Road Trippin': The Tastiest Pit Stops Around Israel from Point A to Point B

Faro is the Italian word for lighthouse. Here the aromas of the tabun oven guide foodies from all over to the Beit Yanai Intersection shopping complex. While the interior design of the place is inspired by the restaurant’s views of endless blue and sailboats. The food is Italian inspired. A large tabun oven, the restaurant’s beating heart, sits smack-bang in the center sending out aromas of sweet and savory pastries, thin pizzas crackling with flavor, focaccia, and antipasti. Fresh salads, pasta made in house with vegetables, meat and seafood, gnocchi and risotto, fish and more bring the finest of Italian cuisine to the table.

Faro: Beit Yanai Intersection

People from all over Israel flock here to taste the legendary hamburgers. Two minutes away from Rosh-Pina and just off Highway 90 (Kvish 90) the burgers are 100% freshly ground local beef. Once the juicy brown patties leave the grill they’re placed into soft white rolls with your choice of topping and home-made sauces (wasabi mayo and pickled lemon mayo are the two standouts) and they’re accompanied by regular or sweet potato fries. The restaurant is a magnet for tourists and a place where Galilee people come to sit, drink beer and watch sporting events on TV. Salads, chicken dishes, vegan burgers, and children’s dishes are also included on the menu making this a place where everyone can find something, in a pleasant and vibrant atmosphere. Special attention is paid to quick service, but if time is short, you can order by phone and the burgers will be waiting for you in colorful packaging.

kvish90.com, Highway 90, Mahanayim Junction

Meat-loving tourists always look for an excuse to stop at the Ein Gev Junction so that they can look out over the Kinneret as they sink their teeth into a juicy steak at the famous Marinado restaurant. A couple of years back, another branch opened along the road, this time in Yokne’am. The experience there is much like the one at the main restaurant in Ein Geve: the menu is based on meat from the Marinado farm. Try out the entrecote, filet, and sirloin steaks, especially marbled cuts on the bone, juicy hamburgers straight from the grill. A mixed grill for two to six hungry diners provides an opportunity to taste a little of everything. There are also options for kids and vegetarians -- salads, vegan burgers, small and tasty dishes, and the house’s bread. After the meal, if you’re still craving meat, it’s a good idea to stop at the butcher shop to pick up some of Mandarino’s meat, spices, beer and bring the Mandarino experience home with you.

Marinado, G Complex, Yokne’am

Located in the heart of Upper Galilee, Focaccia looks onto the Mediterranean to one side and onto the green pastures that surround the highway between Kiryat Shmona and Kibbutz Hagoshrim on the other. It is a successful and highly-regarded Italian-Mediterranean restaurant. Members of Kibbutz Menahemiya founded Focaccia 15 years ago for the purpose of creating a culinary home for residents of the area. Cooperative ventures with local wineries and small producers were established to support the local industry, and clients from all over the country quickly joined in. The beet and chestnut risotto, filet of Dan River trout, lamb kebab, freekeh dishes and other delicious dishes are exactly what body and soul require after a long journey. As a result of the restaurant’s success, the owners opened other restaurants in the same complex including Klompus, a successful American diner, an Asian restaurant called Pai Mai, and Yogacha, a stand for shakes, ice cream and banana loti. Guests can sit at one table and be served dishes from the various kitchens -- noodles, hamburgers, fries, salads or vegan dishes. No matter which restaurant you decide to order from, you are sure to find something to suit your personal taste.

Focaccia, Gan Hatzafon complex, Highway 99

Agmon Market is a favorite stopping point for foodies on their way up north. The spacious food complex adjacent to Agmon Hahula brings together the area’s finest local products under one roof -- cheese from the Bat Harim dairy, beer from the Golan Brewery, wines from local wineries, preserves, chocolates, pastries and much more. Chef Guy Ben Simhon’s Galilee restaurant is located at the heart of the market. Ben Simhon is a Jerusalemite who moved his home and his job to the north. A few years back, Ben Simhon was sitting in a small bar in Florence, Italy, sipping a glass of local red and marveling over the wonders of the local kitchen, when he got the idea of bringing this concept of locally grown products and ingredients to Israel. The rest is history. Polenta from fresh corn and mushrooms, chestnut gnocchi, pappardelle ragu and crispy pizza hot from the tabun oven are some of the best food Italy has to offer. Shawarma ravioli with tahini-amba and hot pepper, musar fish filet and eggplant ravioli, ceviche of fish on local yogurt -- all are expressions of the Galilee-Italy connection.

Galliano, Agmon Market, Upper Galilee

The last stop on our culinary journey is in the South, in the Gaza Strip. Sins is a kind of bubble of optimism in an area that finds it almost impossible to disconnect from politics and missile warnings. Spacious and pleasant, with a bar in the center, Sins attracts tourists and business people, young people who drop in for a beer after a long day, and families who gather together around long tables. The meal opens with grilled eggplant and Roquefort cheese, beef carpaccio, cauliflower baked in tahini and fresh Israeli salad. Angus entrecote and lamb kebab, shrimp and calamari dishes all indicate the restaurant’s expertise in meat and seafood. Guests looking for a lighter meal can choose from their wide variety of salads, vegetarian or seafood pasta dishes, juicy hamburgers served with a large selection of side dishes. Professional service, an extensive drinks menu and a friendly atmosphere make this spot the jewel in the crown you can’t help but love and enjoy.

Sins, Gevim junction