Stekiat Tzidkiyahu

Feeling hungry?
Then you need to check out Stekiyat Tzidikyahu.

Located near Talpiyot this place is a must do if you are in Jerusalem. My favorite thing to oder is their meal that comes with two skewers of a meat. I'm a big fan of the Kabob and the Chicken Breast skewers, but I've not heard anyone complain about the flavor of the food.

With your meal comes stacks upon stacks of salads and Laffa Bread. Usually we order a side of Hummus for good measure. I say you need to bring your appetite because the salads are bottomless. The servers continue to bring you more salads until it looks like you're done eating. The salads are incredible. There is a very acidic greens salad, cole slaw, tahini, babaganush, eggplant something or other, carrots, french fries and other salads that I don't even know what they are, but they taste really good!

For under 100 shekels per person, you get so much food and it is really really tasty. I would suppose that for a meat lover, you will really enjoy the experience.

To make the place even better, the server/host that has helped us every time I've eaten there is hilarious. He has a great attitude, and he is really friendly. He took pictures for us, cracked jokes and gave us a really hard time. But it was all in good fun.

Seriously, this place is awesome. Although slightly on the pricey side for a plate, it is absolutely worth it.

Restobar

There are some very confusing intersections in Jerusalem and about 9 minutes away from my house is one of the craziest intersections I've seen. Azza, Rambam, Balfour, Ramban, King George V, Karen HaYesod and Gershon Agron all meet together within 50 feet of each other (not to mention the square that sits in the middle of all of that). So I can't really tell you where Restobar is, but if you can find that intersection, it's pretty hard to miss from there. I think it's officially on Azza... meh.

You need to know this because if you're in Jerusalem on Shabbat and want to go to a restaurant, this is one of the few places that I know are open. Aside from an interesting atmosphere, there is nothing THAT special about place. The food is really tasty, and there is a good variety.

I really enjoyed the hamburger I ate there. They grind their beef in house, so I felt comfortable asking them to cook it medium instead of medium well. Their salads are good and I had an awesome dessert while Kaitlin was here visiting me.

The prices are a little on the high side, but nothing outrageous for the taste of the food. What really like is the layout of the restaurant. It's a combination bar and restaurant (hence the name) and more often than not, I've eaten at the bar. And it doesn't feel like you're sitting at a dive-bar, it just works.

There are some really fun, engaging staff and some that are all business. If you're looking for a change and somewhere nice-ish to sit down, check out Restobar. But especially on shabbat, call for a reservation.

Between Azza To Berlin/Bein Azza L'Berlin

There is a little restaurant on the corner of Azza and Berlin. I've been walking past it just about every day since the day I moved into this apartment. Yet until last week I had never stopped there. Kaitlin and I got back from Sinai later than we wanted to because there was a terrible traffic accident about twenty minutes from Jerusalem. We needed to eat quickly and we walked the less than a minute to eat some dinner.

The hummus was smooth. This wasn't something that I anticipated because I normally like my hummus with some chunks and the texture was off a little from what I liked. The flavor was amazing. Not quite as good as Ben Sira Hummus but the location is unbeatable for me. Literally on the walk from my apartment to anywhere except the grocery store.

I really liked their pita. It made up for the texture that I didn't like in the hummus. It was warm, fluffy and soft. Fluffier than I have ever had before, it was fantastic. Another redeeming quality to the restaurant is the falafel we ordered with our hummus was a complete shock. I thought it would be good, but there is still nothing better than freshly fried falafel and the balls they make are incredible.

I wish there were a few more than the three we got with our hummus, and maybe next time I can order a full falafel from them. It was a very good place to eat, especially if you're in my area. But if you're not down in K'riyat Sh'muel, it's not worth a long trek. If you're near by, you need to stop in.

Babette

"על נהרות בבט, שם ישבנו ושתינו
(On the rivers of Babette, there we sat and drank)" ~ Sign on the wall of Babette

Near Ben Yehudah street, on Shammai, if you are not careful, you could walk right past this tiny little hole in the wall. That would be a shame. Once you locate Babettes, you might need to shove your way through the door, especially in the winter when the door is closed. If you manage to get inside, you'll need to work your way towards the counter by fighting through the crowd around the tables and chairs that line the back and side wall.

What is your reward for getting through the craziness?

