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Follow the Meat

By Laurie Moskowitz · January 27, 2011

So we recently returned from our trip to Israel, and the question I seem to get the most often is “What was the best thing about Israel?”  And while we went on many great trips and saw tons of interesting and historic places, for me the best thing about Israel was two-fold:  first, just getting to live there day-to-day and enjoying the feeling of being a local, and second, the food.  I’ve been back only a short time and I’m already missing my favorite markets and fruit vendors and the amazing challah and burekas.

Therefore, I will devote the next few and final Israel blog posts to some of our favorite and not-to-miss gastronomic recommendations from our trip.  I’ve already done that on the café/breakfast front but I would not be representing half of our family fairly if I did not give due diligence to the meat places we frequented.

WHERE TO EAT:
We ate a lot of meat in Israel.  I mean A LOT.  Kosher meat restaurants were everywhere and unless you live in Brooklyn or Manhattan, it’s hard to not enjoy the feeling that you could walk into just about any restaurant and order whatever you like.  That being said, the following were our favorites - not just because they were kosher but they tasted really good.  And trust me, there were plenty of restaurants we would not go back to again.

Papagaio – We made a final pilgrimage to this Argentinean churrascaria or steakhouse in Talpiot before we left Jerusalem, bringing our total visits to four (although one of them was for Shabbat take-out).  For those of you who have never been to an Argentinean steakhouse – this is all about the meat.  Nine different kinds, all prepared on the grill.  When you sit down at the table, you are given a number of salatim and a tabletop sign that you use to control the flow of the food – if you display the green side, the meat keeps coming, and if you want to slow down, the red stops it.  And it’s quite a show.  Meats carved table-side from rolling carts and from giant skewers with a knife the size of a small machete.  The restaurant also brings over sides – french fries, sweet potatoes in chili sauce, and warm rolls as well.  You should go to Papagaio hungry but DO NOT fill up on the salads, sides and bread – you will be very sorry.  Amongst the meat – absolutely fabulous and spicy chicken wings, chicken liver in a balsamic sauce that are delicious, pargiyot (grilled dark meat chicken kabobs) and whole spring chicken, kabobs (ground meat with seasoning on a skewer), stewed meat (I’d pass on this although sometimes they put a bowl on the table), amazing ribs, and entrecote skewers and roast.  Of course, the ribs and the entrecote come later in the equation so you have to save some room for them.  But if meat is what you’re after, you can’t go wrong.  And it just keeps on coming, as long as you like.  Just keep the green side of your sign up.

Black Bar ‘n Burger – Black is located fairly near Mamilla mall on Shlomtzion HaMalkah.  Steve’s first experience with this restaurant was several years back when he was referred to the place for a late night bite but after discovering both burgers and ice cream on the menu made a quick get-away.  But about a year ago, Black went kosher and we’re happy campers.  The burgers are thick and juicy and seasoned well.  Like many burger joints in Israel, you can choose the size of your burger depending on how hungry you really are (160 grams, 220 or even 330 grams).  There are an array of sauces that are available to you to put on your burger (thousand island, barbecue etc.) but we like ours fairly basic to let the quality of the burger shine through.  As a starter make sure to get the onion loaf (battered and deep fried onion strings) which is way too big and indulgent for two people but we would order it anyways.  We’ve also taken the kids there to enjoy a burger at lunchtime and they do a good kids’ menu, which included many main courses with options on sides, a drink and dessert.  Beware Black is more nightclub at night than restaurant, so it’s not great family ambience but worth the trip for the burger.

Buffalo Steak House – Buffalo Steak House on Emek Refaim was probably Jake’s (our 8 year-old) favorite place to eat.  If offered the choice, this is where he would choose to go and given that we lived right near it, he wanted to go there a lot.  What made the whole thing even sadder for us was that when he went, he didn’t want no kid’s meals No, he wanted steak, lots of it and rare!  And to their credit, Buffalo did a great job with a piece of prime rib or entrecote. They also had a delicious burger and even good variations on salad for lunch which somehow made me feel like I was eating a little lighter.   Buffalo also sells it’s meats - from a lovely looking case by the front of the dining room, if you’re so inclined.

Roza’s - Roza’s has two restaurants, one down near Yoel Solomon on Jaffa Street and a new outpost in what used to be CoffeeShop at the intersection of Rahel Imeinu and Emek Refaim.  We’re weren’t sure that they were going to finish the new Roza’s in time for us to go there before we left Israel, but with 10 days to spare Roza’s opened.  The kids were obsessed with the place for some unfathomable reason, literally stopping by to check out the menu before it was open, giving us the daily update on the renovation, and talking about it so incessantly and that we dined at Roza’s on its first full day of operation.  The waitress did little to make me like the place nor did the service, but I have to say that the chicken sandwich I ordered, which came on a soft roll with grilled onions and peppers was unbelievably delicious and it had a really good Dijon mustard sauce as an accompaniment.  Jake’s steak wrap (or burrito, as he called it) was great, as was Steve’s steak sandwich, while Sammy feasted on guacamole.  Roza’s has a good menu and we’re suckers for anything remotely resembling Mexican or Latin American cuisine.  Had we stuck around the country a little bit longer, Roza’s might have replaced Buffalo as our family favorite.

Sami & Sima – If you continue walking west on Agrippas street past Mahane Yehuda about 3 blocks down on opposite corners you’ll find two grill restaurants respectively called Sami and Sima.  These are classic Israeli grill restaurants and we were slightly partial to Sami (since we have a Sammy) but really it’s hard to go wrong at either one.  When you sit down, you’ll receive an assortment of salatim – from red and green coleslaw to pickled vegetables to corn & mushroom salad – you could easily make a meal of just these salads.  And the meat – take your pick  - pargiyot (or dark meat kabobs), entrecote, lamb chops, kabobs (ground beef), a mixed grill options, and of course schnitzel and hot dogs for the kids, all done on the grill.  Add some warm pita, baba ganoush or hummus and Israeli salad and it’s an inexpensive and delicious meal.

Meatos – Check out the post from my birthday in Tel Aviv.  Meatos is an awesome kosher meat place in Tel Aviv and a must-go if you’re planning a meal there.

