Israel is a tourist's Eden, but restaurants have not traditionally rated among its "bucket list" attractions. Now a foodie can make a special trip just to explore the local culinary landscape.

Here are a few of my top favorite Israeli restaurants, and I'm happy to say that the country has many more truly excellent choices these days.

Many tourists tend to regard Tel Aviv as a transit place, en route to somewhere more scenic or holy. But in terms of variety, quality and originality, Tel Aviv's restaurant scene is on par with that of European capitals and it may be a small version of New York. 

I would start with The Dining Hall (23 Shaul Hamelech Boulevard, (0)5-79443036). It's inspired by a kibbutz dining hall, only the food is very unkibbutz. It's nouvelle Israeli cuisine with a lot of Jewish ethinic and Middle Eastern influences -- and with a chef's touch. It's huge and bustling with long communal tables. The restaurant is right across from the Performing Arts Center and the new wing of the Tel Aviv Museum. So it's great for a pre- or post-theater dinner or lunch. Plus it's affordable.

In Israel you can go out for great food very late, so if you´ve been to the opera and you're done at around 10:30 pm, you can cross the square and the kitchen will be open. You can have a proper starter, main course and dessert or a lot of small plates and share them. The chef is Omer Miller, and he's 30 years old. He´s very famous now in Israel now; he has his own show.

Another restaurant I really love has a funny name, Abraxis North (40 Lilenblum Street 0-5-46786560). Here I'll start with the chef because he's the real story: Eyal Shani. He was one of the forefathers of the Israeli culinary revolution. He started his first restaurant, Oceanus, in 1989 in Jerusalem and then moved to Tel Aviv.

Eyal is a very controversial figure, but he´s a genius. His menus read like modern poetry. His description of a dish might be something like, "Tomato salad made from tomatoes both for and from old women at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem."

He is truly creative and, for me, one of two or three of the best chefs in Israel. Eyal studied cinema. Like many Israeli chefs he didn´t formally study cuisine; he's self-taught.

You have to experience his food to really understand his philosophy. Eyal Shani's style of cooking is taking simple, fresh ingredients and making them sing. One of his dishes is called "Baby Cabbage." You receive a whole purple cabbage on a plate. You don´t even know how to start attacking it. You take bites and it melts in your mouth.

He first braises it for hours and then sautes it with butter and I don't know what else, and it's absolutely amazing. He also does magical things with cauliflower and tomatoes, and he makes the best focaccia, which comes hot off the wood-burning stone oven, or tabun. His chocolate dessert served in a paper cone is unbelievable.

Another place Eyal Shani owns is called Miznon, which means "buffet" (21 Ibn Gvirol, (0)3-716 8977). It´s more of a kiosk, not a full-fledged restaurant, so it´s perfect for lunch. Everything is served in a pita. But what he puts in the pita is a different matter! He makes the best cauliflower in the world. He first cooks it and then bakes and roasts it, and serves it with sour cream. He also does a wonderful take on chicken livers with green onions. For dessert he cuts off the top of the pita and fills it with chocolate spread. It's such a funky place and really upbeat.

A quick word about dress codes in Israel: no matter how upscale the restaurant, you can wear what you want. Israel is still very casual. I always say you can only be overdressed.

Orna and Ella is a Tel Aviv classic (33 Shenkin Street, 03-6204753). It´s been around for almost 20 years and it´s still going strong. Neither Orna nor Ella studied cooking; they were university students when they started baking cakes to support themselves, and that progressed into a buffet and then a restaurant.

It's very women friendly -- we call it "girls food" -- with lots of vegetables. The bistro's signature dish is Sweet Potato Fritters, served with sour cream and chives. Another is simply Rice with Vegetables. It's very feminine cooking, devoid of ego and simple, but wonderful.

There's a lovely new farmers market at Tel Aviv's port. On the weekend it's an open market, and during the week it has an indoors market. Downstairs is a really good Spanish tapas restaurant called Tapas B'Shuk, or Tapas in the Market 03-7162757). The food is very tasty and the open kitchen adds to the ambiance.

