Lake Travis - Westlake Edition | January 2023

DINING FEATURE

BY TAYLOR CRIPE

The sunrise panini ham has scrambled organic eggs, cheese and ham. ($10.50)

Shakshuka is a dish with vegetables, eggs and pita. ($18.25)

MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE Chef Roni Liberman features modern Mediterranean food on his menu, which is a mix of dishes from dierent Middle Eastern cultures. Here are some of the Mediterranean food and breakfast dishes oered.

The ham and cheese omelet has organic eggs, ham and cheese with toast and salad on the side. ($13.50)

The restaurant oers breakfast tacos with sausage, egg and cheese. ($6.75)

Pita chicken shawarma is thinly sliced chicken rubbed in spice mix. ($18.50)

PHOTOS BY TAYLOR CRIPECOMMUNITY IMPACT

Java Dive Organic Cafe Austin chef turns his Israeli roots and love for food into a business A fter 12 years in business, Roni Liberman plans to change his restaurant’s name from Java Dive Organic Cafe to Bee Mediterranean.

Lake Travis as it was in Belize. “At the time, I didn’t know how big the food business was in Austin,” he said. “I also discovered that, to survive as a coee shop, you have to be willing to serve food.” To his surprise, the Israeli food he served was very popular, and Java Dive Organic Cafe became a 3,000-square-foot Mediterranean restaurant in Lakeway in 2005. Liberman closed the Lakeway location in 2014 to spend more time with his family; he reopened in the Hill Country Galleria in 2019. Java Dive sells and roasts its own coee; the eatery has an espresso menu with americanos, cappuccinos and lattes, but that is only part of what they do, Liberman said. “People see the name ‘Java Dive

Cafe’ and they think I’m a coee shop, but I’m really a restaurant,” he said. The restaurant’s menu includes shakshuka, a North African and Middle Eastern dish that is a mixture of tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, spices and egg; grilled pita sand- wiches; shawarma, or meat cut into thin slices and stacked in a cone-like shape before being marinated for hours; falafel paninis; and organic rice and meat plates. Liberman refers to these menu items as “modern Mediterranean,” a reection of Israel’s diverse culture. “Israel is basically a cultural melting pot of countries all over the Middle East,” he said. “You are get- ting more of a mix of Mediterranean foods...from dierent cultures.”

Owner Roni Liberman opened in the Hill Country Galleria in 2019.

Java Dive Organic Cafe 12800 Galleria Circle, Ste. 101, Bee Cave 512-861-2242 www.javadivecafe.com Hours: Wed.-Sun. 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Mon.-Tue. closed

“Bee Mediterranean makes sense to show and reect what we are, which is a Mediterranean restau- rant,” he said. Liberman said he moved to Texas for love; along the way he also decided to open a coee shop. The Israeli-born Austin local was living in Belize when he connected with his future wife, who was in Austin at the time. Liberman had been a diving instructor in Belize and hoped to open his own dive center and cafe in Lake Travis; however, he soon realized that diving was not as big in

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LAKE TRAVIS WESTLAKE EDITION • JANUARY 2023