Congregation Ohav Sholom

Travel in Israel - Ha'Agam HaShaket

Off the Beaten Track in Israel - Ha'Agam HaShaket Restaurant

by Michael Rosenbloom (spidermr@aol.com)

Each trip we take to Israel includes certain visits, which whether out of respect or duty, we feel compelled to make, and do so lovingly. For example, we don't consider our trip complete unless we've visited the Kotel, at least once. We also always make sure to drop in on certain relatives, sometime during our travels.

However, there are other destinations, to which we are drawn, purely for pleasure, which we won’t miss. One of them is Ha'Agam Ha'Shaket Restaurant in Or Yehuda. Or Yehuda is a sleepy little town, less than a five-minute drive from Ben-Gurion Airport. Its inhabitants are predominantly Oriental Jews. I’m not sure whether Or Yehuda is known for its catering halls and restaurants. For some reason, there appears to be an inordinate amount of them for a town so small.

From the outside, Ha'Agam Ha'Shaket Restaurant looks unassuming, much like the other restaurants and sidewalk cafes in town, with tables and chairs outside. On the inside, the tacky paintings on the walls (reminiscent of some N.Y. pizzerias) quickly tell you that you won't find the Tel Aviv elite dining here. But don’t be fooled! The down-to- earth décor belies the out-of-this-world cuisine.

The owners are Iraqi Jews, so it's always useful to have with us my father-in-law (a "landsman") to lend an air of credibility to our group. I recommend that you first order a full array of salads. Besides the typically Middle Eastern salads, such as humus with olive oil, tehina, eggplant, Israeli salad, Turkish salad, sours (pickled cauliflower and cucumbers) and hot peppers (the token salad I don’t touch), also served are Iraqi salads such as amba (a mango-based spread) and five or six others. All are eaten with delectable, hot, Iraqi pita bread, a thinner, bigger and tastier bread than the pita bread you may be familiar with. One has to walk a fine line, making sure to try all the salads while leaving enough room for the main course, the piece de resistance: a large plate of Buri fish (mullet) and french fried potatoes. The fish is cooked with an assortment of spices and is tasty beyond belief. There are other entrees on the menu, kebab for example and possibly other kinds of fish. I’ve never felt a need to check the menu because perfection cannot be improved upon.

You can order tea or turkish coffee and baklava for desert. However, you may prefer to drive into Tel Aviv, if it’s evening, to walk off the meal along the "tayelet," near the beach. With the help of the ocean air and the walk, you’ll soon be ready for some desert.

After eating but once at Ha'Agam Ha'Shaket Restaurant, you will find yourself, on future visits, allotting an afternoon or evening to eat there, much the same way you plan a day revisiting other favorite spots in the country.

December 1999

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