In Jaffa the Haj Kahil family has opened up a new restaurant next to the clock tower in the square (18 Raziel Street, 05-79428347). This Haj Kahil establishment serves unique salads and authentic Galilean specialties, including stuffed leg or lamb, which is a symphony of Levantine flavors. The food is delicious and different. It´s not what Israelis perceive as Arab food, like humus and skewered meats -- it's much more and the first upscale Palestinian restaurant in Tel Aviv.

In Jerusalem there are more good kosher places than in Tel Aviv. I really like Angelica (7 Shatz Street, 05-79442884), which is an elegant kosher restaurant with lots of seasonal grilled dishes. The owners recently opened another kosher place, called Grand Café (70 Derech Bethlehem, 02-5702702) in Bakaa, a beautiful neighborhood in the German Colony. In addition to its impressive Israeli breakfast and delicious fare throughout the day, it's a magnet for foodies with a sweet tooth thanks to the fabulous cheese cakes, almond tarts and fruit pies.

There's a lovely kosher restaurant by the Machane Yehuda market called Topolino (62 Agrippas Street, 02-622 3466). It's vegetarian Italian, reasonably priced and it's really wonderful. In the market there's also a lot of what we call "Jewish soul food," which is mainly Kurdish or Iraqi or Morrocan with all kinds of soups and stuffed vegetables, and they're all kosher of course. These are very simple places -- any one of them would be a good bet. You´ll spot them by the long lines.

The reason there are so few good kosher restaurants in Israel is that you have to close down for shabbat and holidays, and this is where you make your money. So restauranteurs shy away from that. And many of them don't want a mashgiach (supervisor) meddling in their kitchen. It's a pity, since about 30 percent of the Israel population keeps kosher. So many people are completely cut off from this incredible food revolution we're having. Luckily, though, one of the things Israeli chefs do best is vegetables, so those who don't mix meat and milk can find many vegetarian options.

Around the Sea of Galilee, there's Kze Hanachal (Paz Gas station, Kibbutz Genossar entrance, 04-6717776), which looks deceptively like a tourist trap because it's huge and lots of tourist busses stop by. The food is inspired by Lebanese and Jordanian cuisine, and it's really interesting and different. It's jointly owned by an Arab and an Israeli.

The best restaurant in northern Israel is Muscat, in the Mitzpe Hayaim Hotel Spa, 04-699 4555), between Rosh Pina and Safed. Here you can taste excellent Galilean cooking in a luxurious setting, and they source all their produce from a huge organic farm that surrounds the hotel.

[Janna Gur is the bestselling author of The Book of Israeli Food and editor-in-chief of Israel’s celebrated food and wine magazine, Al Hashulchan (On the Table)]

TEL AVIV/JAFFA

The Dining Hall
23 Shaul Hamelech Boulevard
05-79443036

Abraxis North
40 Lilenblum Street 
Tel Aviv
05-46786560

Miznon
21 Ibn Gvirol
03-716 8977

Orna and Ella
33 Shenkin Street
03-6204753

Tapas B'Shuk
Tel Aviv Port Market
03-7162757

Haj Kahil
18 Raziel Street
05-79428347

JERUSALEM

Angelica
7 Shatz Street
05-79442884

Grand Café
70 Derech Bethlehem
02-5702702

Topolino
62 Agrippas Street
02-622 3466

GALILEE

Kze Hanachal
Paz Gas station, Kibbutz Genossar entrance
04-6717776

Muscat
Mitzpe Hayaim Hotel Spa
04-699 4555

The medieval village of Châteauneuf du Pape in western Provence, France, reigns above the most productive wine appellation in the southern Rhone Valley. The wine by the same name, created by the Avignon Popes in the 14th century, has been prized by generations of wine lovers and is recognized as one of the leading legendary wine regions in the world.

“Châteauneuf du Pape,” roughly translated as "The Pope's new castle," refers to the building (now a ruin) on top of the hill overlooking the village that the Popes built and used as a summer palace during period of the Avignon Papacy (1309 to 1376) and the “Great Schism,” when there were two competing Popes (1376 – 1417).

Forced to flee the political turmoil of Rome, Pope Clement V, a Frenchman, and his French successor, John XXII, created this legendary wine by planting vines around their château and producing some of the medieval world's most famous wines.