Hummus with Meat – Okay so this obviously isn’t a place – more like a recommendation.  While really good hummus can be found all over Israel, on many menus, you can find hummus with meat.  It’s a fairly simple dish – ground seasoned meat, sometime with pine nuts, served over a bed of hummus.  This became one of Steve’s favorites in Israel and really makes hummus fell very much like a meal rather than an appetizer.   Just add a chopped Israeli salad and some pita and you were good to go.  This is a dish you can find in all of the basic “Aish” places (basically grill restaurants).  Some of our favorites were at Rachmo in Mahane Yehuda, Ima’s and a really fabulous version at this obscure meat restaurant called Susanna way up in the Golan near Katzrin.

WHERE TO BUY
Everyone has their favorite places of where to buy meat and after several recommendations and trial and error I ended up with mine.  Truth be told, I wasn’t particularly picky about my chicken, I was able to find fresh, natural, often organic chicken almost anywhere.  I was, however, picky about where I bought my beef and lamb.

First, a quick note about purchasing meat in Israel.  If you buy at a supermarket, you will notice a poster behind almost any butcher counter showing you the cuts of meat with corresponding numbers.  The butchers would like you to order by number.  While some of this is obvious (e.g. ground beef), all the pictures don’t necessarily correspond to American cuts and so I ended up with something once or twice that was supposedly “London Broil” but when I prepared it like London Broil it nearly tasted like cardboard.  So you are better off pointing to what you need in the display case or if you don’t speak Hebrew, finding a butcher that can speak some English.

Super HaMoshava:  While it was at the pricier end of the spectrum, the butcher counter at the Super HaMoshava in German Colony had nice cuts of meat and I found them friendly and helpful.  They often carried short ribs which was not a cut found everywhere, yet a family favorite.  When you needed a steak, the butcher would slice it to order and all around I found the quality to be terrific.  One of the two guys that work the counter speaks English so between that and my basic Hebrew I did just fine (there was also often bi-lingual speakers around in line who could help decipher). Super HaMoshava also sells turkeys for Thanksgiving, which was highly convenient.

Mahane Yehuda:  I had my favorite butcher down at the shuk.  He can be found on He-Haruv (one of the more off-beat alleys) on the north side and closest to the vegetable stand.  The meat was exceptionally good, the place was clean and he would always grind, cut or slice to order.  He spoke decent English and always had good suggestions.  I bought lamb, ribs, roasts, and other assorted meat.  This was my usual Shabbat destination place.

Madane Habira:  Too late in the trip, my friend Abby took me to this great butcher on Shmuel Hanavi.  This small butcher shop with a teeny tiny parking lot out front is owned by a lovely guy who inherited the shop from his father. Don’t go mid-day because the place is likely to be closed while he makes lunch for himself and his two (Arab) staff. When you walk in, the place is small and packed full with both frozen packaged meat and condiments and sauces of every variety.  But when the butcher found out that I wrote a food blog, he proceeded to take me over to his little cooking corner where he was preparing a London broil-like cut that was he was preparing with a combination of a garlic shug (garlic & spices in olive oil) and soy sauce that was so delicious and tender that I couldn’t stop eating it. It’s also really important if you go here, not to be fooled by all the frozen packaging. The shop packages their own products and I bought meat kabobs filled with tehina that were to die for - literally you just put them in the broiler for a few minutes and they turned into these juicy half dollar size kabobs that oozed with just a bit of tehina when you cut into them.  Amazing.  They also make delicious meat-filled kneidlach that we had several times as dinner – just throw them into boiling soup with some carrots and vegetables and voila.  When we take our next sojourn to Israel, this will be the first butcher shop that I go to.

While there were so many more places that we went and that I could write about, the ones listed here are those that were tried and true for us.  So next time you’re in Israel and craving some meat this list should get you started.  And let me know if there’s somewhere we should put on the list for our next trip there.

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The New Basics

By Laurie Moskowitz · January 11, 2011

When I look in my refrigerator and my pantry in Israel, I notice distinct differences between my “go-to” basics here in Israel versus what was regularly in my kitchen back home.   Some of this is intentional – I’m trying to take advantage of the bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables here, as well as Israeli products.  Some of the difference is cause and effect – Bissli and Bamba are everywhere, tehina is omnipresent – how can my day-to-day choices not change in that environment?  And despite the numerous grocery stores catering to Americans, I’ve tried to go local.

Here’s the result and what’s hanging out in my fridge and pantry:

Tehina:  As I’ve written in other posts, tehina has become a regular contributor to meals here in Israel.  In Green Tehina for dipping challah or pita, in salad dressings, even over yogurt with some honey and nuts, tehina is a versatile product that has a place of prominence on my shelves and on my plate and will continue to do so back in the States.

Silan Honey:  Silan honey is made from dates and darker in color and slightly more intense than regular (bee) honey.  While I never put Silan date honey in my tea, I use it in almost everything else – as a topping for yogurt, mixed with tehina on toast, as an addition to a marinade or in a salad dressing.

Spices:  Za’atar, Moroccan Paprika, Ras-El Hanut and Bahrat are all spices that have now made their way into my cooking repertoire.  In addition to lemon, cilantro, and cumin (which I already used but with other flavor palettes), these spices have really transformed my cooking to taste like the foods I’m eating all over Israel.  I’ve also brought home many spice “mixtures” that you’ll find at vendors in the shuk and in some large grocery stores that are toppings for salads and flavorings for other cooking.  Many of these have no set ingredients but include an array of dried green herbs, dried onions, spices, and in some cases a sweet note such as raisins (vendors will generally not tell you exactly what’s in them), but these mixtures have greatly enhanced my rice & lentils, my pastatta (a pasta frittata), and zucchini fritters, among others.  If you’re spending time in Israel - definitely explore some of these mixtures or better yet - or have someone bring you some back from the shuk when they next go to Israel.

Labneh: Labneh yogurt/cheese, with its slightly sour and tangy flavor, became one of my favorites.   Labneh can be made with either cow’s milk or sheep’s milk and you can find it in a softer more spreadable version or turned into small balls and marinated in olive oil and herbs.  Personally, I’m partial to the softer more yogurt-like consistency.  Add a little olive oil and za'atar and you’re all set to go.  It’s absolutely fabulous over a chopped vegetable salad with the addition of fresh herbs such as dill and parsley.

