American television host, comedian and producer Conan O’Brien says he is in love with shakshuka, the iconic Israeli egg-and-tomato-sauce breakfast dish.
“You gotta get yourself some shakshuka, and get it today,” he says on a Facebook Live video filmed on the Jaffa seashore in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, the end of his first full day in Israel.
He observed that “all the men are incredibly buff and the women are beautiful.”
O’Brien is in Israel for the first time, filming an episode of his travel series “Conan without Borders.” He’ll visit several locations over the course of five days.
He filmed himself in the restroom on his El Al flight to Israel on Friday, trying to make sense of Hebrew signs.
O’Brien watched the Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather fight in Las Vegas from Tel Aviv, drinking from a can of “the only Guinness in Israel.” On Sunday, he visited the offices of Waze.
After Tel Aviv, he was heading with his crew to historic sites, including Jerusalem on Monday.
O’Brien told interviewers, “I’m really looking forward to seeing some of the old sites but like most of the travel shows, the best part is meeting the people, having these funny exchanges with other human beings around the world.”
He had some amusing encounters with Israelis already on his first day, switching shirts with a passerby on Rothschild Boulevard and doing shots with Chef Yuval Ben-Neriah.
קונאן אובריאן הגיע למסעדת טאיזו לארוחת שישי ועל הדרך עשה תמונה למזכרת עם השף יובל בן נריה איתו הקפיץ צ’יסרים#conanobrien #Israel #telaviv pic.twitter.com/k7RL1UqlUl
— Gil mishali (@gilmishali) August 25, 2017
Conan’s visit to Israel is definitely causing a stir. Yesterday, Renny Grinshpan and her sister Arielle took to the beach in Tel Aviv in an effort to collect sunscreen for the pale Irish-American presenter.
And lots of Israelis are reaching out to the prime-time funnyman.
“COCO! Come have a drink tonight at my pub! Zaichik in Nahalat Binyamin 45 Tel Aviv! Good music and booze and weird people! You won’t regret it!” posted Josef Kimels Smith on Facebook.
Israeli standup comic Roni Sasson invited O’Brien to his show at Tel Aviv’s ZOA House. “It comes 200 meters from the hotel where you are staying. I doubt if you read the messages but I try anyway. I’d really like it if you come,” Sasson posted.
The TBS talk-show host’s “Conan Without Borders: Israel” will air on September 19.
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