The spirit of this historic past continues within the walls of La Mère Germaine, as it celebrates “all things wine.” It is a legendary restaurant where the tales, folklore and history of an incredible wine live on. Although it is called just a restaurant-hotel, it is a lot more than that. It is the soul of this place.

The Popes drank these wines hundreds of years ago -- and the passion for them is even stronger today. So it is fitting that this is the place where today's local aristocracy -- the winemakers of Châteauneuf du Pape and other renowned Rhone appellations -- can meet on any afternoon or evening to eat, drink, talk, argue and wheel and deal.

It is the place where families come to socialize, where wine critics and wine journalists from all over the world, as well as local Rhone Valley characters and globetrotting tourists, come to celebrate the wines of Châteauneuf du Pape.

And they just don't come to La Mère Germaine for the excellent gastronomic fare. They come for a warm atmosphere and a Châteauneuf du Pape/Rhone Valley wine education through tasting some of over 100 different great wines from the region on the wine list.

La Mère Germaine is a wine lover’s dream. Yet, sadly, it almost didn't survive.

First opened in 1922 by Madame Germaine Vion, the chef at the Élysée Palace (the French presidential palace) at the beginning of the 20th century, it was the center of village life from then on.

But in 2010 the place closed down. The owner had financial difficulties, the quality of the food and service was low, and staff morale was glum. André Mazy, its general manager for many years, had quit. It was a “ship without a rudder.”

Born November 5th, 1964, in Toulouse, Mazy (Dédé to his friends) has survived various hardships and has struggled throughout his life. But it never stopped him from living it. He never knew his birth parents, and lost a best friend at a young age. These traumas, devastating as they would be to anybody, perhaps also set him on his life path.

Things got better: he was able to attend the Sorbonne in Paris and finish his studies at the University in Aix-en-Provence. Then there were adventures traveling throughout the world – in the United States, Australia, Thailand and beyond. He had some lucky breaks along the way; meeting the right people at the right time... it was clear that André was going to be successful.

Owning a restaurant, however, was not at the top of his list or even on his mind. He originally wanted to be a police commissioner or a priest, as he felt that his mission in life was to bring justice to the world. Yet he always found work in restaurants, whether as a waiter at a three-star restaurant in Paris, managing a restaurant in the Pyrenees, or food and beverage manager at a top hotel in Bangkok.

In late 2005 André found a position as manager of La Mère Germaine. It soon became clear this was his calling. He became passionate about the village, the wines and the restaurant.

But the place shut down after the owner suffered financial difficulties. In early 2011, the former owner had completely gutted the restaurant and kitchen and it remained shuttered for over a year. André, however, did not want La Mère to sink. He knew he had to save this most important home-away-from-home to so many in Châteauneuf... and beyond.

After intensive legal wrangling, he finally realized his dream -- and bought the place. The story of its resurrection went something like this.

After months of planning renovation and hiring, La Mère Germaine began to come back to life. By May 2011 the doors were reopened, to the relief of the Châteauneuf wine industry. 

Today La Mère Germaine once again shines as the “soul of Châteauneuf du Pape.”

When you arrive there, the first person you meet is André. With a big smile, easy laugh and insightful, André (in French, English, Spanish or Italian) will bring an aperitif. Perhaps it will be a small new wine discovery or a local liqueur.

After you settle in to the beautiful dining room or, in warmer weather, the sumptuous terrace overlooking the vineyards of Châteauneuf du Pape, you will be filled in on the latest wine gossip and, of course, tell you about the menu and “André’s Special Wine Selections of the Month,” a special list of excellent but lesser known wine from the region at moderate prices. From there on you will have an afternoon or evening of culinary bliss.

Should you happen to be thinking about going to France for your next vacation, schedule a trip to Châteauneuf du Pape. But you most definitely need to make a reservation for lunch or dinner at La Mère Germaine.

And if you love it so much, you will want to book a room overnight or for a few days. Whatever you decide, André will be there waiting for you.

For more info go to: http://www.lameregermaine.fr/vinswines.html

Restaurant La Mère Germaine
3 rue de Commandant Lemaitre

Châteauneuf du Pape, France

Tel/Fax +33-0-4 90 22 78 34