Exotic Fruits:  It seems like there has been no tropical nor exotic fruit that my eight year-old didn’t like and want to eat (okay, and you didn’t have to twist my arm to eat it either).  And given the choice between fruit or candy, I opted for fruit.  Pomegranates are a constant on the grocery list and are eaten by the kids and by grown-ups alike as a snack or for dessert; figs – both raw and cooked – mangos by the dozen, passion fruit scooped out with a spoon, persimmon for salads, pom elites (kind of like an all green grapefruit but slightly larger and sweeter) all make regular appearances.  We have even enjoyed raw dates (they look kind of like a smaller unripe apricot, come on a stem and you serve them frozen – sort of like a healthy popsicle).  While all of these will continue to make their way into our kitchen back home, it will sadly come with a much higher price tag.  Also, think Tu b’Shevat, first fruits and maybe experiment with a Tu b’Shevat seder.  It would be a great way to try a lot of these constants that we found in Israel.

Vegetables:  Jerusalem Artichokes and fennel topped the list of new vegetable additions to our Israeli household. Jerusalem artichokes are now available year-round in Israel and are fabulous roasted or in a delicious creamy soup (recipe below).  Jerusalem Artichokes are really ugly, they're brown and knobby (make sure they're brown not green despite the greenish tint of the photo here) and it’s some work to peel them, but the result is great.  Fennel was a great add-on to all sorts of salads and excellent roasted or braise.  While it wasn’t really on our radar screen in the States, it has now moved to top of the list.

Bissli & Bamba:  Okay, so my kids ate Bissli before we went to Israel.  But not nearly in the quantities they eat it now.  And while it certainly helps that you could buy lunch-sized bags by the dozen in numerous flavors, it also doesn’t hurt that Bamba now comes filled with chocolate or halva or in a strawberry flavor.  This is our classic after-school snack.

Vitachick & Juice Concentrates – So, my kids love juice and sugary drinks and this new-to-us syrup, which is sort of like a liquid Kool-Aid, is now always in our fridge.  It comes in a bunch of flavors – raspberry, grape and lemonade being our kids’ favorites.  You simply mix it with water or seltzer (as my husband says he did for Passover soda in his youth).  You can also control the amount of syrup that goes into the glass that made me feel a little more in control of the sugar content.  I also regularly use apple juice concentrate syrup.  While it was great for making a quick glass of juice, it also came incredibly handy in cooking and making salad dressing.

Pomegranate Molasses – What isn’t Pomegranate Molasses good for?  From marinating meats to salad dressings to desserts to drizzling over ice cream– this is a completely versatile product that I love.  You should be able to find this at Middle Eastern groceries, kosher markets and Whole Foods.  Pomegranate products may just now be becoming common in North America, but it’s been a staple here in Israel for almost as long as pomegranate seeds.  Try it as part of a marinade on chicken pieces, as well, and voila– Chicken Rimon a classic for Rosh Hashanah.

Harissa – Harissa is a condiment that has its origins in North Africa, in particular Tunisian cooking.  A combination of hot chili peppers and spices with olive oil, harissa can be used to spice up dishes such as falafel and schwarma or used as part of a marinade on meats or added to sour cream, yogurt or mayonnaise to create a dipping sauce.  You can buy harissa already prepared or if you’re more ambitious – here’s a great recipe from Clifford Wright, a James Beard Award winner for cookbooks and food writing on the middle east: www.cliffordawright.com/caw/recipes/display/bycategory.php/recipe_id/729/id/2/pg1/3/

Choco– Otherwise known as chocolate milk.  There is a product called Choco that is just like Nesquik but made in Israel.  Our six year old drank chocolate milk at least three times a day, first made from scratch at home in the morning, after school from the little market on the way home and then again for dinner (assuming it was a dairy meal).  When purchasing there are many options – a packaged version (either plastic bottle or box) or if you really want to feel Israeli a bag of chocolate milk that you can buy, snip the corner and drink.  By the way, many Israeli’s buy their milk in these plastic bags and put them in a pitcher made expressly for use with these bags and it is generally cheaper, although the more recognizable milk carton that we use in the states is available.

Limonana Sorbet - So the limonana flavor combo - lemon and mint was a huge favorite in our household.  We were partial to the Aroma frozen drink of the same name but what we absolutely positively couldn’t keep enough of in our house was Limonana sorbet.  It comes in a small styrofoam container that looks like a cute little cooler.  It lasted all of about 8 hours in our freezer.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE SOUP
From a recipe found in Fresh Flavors from Israel which features well known Chefs throughout Israel.  This one comes from Chef Avi Steinizt.  I adjusted to make parve.

1.5lbs Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves peeled
1 leek (white part only) washed well and finely chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup whipping cream or 1 cup soy milk
salt and white pepper

Garnish
2 Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and shaved with a vegetable peeler
Oil for deep frying

1.  Heat oil in a heavy saucepan and sauté the chopped leeks until translucent.  Add the garlic and sauté for one more minute (don't let it burn).  Add the Jerusalem artichokes and sauté for a few more minutes
2.  Add the stock and bring to a boil.  Season with a little salt and pepper, cover and cook for 30 minutes over low heat until the artichokes are very tender.
3.  Puree the soup in a food processor and strain.  Bring to a boil, add the cream, taste and adjust the season.
4.  Prepare the garnish.  Heat the oil for deep-frying and fry the artichoke shavings until crisp.  Drain excess oil on paper towel.

Note:  I did not puree and strain - I just used a stick blender and got it as creamy as I could which worked great. Also, the garnish was a lot of work, if you are in a hurry or don’t have the patience, you could add some croutons both look and crunch.

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Caffit, Kadosh & Kalo

By Laurie Moskowitz · December 31, 2010

I am an unabashed fan of the dairy restaurant.  To me, the dairy restaurant has the perfect menu for any time of day – consisting of breakfast, pastas, sandwiches, salads, baked potatoes, quiches and soup – all with enough variation to not have to repeat the same item for weeks.  And if I could, I would spend all my time rotating between Caffit, Café Kadosh & Kalo.