There are very few things you can order at Babette. Your choices include some coffee/espresso, other soft drinks, and waffles. But this is no breakfast place, oh no. Oh no. In Israel waffles are a dessert item because you not only get a waffle, but you also get any amount of sweets poured on the top. My personal favorite is to have butterscotch on top of whipped cream. Some of my friends like to get bananas and chocolate, or any great variety of toppings.

I was surprised to hear about waffles for dessert, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Waffles are a lot like a cake, especially when they are dripping with dulche de leche sauce. It is worth the walk slightly off the beaten path of Ben Yehudah towards towards Shammai, but be ready with some napkins, they can get really messy.

The food is not the only reason to stop in to Babette. The staff there are great! They are all really friendly and it's always fun to watch them interact with the customers. I wish my Hebrew was better than it is so I could join in with the joking. Alas, it's not and there's nothing I can do about it.

If you have the chance, pop in for a dessert. If you are going to be in Jerusalem for a long period of time, they have a "club card" that gets you a free waffle after you buy nine. They won't tell you about it, but if you ask for it, they will grab one for you.

Sushi Rehavia

Derekch Azza is just outside of the neighborhood Rehavia. I think it is actually the border between Rehavia and the neighborhood I live in, Kriat Shmuel. On Azza is a sushi place, called Sushi Rehavia. I know it's an inventive name.

I wish I had some pictures to show you, because when I moved in here there was one location on Azza (as well as a few others throughout the city). Next door to this location there was a building under construction with a sign saying that Sushi Rehavia would be coming soon. A little while back, the old location locked it's doors and the tables were picked up and moved next door to the new Sushi Rehavia in Rehavia.

Last week I went with my friend Dusty to get a little sushi.

The "patio" section was a little chilly, even with the large torches they have set up, so we sat inside, near the sushi bar and fish tanks they have. We both ordered the same entrée, salmon sushi sandwiches. I had never had a sushi sandwich before coming to Israel and I can't quite figure out how to eat them. They are these little sandwich halves of sushi. Since they are about four bites worth, at least, you can't stuff the entire thing in your mouth. But they're not as held together as a sushi roll, so they tend to fall completely apart after the first or second bite.

That doesn't affect the taste. They have good fish at Rehavia. At some of the other places, the sushi is sometimes a little crunchy, leading me to think it's kept a little too cold. Here it was really good. Very flavorful. I really like the presentation too. Your sushi comes on a wood plank that looks like a little table.

In addition to the sandwich I ordered, I got a mushroom roll. I thought it was going to be fish with mushrooms, but I guess it was just sliced mushrooms in rice with a seaweed wrap. The mushrooms were really good, but not exactly what I was expecting.

Neither of us was in the mood for desert, but I was excited to see what looked like a molten-chocolate cake. It made me think of my little brother (he learned how to make those last summer). Jake, I'm expecting to have one of those shortly after I get home.

There are three locations that I know for Sushi Rehavia. I had a good experience there. Nothing extraordinary, but pretty darn good.

Mamilla Deli

Very close to HUC, on Shlomitziyon HaMalkah, is a great place to grab lunch, Mamilla Deli. Get the image of a New York Deli out of your head, this is still Jerusalem.

Unlike other experiences I've had in Jerusalem, the customer service here is great! The guy behind the counter the last two times I've been there is in a good mood, very friendly and jokes around. When I was ordering my sandwich, I asked which sauces they had. He responded, "You can't read?" and pointed, with his knife, to the board behind him that listed their sauces.

Chili Sauce and BBQ Sauce on my sandwich was fantastic. Along with that, I added some garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, onions and mixed greens. Yum! For a few shekels more, I got fries and a drink. Nothing too special going on there. But one of my friends ordered these crispy potato things. They were interesting. Little chunks of potato that were battered. Interesting...

The first time I went there, we went for their wings. Yep, that's right. A deli that makes wings. Our wine-infused sauce was great. I hadn't thought of sweet-wine wings. The only issue is that they take a little while to make, so you have to have some time that you are willing to spend waiting for them. But if you have the time it's worth the wait.

I don't have too much else to say, it's a solid restaurant a few blocks away from school and is a nice change of pace from the sandwiches at Beit Shmuel (the cafe in the hotel attached to HUC), or the Moadon at school. It's a good, quiet place to have a lunch and talk, or maybe to even do some homework.

