In Tel Aviv it is hard to come by good kosher restaurants.  It may be surprising that kosher food has not flourished along with the burgeoning foodie scene of Tel Aviv; however, the few kosher restaurants that we, at Delicious Israel, recommend are keeping up with the culinary renaissance of the area.  Below is a list of kosher restaurants that will help you find the top spots to eat according to your dietary practices:

Fine Dining Restaurants

• Blue Sky - Eliezer Peri St 10, Tel Aviv-Yafo

• Lumina - Eliezer Peri St 10, Tel Aviv-Yafo

• West Side - HaYarkon Street 19, Tel Aviv-Yafo

• L'Entrecote - Ahad Ha'am St 28, Tel Aviv-Yafo

.... and a few more for the list

• Deca - 10 HaTaasiya St., Tel Aviv-Yafo

• Goshen - 37 Nachalat Binyamin St., Tel Aviv-Yafo

• MEATOS - Weizmann St 2, Tel Aviv-Yafo

• Fish Market by MEATOS - Sderot Sha'ul HaMelech 33, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Casual Restaurants

• Nini Hachi - Ben Yehuda St 228, Tel Aviv-Yafo

• Hungarian Blintzes - Yermiyahu St 35 , Tel Aviv

• Salimi - Nahalat Binyamin St 80, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Street Food

• Schwarma Bino's - David Razi'el St 29, Tel Aviv-Yafo

It hasn’t even been a week in Tel Aviv and I am already obsessed with the lifestyle. I understand why people from all over the world decide to make Tel Aviv their home away from home.

Maybe it’s my convenient 5 minute walk to the beach, the lively night scene, or being able to buy iced coffee on every street corner for 5 shekels. Or maybe, narrowing it down, it’s the people and cuisine that are making TLV my new home.

I am interning for Delicious Israel, a company that specializes in culinary tours around Israel. My boss is owner and guide Inbal Baum, and she shares her passion for Israeli cuisine by taking people around the “foodiest” parts of the city. Even after my first day of work, I can proudly say that I am not working at all this summer, but rather putting my heart into something I truly have a passion for: finding hidden food spots.

On my first day, I met Inbal outside of the Carmel Market. She informed me that today’s tour would be a unique one, as the clients signed up for a speciality tour called “Delicious Shuk and Cook.” A foodie’s dream, this tour includes exploring the shuk as well as cooking a feast using ingredients from the market.

Not only were we checking off ingredients we needed to cook our delicious meal, like juicy cherries and nectarines, zaatar, ripe tomatoes, and chicken, we also got a taste of the hidden gems in the market.

Our first visit was to the “Doctor of the Shuk,” who refreshed us for our humid day by offering us various juices. We tasted perfectly sweet medjool dates, snacked on a not so Israeli warm, cheesy bread, and most importantly, ate hummus from the best, Shlomo & Doron.

With our stomachs already full, we headed back to Inbal’s home to concoct a delicious Israeli meal. Olivia, the chef, lead the cooking class and was sure to make both couples a part of the cooking experience. While everyone sipped on cherry and nectarine infused champagne, we were also busy dicing tomatoes, frying eggplant, baking cauliflower, and marinating the chicken.

In just over 2 hours, we prepared a delicious feast: shakshuka, mini sabich, market salad with carrot, kohlrabi and mint, fire charred eggplant, whole roasted cauliflower, chicken in pomegranate syrup, soy, and zaatar, and malabi for dessert.

The best part of the Shuk and Cook: participants receive a copies of the recipes to take home!

The Carmel Market is know for its fresh produce and cheap knick-knacks. The produce are all locally and seasonally grown, which creates friendly competition between vendors.  Light hearted banter and jovial arguments is not only very common, but adds to the charm that has a magnetic pull for loyal customers, who would never think of buying their produce at a conventional grocery store.  The shuk, which is the Hebrew word for market, is lined by vibrant colors of fresh vegetables that are so bright that it is anyone could have mistaken it for artificial coloring.  The fruits and vegetables vary depending on the season; watermelon, figs, and cherries in the summer, persimmons and citrus fruit in the fall, and strawberries in the winter. The flavor of the produce sold in this market are comparable to the taste of candy. The marketplace is currently experiencing an expansion. The development and modernization of Tel Aviv has created an influx of trendy bars, quaint coffee shops, and hipster street food vendors are setting up shop anywhere they can find space around the central street of the market.  However, the charm of the market will always remain the bright atmosphere provided by the colorful produce and their even brighter vendors.