Caffit  - Caffit is a crowd pleaser for the entire family.  Maybe it’s because you can sit there for hours and drink coffee and eat delicious food and enjoy the free Internet without anyone giving you a dirty stare.  Maybe it’s because in the morning at breakfast – they serve your coffee with a little tiny brownie or at lunch time they bring by a little amuse bouche (usually a small portion of something off of their appetizer menu) to whet the palate or maybe it’s the complimentary glass of slushy lemonana (lemonade ground with mint and ice) that they serve in the afternoon.  Or maybe it’s because the food is fresh, flavorful, and plentiful that Caffit became a regular stop on our eating circuit.  It was so popular that my kids, in a major blow to my ego, they claimed that their French Toast was better than mine!  If you only go to Caffit once, make sure to order one of their signature salads.   And be forewarned – the salads are huge.  Actually large enough to easily split between two people who are not that hungry or to combine with another dish if you’re either really hungry or just want to sample other menu items.  All of the signature salads feature a combination of vegetables and nuts sautéed in soy sauce.   While it sounds a little weird at first, their combos are addictive.  The “Oregannato” features sautéed zucchini, nuts, Bulgarian cheese and herbs and is a classic, as is the sweet potato salad, which features more of those sautéed vegetables topped by mounds of crispy sweet potato strings piled on top of the salad.  One of my personal favorites is the Halloumi salad, featuring crispy pieces of Halloumi cheese, nuts and herbs.  You also can’t go wrong with their Sweet Potato soup, featuring a cream and chili-based broth enrobing chunks of sweet potato, or with a salmon burger with Thai spices and spicy mayo.  One other tip – Caffit has two locations in Jerusalem – one on Emek Refaim in the German Colony and the other inside the The Botanical Gardens, which is a beautiful location and a lovely place to sit and eat or simply enjoy a late afternoon latte while looking out over the duck pond.

Kalo – Kalo is on Derech Beit Lechem in Baka.  Kalo also has a vast menu with dishes that are fresh and abundant.  I am a fan of the Israeli breakfast at Kalo, featuring two eggs prepared to your liking, an assortment of spreads and cheeses, a hot and cold drink, and for an extra 10 shekels, you can add some lovely smoked salmon to your plate.  But what I really like about Kalo is that it is a great place for people watching and running into friends and neighbors.  Steve and I would opt for one of the sidewalk tables where we would invariably run into people we knew  - either those in town visiting or those living in the neighborhood shopping at the fresh fruit stands or the fabulous bakery/cheese shop Beit Lechem.  You could also do an abundance of errands while enjoying the food and company.  Need to make a quick haircut appointment?  No problem run across the street to Dave’s while waiting for your meal.  Need to send some emails? Take advantage of the free Internet.  And of course, don’t forget the food – whether it was a delicious pasta with cream and mushrooms or a sandwich featuring halloumi, pesto, sundried tomatoes and micro-greens, I usually didn’t need to eat another meal that day.

Café Kadosh – Café Kadosh is where I spent the least amount of time, due to the fact that I only went there only towards the end of my time in Israel.  But walking into Café Kadosh is like walking into a small Paris brasserie in the middle of Jerusalem.  Delicious coffee and pastries – including my personal favorite, the brioche. If you go with a friend or relative, I would highly recommend ordering the expanded Israeli breakfast for two, which in addition to the traditional spreads that are served with breakfast (gvinah levana, tuna, pesto, jelly and assorted others), they also served delicious sautéed mushrooms dressed with pesto and a grilled eggplant over labneh cheese with olive oil and herbs.  That dish was worth going to Kadosh by itself.  Small tables are the norm at Café Kadosh and there was so much food that came with the breakfast that we were forced to use a chair to hold our extra food.

Why, oh why can’t we figure out how to have places likes these in America?  I’m pining already.

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Sometimes It’s the Small Pleasures

By Laurie Moskowitz · December 19, 2010

Many times it’s the small pleasures that really make a difference in life.  I find that same adage holds true when it comes to food.

When I reflect on our recent trip to Eilat, it seems that all of the destination meals were really mediocre in nature or marred by some happen stance that rendered them a bust – think really expensive meat over-cooked and the wait staff so inattentive that it was really too late to send it back because the kids were bouncing off the walls having finished their dinner ages ago (as was the case at The Ranch House housed in The Royal Garden, one of the many Isrotel hotels in Eilat).

What was memorable were three small distinctly pleasurable food moments that left me feeing satisfied and with happy memories.

Yotvata - Thirty minutes before you hit Eilat on Route 90 lies Yotvata.  Yotvata is a kibbutz that reportedly produces the majority of all dairy in Israel – including milk, Choco (chocolate milk), pudding, yogurt and many other products.  Yotvata’s roadside restaurant (or as we would know it in the states) “rest stop” is a huge tourist attraction.  We had hoped to get there in time for a tour of the Kibbutz but a late start got us there a little too late (promptly causing my six year-old to declare that it was the worst day of his life since he did not get to see how chocolate milk is made) but that was quickly made up for by a round of fresh ice cream for all.  Since the staff working the ice cream counter spoke great English, we were able to get a very thick  (and large) vanilla milkshake for Sammy reminiscent of milkshakes in the states.  I had a combination of pistachio ice cream and chocolate crumbles (somewhere in between cookies and cream and chocolate chips) and Jake had what I think turned out to be the best of the bunch – mango sorbet, which had an intense flavor that was creamy and tangy – truly delicious.  We ate these outside in beautiful sunshine”y” weather for mid-December, while the kids also climbed over the many black and white cow statues.  We left for Eilat sticky and happy.

The Camel Ranch – Who knew that I would have a great food experience at a Camel Ranch?  Jake, the eight year-old, constantly begged us throughout our stay to ride a camel.  We had gotten him one very short ride in a parking lot en route to Ein Gedi a few months ago, but this did not satisfy him completely.  So when we found that we could go on a camel caravan in Eilat, we signed right up.  The whole experience included the ride and hanging out on pillows in a Bedoin-like tent afterwards, where the proprietors served tea and bread that was cooked over an open fire.  As our guide, David, said as we dismounted from our camels “Now we will eat which is how all activities in Israel end.”

So, first we watched David chop wood, make a fire, brew tea, and prepare a basic bread dough from flour, water and salt.  And just as David was about to put the bread on the fire (flattened disks cooked over an overturned round pan sort of like a large wok), David brought out beautiful cheese platters – a triple crème or brie-like cheese, gvinah lavan (a basic soft white cheese that is served all over Israel) and labneh topped with olive oil and za’atar, as well as one or two others for good measure, along with an abundance of fresh vegetables.  Maybe we were hungry since we hadn’t really had a proper lunch or maybe it was just being outside with the cool air and the fire, but even the kids gorged on the fresh cheese and vegetables and we were all using the hot bread that came off the fire to lap up the labneh and gvinah.  The tea was also big hit too with all adults and kids – the Camel Ranch’s own special blend of herbs and spices that is sold on-site at their kiosk.  We left tired, full and happy.

