Out with the old, in with the new.

I have decided to change the name of my blog. After having spent practically a month bed ridden without actually experiencing Tel Aviv, I wanted a new start. Also, the shuk in Tel Aviv is nothing near as amazing as the one in Jerusalem.
The new title comes from a brunch date yesterday with my friend at a renowned Tel Aviv restaurant called Benedicts. Located on he corner of Allenby and Rothschild, the white washed, heavily windowed, old-styled, corner building is very unassuming to the naked tourists eye. However, turn the corner and you are immediately transported to a zoo of humans jostling to get to the hostess to put your name down for a table. Amongst a wooden swinging bench, window planters, and the occasional cat; a dozen or so people are waiting for the hostess to call their name to be allowed entrance to this Tel Aviv landmark.
Benedicts heralds its name from "Eggs Benedict". The cute story on the backside of the menu details how "eggs benedict" came about in the wee hours of the morning at the Waldorf Astoria in NY. It has become a staple in the Tel Aviv dinning scene, the non-kosher one. Open + serving only breakfast items 24/7, yes even shabbat, Benedicts is the home to the family brunch, the breakfast for dinner young crowd, the 3 am drunk, and the hung-over 20-somethings.
After walking, like the hunchback of Notre Dam, about 25 minutes in blistering heat, we finally arrived. We sipped on lemon and mint flavored ice cold water as we cooled our selves off, perused the menu, and waited for our names to be called so we could begin our mid-afternoon banquet.
After having a fabulous seafood dinner two nights prior, we obviously could not say no to the idea of ordering something with pork in it. As NY+LA jews...we have bonded over our love of pork products, shellfish, and not covering our shoulders and knees. So many options jumped out to us, we didn't know where to start!
After being seated in a corned windowed table, we set upon the task of narrowing down what we really wanted for breakfast. Before we could even get as far as that, we were enchanted to find a steaming hot breadbasket in front of our noses accompanied by fresh butter, Nutella, and apple butter. The breadbasket included multi-grain, olive, sourdough, and brioche rolls. The breadbaskets are bottomless, always steaming hot fresh from the oven...enough said.

We decided on the brioche with a hint of butter and apple butter as our favorite...two refills later we still thought the same. The multi-grain was another hit with the apple butter.
Ordering was a tough decision...as we had narrowed our hunger pangs down to 4 choices. The addition of fresh juice, a champagne cocktail, iced coffee, or hot coffee to all breakfasts didn't make the choice any easier. What was finally decided upon was eggs Florentine with ham for Rachel and bacon and gouda shakshuka for myself (with obvious license to taste each others included).

 

The eggs were smothered in a rich Hollandaise that even Julia Child herself would have kveled over. Rested upon brioche toast (notice a theme?), the eggs were perfected cooked and the spinach was rich enough to put Rachel asleep at the table promptly after our meal.

The shakshuka was just the perfect amount of spicy, with the bacon being of the perfect smokyness to add another flavor dimension to an already flavorful dish. The added surprise of the shakshuka was a pesto cream-paste. Alone, was enough to make your heart stop - but added to the shakshuka made your head melt trying to deduce the amazingness of the bite itself. 

Only halfway through our meal - Rachel turned to me and instituted the Benedicts visit rule : every time she came up from Jerusalem to stay with me, we had to come to eat here at some point. I obviously agreed, sighting that we had many other menu options to try including huevos rancheros, typical English breakfast, and dulce doleche pancakes.

Yes mom&dad, we will be eating here when you visit. And no mom, you don't have to eat the bacon.