the North.” They seem to be well on their way.

HaNamal 24 > 

From Haifa to Beit She’an: Reviving the Valley Train

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Ruins of a theater in Beit She’an. Photo by Fritzmb, courtesy Creative Commons

In the late nineteenth century, trains and railways were vital to the advancement of life and commerce in Palestine, as in many other places. Following a vision that began in the 1860s to connect Damascus to Mecca, some 1,600 kilometers (about a thousand miles) of track were laid for what came to be known as the Hedjaz Railway. A small side branch of that line led from Dera (in southern Syria) to Haifa. This 161-kilometer/100-mile branch, which ran through the Jezreel Valley, helped to put Haifa on the map.

“It is an exciting venture to revive the life of the trains, which so evocatively conjure the glamour of a lost time.”

This Valley Train, which was inaugurated in 1905, stopped operating in 1948. But in recent years the Israeli government has embarked on a project to renew a 60-kilometer/37-mile segment of the line, between Haifa and Beit She’an. Some of the original stations and other structures are being restored as well, including the old train bridge that runs over the Kishon River, the water tower at Beit She’an that supplied the steam engines, and beautiful Templer-style station buildings near Kfar Yehoshua, which now serve as a railway museum and visitors’ center.

It is an exciting venture to revive the life of the trains, which so evocatively conjure the glamour of a lost time.

Druze Hospitality and Cuisine at HaOrchim Restaurant

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Druze town of Daliyat el-Carmel. Photo by Ron Almog, courtesy Creative Commons

The population of Daliyat el-Carmel, near Haifa, is predominantly Druze. One of the more popular restaurants in the town is HaOrchim (“The Guests”), graciously extends the hospitality that its name implies. The meal starts with mezze: salads, roasted cauliflower bathed in creamy, parsley-flecked tahini, tabouleh with pomegranate seeds, lemony stuffed grape leaves wrapped tight and thin as a pencil, a dish of snowy, tart labneh sprinkled with a fragrant zaatar spice mixture, and a mound of hummus with a crater in the middle filled with tahini and a green pool of fresh olive oil, to be consumed with fresh pita bread, warm from the oven. Then on to sinyeh: lamb patties grilled and then baked with tahini; sambusak filled with a spicy combination of potatoes, onions, and green peppers; mushrooms and chickpeas in a blazing-hot pepper sauce, and so on.

“The meal starts with mezze: salads, roasted cauliflower bathed in creamy, parsley-flecked tahini, tabouleh with pomegranate seeds, lemony stuffed grape leaves wrapped tight and thin as a pencil.”

Many dishes revolve around meat; in Druze and Arab cuisine, the more meat served, the more luxurious the meal is considered, and the more respect shown to the guest. For dessert, if the traditional sweet aish el-saraia is on offer, it must be tried: cream, honey, and orange-blossom and rose waters cooked down until thick and garnished with ground pistachios—sublime. At the end of the meal, you may be served Arab coffee poured from a finjan, a long-handled metal pot. A joggle of caffeine and you will find the wherewithal to head out to the world again.

HaOrchim Restaurant
Daliyat el-Carmel
 

Treasure Hunting in Haifa’s Wadi Nisnas

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Wadi Nisnas, Haifa. Photo by Dany Sternfeld, courtesy Creative Commons

The neighborhood of Wadi Nisnas (nisnas means “mongoose”) is a concentrated hodgepodge of Arab homes and businesses clinging to the Haifa hillside. Here, many say, you can find the much-sought-after Truly Best Falafel in All of Israel—perfectly crunchy and light—at Falafel HaZkenim. Or shop at the bustling Wadi Nisnas open-air market, where there are all sorts of indigenous seasonal greens featured in Arab cooking, from cyclamen, hubeizeh (mallow), and ellet (chicory) to mustard stems for pickling, beet greens, and much more. There are also fresh herbs and olives, just-roasted coffee beans (scented with a bit of cardamom), fresh meats, and excellent baklava and other Arab pastries (try Abdelhadi Sweets).

“Save room, at the end of a satisfying and savory Arab meal, for deliciously smooth halvah ice cream.”

Haifa’s Ben-Gurion boulevard cuts through the old German Colony (built, like Sarona, by the Templers in the late nineteenth century), where many interesting restaurants have been opened within the nicely restored historic buildings. Among these is Fattoush, where you are advised to save room, at the end of a satisfying and savory Arab meal, for deliciously smooth halvah ice cream.

And Bistro Venya and Cula, new gastronomic neighbors in Haifa’s port, share a distinctively young and exuberant spirit in their menus as well as in their clientele.

Abdelhadi Sweets
3 Wadi Street, Haifa

Falafel HaZkenim
18 Wadi Street, Haifa

Wadi Nisnas open-air market
Between Zionut Boulevard, Shabtai Street, and Yud Lamed Peretz Street, Haifa

Fattoush
38 Sderot Ben Gurion, Haifa

Harmonious Haifa, “Haifsters” and All

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Vista of Haifa’s port from the top of the Baha’i Gardens. Photo by and © Vision Studio 

Haifa, built on the slope of Mount Carmel overlooking the Mediterranean, has all the beauties and the maritime industrial operations that go with life in a seaport city. The famed terraced Baha’i Gardens run down Mount Carmel into the downtown: a long, impeccable carpet of green and gold forming a magnificent centerpiece for the bustling metropolis. The gardens lead to the Baha’i Universal House of Justice—the central seat of the governing body for this deeply peaceful monotheist faith, whose followers believe in unity of religion, unity of humanity, and unity in diversity. In the distance, by the water, the chug of bending marine cranes gives a regular rhythm to the cityscape.

“Haifa has long been known as a place of relative harmony among its Jewish, Muslim, and Christian residents.”

Haifa has long been known as a place of relative harmony among its Jewish,
Muslim, and Christian residents; the heterogeneous mix also incorporates a large group
of Russian immigrants and a core group of Baha’i. As elsewhere in Israel, the varied demographic makes for interesting culinary possibilities. Haifa is also an increasingly young city: the cafés, nightclubs, pubs, and restaurants are filled with so many young hipsters that a new term has recently been coined: “Haifsters.” This group brings a taste for innovation to the city’s food scene.

Baha’i Gardens >