Coffee & Chocolate Spa Treatment – We had planned on just hanging out by the pool on Shabbat, but when the weather threatened my tanning abilities, I went to check out the spa and see what else might be available to pass the day (at least for me).  And there it was – the special Coffee & Chocolate Spa Treatment.   Sorry folks, no pictures to go with this one but let’s just say that it included an exfoliating rub which included a totally invigorating and aromatic blend of coffee, sea salts, and mineral oil.  After the exfoliation and a quick shower, the aesthetician slathered a chocolate spread all over to moisturize (and yes, the chocolate was edible).  An hour later I left feeling relaxed, pampered and yes, craving a café mocha.

So, you see, it doesn’t have to be all about the famous restaurant or the big meal.  Sometimes, it’s all about those small pleasures.

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The Amazing Hummus Boureka

By Laurie Moskowitz · December 13, 2010

It’s hard to describe just how many bourekas I have both seen and eaten here, in Israel. They can be found at coffee shops, mini-markets, supermarkets, in the mall, on breakfast buffets in even the finest hotels, small take-out kiosks, and of course at bakeries all over the country.  They are a great food for almost any time – quick breakfast, mid-morning snack, with salad or soup at lunch, as an addition to Shabbat lunch or to hand the kids when they’re famished and you’re on the go.

Bourekas (also “burekas”) are right up there with Israeli and Middle Eastern classics such as hummus, chopped salad, falafel, schwarma, and schnitzel in my book.   Because there is absolutely nothing wrong with stuffed dough, especially dough that is light and flaky, rich (but not too oily) and oozing with warm and savory filling.

And bourekas are largely savory.  While you can find a sweet cheese or apple boureka amongst the crowd, the vast majority of them are potato, potato & olive, mushroom, cheese, and spinach to name a few – here, in Israel, anyway.  Bourekas are also a staple throughout the Middles East, Greece and the Balkans.  Occasionally you’ll find a meat (usually ground beef) boureka here, but there are so many other types of stuffed dumplings and kube around, most of the bourekas you’ll find will be either dairy or parve.

If you’re buying in a bakery, each place tends to assign a particular shape to a type of filling, so you’ll know that the small rectangular one is always potato or the triangular one is always spinach.  It’s good to find a place you’re partial to and get to know which ones you like and their shape.  But beware this system is NOT universal between stores – only the idea of it is.

Another version of a boureka that you can find all over Israel is a version of a breakfast (or lunch) sandwich made from a boureka (with various names such as Iraqui breakfast or sambusa). In this case, a potato boureka is also stuffed with hard boiled eggs, tehina, and pickles.  It’s an interesting combination that I personally haven’t gotten totally used to, despite liking all those flavor profiles separately.  But I think it’s worth trying, if you’re looking for something different for breakfast.

So, here is my list of where I go for bourekas and one in particular that is a must have when you are next in Jerusalem:

Marzipan Bakery -  Marzipan makes a kashkaval cheese boureka that I find completely addicting.  The cheese is almost melted into the boureka instead of existing as a separate filling.  It’s nutty and slightly salty and the texture is more biscuit than boureka and I can’t stop eating them.  This particular boureka is round and covered in black sesame seeds if you happen to go. 

Aroma -  Aroma is a constant stop for me.  I often get my morning coffee there after dropping the kids off from school or stop en route to Ulpan .  And while I know that I should eat breakfast at home, my love for stuffed pastries overcomes me and I order Aroma’s spinach bourekas which come two to an order and are larger than most.  Sometimes, I’ll share, but since no one in my family really likes spinach I’m often forced to eat them all by myself.  Damn.

Neeman on Emek Refaim -  Neeman is a family favorite.  First, my husband must have some of their poppy seed cake for breakfast almost daily (which I have to admit is unbelievably good).  I sometimes buy challot there on Friday, which are dense and doughy and sweet, which is my particular preference in challah.  But Neeman (not rival brother’s Neeman Bros.) has a good deal in the morning, with 3 bourekas and coffee for around $5.  Their potato bourekas are a favorite of the boys’ and after I got over the initial shock of biting into it, Neeman actually makes a boureka that has a chopped vegetable stuffing akin to an eggroll that is pretty darn tasty (a good case in point as to why you should remember the shapes of the burekas you like).

Burekas Ima - But the best, and I mean the absolute best boureka I have had in Israel, hands down, bar non – was the hummus boureka that came from Burekas Ima in Talpiot.  When I bit into it, it was a complete surprise and revelation.  As I was there one afternoon buying an assortment of other bourekas and cookies and bread, I finally decided to try of their hummus bourekas which I had seen around the shop.  This one is a slight variation on the classic burkea given that the bureka is made from more of a pita dough than a pastry dough but I was a little wary, because I couldn’t envision of hummus inside of a boureka that wasn’t going to be pasty.  But one bite of this boureka was a revelatory food moment for me.  This particular boureka is folded into a half-moon probably about 8” across and clearly fried.  When you bite into it the dough is has a slightly sweet note to it and the warm flavors of chick peas and onions and cumin and tumeric all merged into an aromatic blend that was Middle-Eastern in nature, but understated just enough to not overwhelm the palate.  And because I was really hungry the morning I ate it, I went back the next day for another to make sure that I really had tasted something that good.  And again, I couldn’t get over it.  I’ve been back several more times since and hopefully will get the recipe before I leave.  Otherwise,  I’ll be spending a lot of time back in DC trying to replicate this item in my own kitchen.

Let me say for the record, too – that Burekas Ima makes the most amazing sweet challah that I’ve tasted in Jerusalem and it will be hard to give it up when we go.  And finally, the bourekas at Burekas Ima are all more than worthy.  It’s nearly criminal to go in there without buying a boxful.  Burekas Ima on Rivka Street in Talpiot (in a tiny parking lot, right near the Domino’s pizza) – is calling your name.

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Shabbat Take-Away

By Laurie Moskowitz · December 6, 2010

What’s a girl to do?  It had been an unusually crazy and hectic week.  Between the start of Chanukah, latke making, the requisite Chanukah play at school to attend, chasing all over town to eat sufganiyot (okay – that wasn’t so stressful), an essay due at ulpan, work due for my day job, an American baseball “tournament” for the eight year old and sadly, another bout with the stomach virus that will never leave, rendering our six year-old a limp noodle for 3 days running when he was not up all night doing something that really shouldn’t be written in the same space as a food blog – I was not cooking Shabbat dinner.

Luckily, here in Jerusalem, this is NOT a problem.  Because there are literally dozens of places to get delicious prepared food for Shabbat – you just need to know where to go.

