Vegan Xpress is a vegan restaurant, no surprises there.  But from now on, everything is going to be a total surprise. It’s in Mitzpe Ramon which is a very small town but I guarantee that without GPS or Waze you could spend an entire day with a map and you wouldn’t find it.

How to get there

OK. punch in Vegan Xpress on Waze and you will fetch up in a residential parking lot . In front of you, a low wall with a metal fence; behind the wall, a row of small houses.  If you peer over the fence looking down you will make out a sort of patio which could just possibly be a restaurant, there’s sure to be at least three people sitting there

follow the fence in either direction and walk down the steps to the level of the houses and work your way back to  the patio.This is the door to Vegan Xpress

Chez Britney and Yatibia

This is the home of Britney and Yatibia. They both belong to the Hebrew Israelite community, Afro-Americans from Detroit and Cleveland who came as a group to Israel in the 60’s and who mostly settled in Dimona and Mitzpe Ramon.  Even if the food wasn’t that great, being invited into the home of Hebrew Israelites  is in itself a good enough reason to go.  Open the door and you find yourself in a simple courtyard with three table. 

Serving you: the affable Yatibia.

Behind the stove (you can see her keeping herself busy behind the window), his spouse Britney.  

If you arrive and the tables are taken Yatibia will show you into the back garden where there are more tables and if they are taken he will invite you to wait in the family living-room.  

The Hebrew Israelite community is strictly vegan. They also have more demanding rules like fasting on a regular basis, days where you can only eat fruits and others where you should complitely avoid any form of sugar. A healthy lifestyle is very much part of their belief system and way of life. But in Britney’s kitchen, frugality is not in the books. If you are new to vegan cuisine and you are thinking lentils and kidney beans, think again. 

In your plate

Britney studied cooking in a prestigious New York school, and chemistery; her food is a mix of her two passions. There is no other way to explain how she manages to prepare fake cheeses (all vegetal) and sauces that are so rich and creamy it is hard to believe that she didn’t sneak some animal products into the preparation – she didn’t.  She manages to prepare a seitan (gluten protein) –  generally slightly rubbery – that is tender, soft and ethereal.  

 Every dish that I have eaten at Vegan Xpress is as delicious and accessible as the best of American junk food. That is not a back-handed compliment unless you happen to be a food snob.

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All this wizardry takes place right there in Britney’s lab (you can’t call it just a kitchen). She actually manages to produce a vegetal cheddar-like cheese whose texture and taste can compete with the original product).  Britney covers all the bases; she also bakes her own bread (you can ask for gluten- free). People come from afar to taste her most famous dish, a dessert so fabulous that its memory can keep me awake at night: the smoothest vegan cheesecake I have ever tried (and I have tried a few).

Do you have to be vegan or used to vegan food to enjoy  Vegan Xpress?

Not at all.  In fact, the problem is quite the reverse; old-time vegans may be offended by the hedonism of Britney’s sauces. So If you are curious and ready rid yourself of all the cliches and preconceptions about vegan cuisine, get over here. Vegan Xpress is inventive, generous and delicious.  It is a treasure hidden in a backwater in the middle of nowhere.  We are the lucky ones; we live only 36 km away.

Vegan Xpress is open everyday except Saturday.

Sunday to Thursday 12.00 to 20.00

Friday 10.00 to 15.00.