A recent commenter on this site took issue with my writing. He was not so much averse to my subject matter or my approach to it, but rather to my lack of literary achievement. “You had here material for, say, Kishon, O’Henry or Heine,” qouth the comment, “What u HAVE done tastes as alluring as Israeli pizza.”
Besides the thought provoking comparison between Kishon and Heine, there’s an issue here that begs to be discussed. Mr. Commenter, have you ever tasted Israeli pizza? True, Haifa is no Naples (though its mountain does spew smoke), but this country gives a fight on the pizza front just as it does on any item of international food.
Is it the sheer color of gefilte fish that makes us so fond of non-Jewish food? Perhaps. Currently Tel Aviv is said to have the second highest ratio of sushi bars per capita outside Japan. My block alone offers a French bakery, a fish restaurant reminiscent of Boston’s Legal Seafood, and a cupcake shop that has nothing to do with either Palestinian cuisine nor any tradition of Jewish culinaria.
On the other hand, isn’t pizza Jewish food? Tel Aviv’s finest Italian restaurants are owned and run by Italian Jews who have made aliyah. Take Il Pastaio on Ibn Gvirol St. It was established by Moshe Sereno of Milan, who offers Lombardian specialties such as “Jewish artichoke.” Dolce Melodi, Tel Aviv’s first Italian gelateria, was founded by a Roman-Jewish family.
Indeed, we take our risottos seriously. Some of the city’s finest restaurants are Italian (Pronto on Nachmani St. is particularly distinguished). Many local pizzerias are fabled. Here’s a list of my favorite ones. They all tend to be in and around Tel Aviv. Feel free to mention ones further afield in your comments.
Let’s begin with three truly fine ones:
Gusto (90 Frishman St. Tel: 1700-700-919)- Thin and crispy dough, fine cheeses on top. This is classy pizza and takes itself to be such.
Pappa’s (12 Hillel Hazaken St. Tel: 03-51073737) – Offers interesting toppings such as salsice. The pizzas are rich and southern-Italy oriented, yum.
Radio Rosco (97 Allenby St., Tel: 03-5600334) – In a charming courtyard, terrific pizzas are served, including a spicy pizza Campagna.
Now here are three simple, casual, heat-me-up-a-slice joints. They are simply excellent, and more often than not they are kosher, too.
Il Pizzaiolo (122 Ben Yehuda St. Tel: 057-9368056) -Enormous slices, fine dough, attention to details.
Slice (72 Sokolov St. Ramat Hasharon, Tel: 057-9439306) – My favorite of all Israeli pizzerias and a true landmark of the northern suburbs. Their secret garlic sauce is sheer legend.
Shiroko (23 King George St. Tel: 057-9738719) -The most lowbrow of the lot, but a wonderful source for a 9 shekels per slice at any hour.
Mr. Commenter, please don’t badmouth Israeli pizza. Many local pizzerias face great challenges. We all know what a slice of salami does to enliven a pizza. This is the country where chefs have to make up for the salami’s absence, and give a fight to other rich and delicious street foods. They do so without resorting to orientalist falafel toppings (unlike the Hawaiians with their awful pineapple idea). These are brave men and women and they deserve at least as much respect as Kishon and Heine.
Why do I wax poetic about pizza bakers and their creations? Perhaps to show that there’s nearly nothing in this country that does not deserve waxing poetic, except its human rights standards. Perhaps this is why we do what we do here at +972 Magazine and why others fight to make a difference. So many things in our environment are wonderful, and yet the environment itself is ill. We just want our country to be as good as its family-sized margaritas.