First a distinction among “take-aways."  Many of the take-aways have been around for a while now.  It’s not exactly a new concept. However, what is new is the addition of so called “Chef restaurants” getting in on the act.  Chef restaurants, as they are called here in Israel, are higher-end establishments, have professional chefs  (and sometimes name chefs) who run their kitchens and cater to a higher level of gastronome, if you will.  The food is more elaborate, more beautifully presented, usually very good, and definitely more expensive. There is also a difference between classic “Ashkenazi” food, which has more of the eastern European favorites that many of us Americans associate with Shabbat (and perhaps our grandmothers) versus “Sephardic” food, which broadly defined encompasses almost everything else – from Moroccan, Persian, ladino, Yemenite and Iberian influences.  Neither is better; you just need to decide what you’re looking to eat.   Finally, at most places, you can find an array of “salatim” or the small dishes of salads that I associate as being completely Israeli and which seem to be a standard at almost any meal you eat here.  And even amongst the salatim – some have more of an “Ashkenazi” influence and others are distinctly Israeli/Middle Eastern in nature.

So whether you’ve had an unbelievably busy week, or you’ve flown in right before Shabbat and need to pull together Shabbat dinner or you just don’t feel like cooking – here are some of my favorite places to pick-up “Shabbat Take-Away”:

Maadne Tzedikiya – .  Tzedikiya prepares a combination of both classic Ashkenazi food, some Middle Eastern specialties (e.g. stuffed vegetables) and Israeli salatim.  There isn’t a prepared salad they don’t have there from delicious green tehina to hummus to eggplant prepared various ways (baba ganoush, roasted eggplant salad, grilled slices) to avocado dip to a version of potato salad that I love with green peas and small gherkins mixed in to a myriad of coleslaws, cucumber salad, Moroccan carrots and the list goes on.  They also have an unbelievable assortment of fried delicacies- shnitzilim, Moroccan cigars, fried cauliflower, eggrolls, kube, latkes and more.  Their main dishes include items like stuffed chicken, meatballs, stuffed vegetables, rice and roasted potatoes.  There are several outposts of Tzedikiya to choose from -  German Colony on Emek Refaim, Talpiot in Kenyon Hadar Mall on Fridays, and Mahane Yehuda.

Take Me Home – Many people know “Take Me Home” as Elvis/Take-Me-Home since the proprietors Elvis and Ayala operated a shop in German Colony for 40 years.  While they have a restaurant outside of Jerusalem (in the Sonol area of Beitar, Tzur-Hadassah) which houses their primary kitchen), on Fridays you can find them in Kenyon Hadar in Talpiot as part of a trio of “take away” vendors that set up shop.  Take-Me-Home has a large menu (available in English) with that same combination of classic Ashkenazi food and Israeli /Middle Eastern specialties.  I particularly enjoyed their stuffed chicken with rice, and majdara (rice & lentils) and fried cauliflower. They also do a nice array of fried fish, which is great for an appetizer or for Shabbat lunch. You can find them at www.takemehome.co.il to place an order or in Kenyon Hadar n Talpiot on Fridays or call 02-5800585

Haimishe Essen – You could just as easily be in Crown Heights as on Keren Kayemet in Jerusalem when you walk in here.  Chicken soup with matzo balls, gefilte fish, kugels, chopped liver and chicken wings are all possibilities for take-out from this tiny location and you can peruse the big refrigerated case housing a wide variety of salads to go along with it.  If you’re in the mood for a quick lunch, Haimishe Essen also has a sit-down eating area reminiscent of a deli in NYC. 19 Karen Kayemet, Rechavia 02-563-9845

Papagaio – Papagaio is more in the category of “Chef Restaurant.”  Papagaio, for those who don’t know it, is an unbelievable meat restaurant/Brazilian style steakhouse where (for not insignificant price) you are served an unlimited quantity of 9 different kinds of meat from chicken livers to pargiyot (spring chicken) to entrecote steak, all prepared on their open grills and rotisserie – which is not only a sight to behold but renders them succulent and delicious.  This is one of those places where they serve you lots of salads, fresh bread, french fries (or "chips" as they are called in Israel) and other sides, but you are best not to fill up on them because you will absolutely not be able to eat all the meat to which you are entitled.  If you have meat lovers in your family (and especially if you keep kosher,) this is a must-try restaurant.  Several months ago, Papagaio went into the Shabbat Take-Away business and on Friday’s you can check out their stunning array of grilled meats – including rotisserie chicken, entrecote roasts coated in herbs, pargiyot skewers, brisket, and roasted chicken among others.  They also have an elaborate salad table with the traditional offerings such as roasted potatoes and potato kugel but also newer and nice additions such as sweet potatoes in chili sauce and black bean and corn salad.  3 Yad Hartuzim, Talpiot or call 02-6232322

La Guta – La Guta is a Chef Restaurant in the Baka neighborhood and when we stumbled upon their take-away business early in our trip here, we couldn’t believe our eyes.  All this amazingly gourmet food, beautiful, delicious and ready for Shabbat.  I truly thought I might never cook Shabbat again, which obviously didn’t happen, but I did have to wonder why I bothered when the bounty of La Guta was at my disposal.  One of the biggest problems with La Guta is choosing – the offerings are extensive and so it is hard to decide. They have delicious pot roast with mushrooms, and lamb with dried fruits, four different kinds of chicken including a delicious spring chicken in a Cajun style garlic and honey sauce.  They have a terrific artichoke stuffed with meat in celery and lemon sauce, and schnitzel for the kids as well as other fried goodies – such as Moroccan cigars and kube with meat.  They also serve three kinds of fish and several times, I have grabbed a small piece of fish for Friday lunch – so that was taken care of as well.  They have a classic couscous soup – basically a vegetable soup that is served over couscous and they usually have a nice looking kube soup.  As for sides – take your pick, potatoes with herbs, rice with saffron, pasta “pies” as they call them – basically crustless quiche-like entities in sweet potato or potato and herb.  And yes, they have a refrigerated case for salads and often chopped liver, as well as wine and challah.  It's one-stop shopping at it’s finest.  And don’t forget the fact that there is usually an open bottle of courtesy wine to pour from while you are making your selections.  Go early; they open at 9:30am.  The lines get long and it’s nice to peruse the selections without so many people around.  You can also call and they will pack things for you and have it ready, but it’s fun to look. 34 Derech Beit Lechem, Baka 02-623-2322

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Not the Same Old Sufganiyot

By Laurie Moskowitz · November 30, 2010

I’m certainly not the first person to write about sufganiyot in Israel during Chanukah time, and I certainly won’t be the last.  There are many stories out there delving into the reason we eat fried food during Chanukah and the origins of sufganiyot (Israeli doughnuts). And so I will not repeat those stories here – you all know how to Google.  Let’s talk about what’s really important when it comes to sufganiyot – where should you go to get a good one and what is up with all these new fangled fillings?  Is it a good thing or short-lived obsession?

