Brunch

• Brunch (pronounced brahnsh) is a buffet in the style of an Israeli hotel breakfast served, on Fridays, in restaurants and hotels. Anyone who has stayed at an Israeli hotel (except the most basic) knows how good that is.
• The cheap-hotel version includes two or more kinds of yellow cheese, two kinds of white cheese (usually salt and bulgarian), spreadable white cheese, two kinds of olives, cucumber and tomato salad (with bell peppers and green onions) , sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, sliced peppers, leben, fruit juice, breakfast cereal, omelets, fruit salad, fresh fruit, pickled fish, fresh bread and rolls with butter and jam, juice, coffee, and tea.
• The best and most expansive breakfast I've had was at the King David. It added more cheeses, various quiches, fried potatoes, various smoked fish, several additional salads, roasted eggplant, a table of luscious pastries, waffles, and more -- every single item (over three days I tried to sample everything but the cereal) delicious.
• The Inbal hotel opens its dining room to nonguests at 10 am on Friday. For 79 NIS (about 18 dollars) you get a first-class hotel brunch including several hot dishes. It is not up to King David standards. The juice is not fresh-squeezed and the pastires are ordinary.
• At the Cafe Rimon, for 49 NIS (about $11.50), you get a better brunch, including roasted zucchini, roasted eggplant, several kinds of fish, an excellent brocolli quiche, mizrakhi savory pastries (sort of like various sorts of vegetarian eggroll), and many items I could not manage to even taste. I'll go back.
• Do not eat breakfast first.
• I didn't want anything more until a late dinner.

Copyright 2006 Jane S. Fox