Gone are the days of the traditional jelly filled doughnut covered in sugar to help absorb the excess oil.  Sufganiyot are now art. They come in a myriad of flavors and fillings – from whipped cream to chocolate cream or dulche de leche to passion fruit to serious specialty flavors such as chocolate champagne and whiskey caramel.  They come iced and beautifully decorated with artistic designs, assorted sprinkles and/or candy (particularly the very popular Israeli Nok Out candy), and an artful dollop of the type of filling to remind you exactly what you are about to eat.  They are light and flavorful and not greasy.  These are not the sufganiyot of yore.  And so far, my personal consumption count is at 6.5 donuts (yes, I know Chanukah has not really begun yet).

Everyone is attempting to get in on the act.  In fact, Aldo (the gourmet ice cream store) just this week has added “American Style” donuts to their repertoire, and put up a glass enclosed case, with a logo oddly reminiscent of Dunkin Donuts in the States.  We can only assume that Aldo finally saw the symbiotic relationship between ice cream and donuts that Baskin Robbins and Dunkin Donuts discovered a long time ago; ice cream stores are empty during the morning/early afternoon and donut stores are empty in the afternoon/evening .  But if they co-habitate, well traffic in the store doubles. But I digress.

My husband is extremely interested in when all these new fillings came into play, especially given the fact that in the States we still seem to see only the more traditional “jelly” filling.  Me, I’m less interested in the when and a lot more interested in the which.  So yesterday we went straight to what I believe to be the epi-center of post –modern sufganiyot, Roladin Bakery where they are clearly leading the charge, flyers in hand.  By the way Roladin has a great website where you can see all the assorted flavors up close and also get baking tips and recipes.  www.roladin.co.il

After taking home one of each kind on the flyer - we had two votes cast for one of the “special edition” sufganiyot of the season Sweet Popcorn.  It definitely topped Steve’s and my list with it’s salty sweet combo and is worth the destination trip.  Sadly, we only had that one among us and so a return trip for another will clearly be in order.  Jake, true to form, voted for marshmallow, and Sammy went more traditional with a vote for the chocolate/chocolate.  We also tasted numerous others including – whisky caramel, pistachio cream, halvah cream, chocolate & whipped cream, chocolate champagne, and dulche de leche, to name a few. And they were all good.  Only the halvah cream (which I was the only one to try) missed the mark.

So to answer the question, is this trend here to stay and is it a good thing?  Well, best I can tell it’s not going anywhere if the scores of bakers’ trays filled with all kinds of sufganiyot are anything to tell by.  And is it a good thing?  Good thing there are eight days of Chanukah - I've got a lot of bakeries to visit.

p.s.  I’ll be reserving the right to update both my consumption count and my favorites as I make my way through the bakeries around Jersualem.

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Hold the Mayo - I’ll Have Some Tehina With That

By Laurie Moskowitz · November 28, 2010

As I was making the post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwich, using the one small jar of mayo that I have bought since I arrived in Israel many months ago, it occurred to me that my mayonnaise consumption had radically reduced in the last five months.  And I had barely noticed.

You can find mayonnaise in this country.  It’s for sale at all major grocery stores.  At Burger’s Bar, a well-known burger chain throughout Israel, one of the great appeals is all the sauces you can put on your burger, and garlic mayo and thousand island dressing are popular amongst them.  When you sit down at a classic grill restaurant and there are a variety of small salads put down in front of you, there is frequently one salad involving mayo, although it is never my favorite.

Surely something must be replacing this in my diet and it didn’t take me long to figure out that what had replaced mayonnaise as a spread on sandwiches, or in a salad dressing, and yes even in cakes and on bread in the morning, was tehina.

Tehina is made from ground sesame seeds and has a slightly nutty, sweet taste with a consistency akin to almond or sunflower butter. Generally when you use tehina in it’s raw form you will need to add water to thin it.  You’re looking for a consistency that is somewhat akin to a heavy dressing.  You want to be able to scoop it up with some bread but not have it be too runny.

The most classic use of tehina is hummus with tehina, which gives much of the hummus in Israel a very creamy consistency, but I’ve found several other favorite uses that I regularly enjoy and would encourage you to try:

Green Tehina - Green tehina is a mixture of tehina with herbs such as parsley, cilantro, and mint. Some lemon juice, salt and pepper will generally finish this off nicely.  Add garlic if you want it.  In Israel, Green Tehina is sold by the container in grocery stores, but it is extremely easy to make and I find the use of fresh herbs really makes a difference.  Green tehina can be served atop hummus, mixed with a chopped salad of cucumbers and tomatoes, or served as a stand-alone for dipping pita or other bread.

Ingredients:  
1 cup tehina paste
1/3 bunch each - parsley, cilantro, mint
1-2 cloves garlic
½ lemon
¼ cup (approximately) water
salt and pepper.

To Prepare:  
1.  Thin the tehina with water till it is a creamy consistency.  
2.  Wash and dry the herbs and remove the stems.  
3.  Chop and add to the tehina along with the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

Tehina with Silan – This one is simple but good.  Spoon some tehina into a small bowl or dish (approximately ¼ cup) and thin with water till you get a creamy consistency.  Put an equal amount of silan (date honey) into the middle and stir slightly till combined but not thoroughly mixed.  Scoop up with left-over challah or other good bread for breakfast time or whenever you need a quick pick-me-up.  You can also do this with regular honey if silan is not available.

Cabbage Salad with Asian Tahini Dressing ­­­­– This recipe has been a regular at my Shabbat table since I first tried it about two months ago and it’s a crowd pleaser.  In this case, the tehina is paired with several other Asian ingredients, giving it a creamy and sweet consistency. I’ve been using it as part of a salad course, replacing a mayo-based coleslaw, but it could easily be served as an accompaniment to a meal.   The recipe comes from Janna Gur, who is the founder of Al HaShulchan, Israel’s major gourmet magazine and she has recently wrote a book called The New Israeli Cuisine, which has quickly become one of my favorites.  Her website is terrific and I’ve included the link to this recipe here. http://www.jannagur.com/108704/Cabbage-Salad-in-Asian-Tahini-Dressing

Carrot Cake – Yes, I said Carrot Cake.  The addition of tehina to this recipe makes this cake super moist and dense. No one will ever know that there is tehina inside, which is a good thing because if I had told my husband that before he ate the cake, he never would have tried it.  Instead it got rave reviews!  I found this recipe in the book Sweet Secrets by Carine Goren, one of the best selling dessert cookbooks in Israel which has recently been published in English. Ironically Goren first found this recipe on an American website.

Ingredients:
1½ cups dark brown sugar, packed
¾ cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
¾ cup tahini
½ cup flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
5 medium-sized carrots (2 ½ cups) coarsely grated
1½ cups walnuts, roughly chopped
½ cup sesame seeds to decorate
2 loaf pans
 

To Prepare:
1.    Preheat the oven to 320 degrees F.

2.    In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar, oil and eggs to an even mixture.  Mix in the tahini paste.

3.    Add both kinds of flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice.  Mix only until combined and lump-free.

4.    Fold in the grated carrots and walnuts.

5.    Oil the baking pans and place a handful of sesame seeds  (approx 2 tablespoons) in each pan. Tilt the pan until it is evenly covered with sesame seeds.  Pour the batter ¾ of the way up the sides of the pan.  If you desire, sprinkle a generous amount of sesame seeds on top.

6.    Bake for about 45 minutes until the cakes are fragrant, spring back to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean (with moist crumbs.)

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It’s Bamba, Baby!

By Laurie Moskowitz · November 22, 2010

My kids love Bamba and Bissli.  They loved them in the states, and that love affair has not died since we arrived in Israel, where you can by lunch size packages in bulk and Bamba comes in an assortment of flavors - from chocolate filled to strawberry.  Osem, makers of all things snack-food in Israel, now even has a  caramel corn called Popco that has become a favorite in our household.  Earlier this year, when the Bissli truck was hanging out in front of the local supermarket on Emek Refaim, the kids thought it was the coolest thing ever to have their picture snapped in front of the truck.  So when we discovered, Osem has a Bamba Factory tour we couldn’t make our reservations fast enough.

Ironically Jake, our eight year, old has taken a liking to the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the Gene Wilder version of course).  And as we stood outside of the colorfully decorated factory in Holon, with the giant Bamba Baby sitting on top, we couldn’t help but feel a little bit like the golden ticket holders waiting for Willy Wonka to emerge and usher them in to the chocolate factory.

At our appointed time, we were guided into one end of the factory where there is a room with Bamba shaped pillows and small tables.  The kids took seats on the floor and our Tour Guides filled large bowls full of Bamba for munching as they proceeded to give a demonstration of what goes into Bamba and how it’s made.  Bamba is basically a puffed corn product that is coated with liquid peanut butter.  It’s definitely peanut-y and not overly sweet and if you’re a fan, fresh Bamba can be completely addictive.  I’ve also had more than one Israeli woman tell me that kids are given Bamba from the time they are babies and that’s why there are no peanut allergies in this country – but I really have no way to verify that statement.

Once the demonstration was over, and we were sufficiently stuffed full of Bamba, we made our way back along the outside of the factory and into the “Heder shel Bamba” or the "Room of Bamba."  This is clearly the lair of the “Bamba Baby” and after taking a seat in one of the rows, you are given 3-D glasses and a hair net to put on.  You are then shown a really cute 3D cartoon about how Bamba is made, featuring the Bamba Baby of course, all the while wearing the hair nets for great effect.  At the end of the movie the unthinkable happens and the Bamba Baby in the flesh (okay in costume) comes and greets all the children, dances around, and hangs out with the crowd till it is time to go tour the actual factory.

And the factory is cool.  There say there are over 500,000 bags of Bamba produced there daily and the product is shipped all over the world.  While we were there we happened to see them producing Bamba with Arabic writing.  And given that we had just watched a movie about the production, it was easy to recognize the function of different pieces of equipment in the factory.  Sorry, no pictures allowed inside the actual production area.

As the tour wraps up, each person is given a bag of Bamba and some cute toys for the kids.  The Bamba Baby was still on call for pictures and to engage the kids even more.  Osem has clearly invested a great deal in this venture, it is a big part of what they do at this particular facility, and we were totally sold - it was a big fun!  And if you thought my kids liked Bamba before, well they’re completely invested now.  In fact, one of them has decided that he is saving his bag of Bamba to bring back as a gift for his friend in the states.  He knows he can get it there – but this bag is special.

The Bamba Factory Tour is in Holon and barring a peanut allergy in the family, it’s a must do!  You must reserve your tour in advance and all tours are given in Hebrew but are easy to follow.  Our guide also happened to speak perfect English so it was easy to ask her questions along the way.   And as they say at the Bamba Factory – “Ain Ain Ain Cmo Bamba!” (loosely translated – There’s Nothing Like Bamba!).  To schedule a tour call: 03-559-3024.

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Shakshuka Worth Writing About

By Laurie Moskowitz · November 19, 2010

It’s lunchtime and I’m thinking about yesterday’s lunch, which was a shakshuka so good I need to write about it.  It all started about two weeks ago, when my friend Myra called one morning to see if I wanted to join her for shakshuka at her favorite place in the Iraqi section of the shuk (Mahane Yehuda).  I was out of town at the time but I kept thinking about it since and yesterday was my lucky day.

We met on the earlier side to avoid the crowds, and after winding our way through various alleys and vendors we came out into one of those courtyards that takes you back in time.   The first thing you notice is the dozens of men sitting around playing sheshbesh (backgammon) in sheshbesh halls, drinking tea and smoking.  They looked up once or twice while I snapped some photos but then went right back to their game.  And there, tucked into a corner, is a little tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Azura.

We got a premiere table on the covered porch right next to the window that looks into the kitchen and directly in front of the big vat of shakshuka and dozens of kube waiting to be put into soup.  

The menus are laminated in plastic and the restaurant writes the prices next to what is available each day.   We ordered two bowls of shakshuka with “shnei beitzim” (two eggs) and it was in front of us in minutes. Rich, tomatoey, garlicky and spicy.   Fresh pita helped us mop up the sauce in our bowls and it was completely and utterly satisfying.

As we were wiping the last of the shakshuka from our bowls and watching one of the cooks break new eggs into the big vat of shashuka, we noticed the line forming for tables.  Sadly, it was time to go and let someone else have the pleasure.

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