B'tayavon,

Ben Sira Hummus

Located on Rechov Ben Sira, near Mamilla, there is a little hole in the wall hummus shop, appropriately named Ben Sira.

There aren't many seats in the restaurant, a few at the bar and a couple of tables with a few tables outside, until the weather gets bad. When you walk in you can smell the hummus and falafel and it smells great!

One of my favorite things about the hummus is that it comes to you still a little warm and the bring you warm pita, pickles, onions and tomatoes on the side. The texture is perfect. They serve a smooth, creamy hummus that has some whole chick peas on the top as well. At a very reasonable cost, you can also get a fresh side of Salat Israeli.

Not only that, but the meal also includes a few falafel balls. The most recent time I ate at Ben Sira, it took me a while to get to the falafel, so it was a little cold. The taste was still great though. Crunchy but not flakey, with a good mixture of seasoning.

You might be asking, "What is so exceptional about the hummus here?"

Well, aside from the hummus itself being very tasty and smooth, they put various toppings on the hummus. I have only ever had their Hummus Basar (Hummus with Meat). They take ground beef and brown it on a griddle. Then put it on top of the hummus adding another texture to the hummus. Off the top of my head, I know they have a mushroom one that is really good, so I've been told. Unfortunately I do not remember what some of the other ones are.

In the end, you get way too much food for just one person. Yeah, it is possible to finish off a bowl of it yourself. Or you can get the food lakakchat (to take away), and it keeps really well for a day or two. Instead, I like to bring a friend. Hummus and a salad is more than enough for a light lunch and it tastes fantastic! If you're headed towards Mamilla, headed in the direction of Ben Yehuda, or even making your way towards Yamin Moshe, Ben Sira is a good place to stop in for lunch. However, get your "Israeli attitude" ready. When it's busy, the space is cramped and you need to make it to the front to be served.

It's absolutely worth it.

B'tayavon,

Tsunami

I was in the mood for sushi tonight. Actually, I've been in the mood for sushi for a week or two. So tonight when some of my friends asked if I wanted to join them for all you can eat sushi for 90 sheck, I was all-in on that.

I have to say that the sushi at Tsunami was pretty, pretty good. In no way, shape or form am I a sushi snob or aficionado. But I love to eat it. Since it was all you can eat I ordered four of five rolls. I don't remember what they all were. I remember there was a Rainbow Salmon Roll that was decent. I like avocado, but wasn't a big fan of the strips of avocado that were on top of the rice, next to the salmon. It was interesting, but not my favorite.

Spicy Tuna and Spicy Salmon are always good standby choices. I was really happy with those two. The Spicy Tuna Roll was interesting because the rice was crispy, not fried like the last roll I will get to, but crispy. It was a good idea, and I really liked it.

The last roll I had was a Hot Salmon Roll. It was hot because the fish was cooked very quickly in a tempura. Although the Salmon was a little more cooked than I would have liked, but I'm not going to complain about that. It was a good change of pace as a third roll into dinner.

The deal is only available on Tuesday nights and right now I feel like I'm growing gills. I'm THAT full of fish. I have no idea what their prices run every night, but if you're looking for a spot to get some Kosher Sushi, stop by Tsunami. I don't actually know what street it is on. I think it's on Shlomitziyon HaMalkah or maybe it's Ben Sira. If you're standing at the Mamilla Mall on David HaMelech, you can almost see the restaurant from there. It's right next to the "W. Bush Plaza".

Sorry I can't give better directions right now.

Mitudellah

Yes, it is November. Yes I am going to write about Ice Cream. I do realize that my friends and family back in the USA are sitting in freezing weather. But here it is still warm enough to get ice cream on the way home, when the sun is still out.

There is this little shop that is, as you can guess, on my way home from school. There really are a lot of restaurants nearby. They sell frozen yogurt and ice cream. I have to admit, I haven't had their ice cream, but I have grabbed some frozen yogurt way to many times on the way home from school.

Being slightly sour, which mixes really well with sweet toppings. Oh geeze do they have sweet toppings. On your cup of frozen yogurt, you can put up to four toppings. Between gummies, all types of chocolate and other candies. They also have fruits, nuts and many other things. I will say, there is nothing too special about the food.

It is a cute little place though. A nice seating area outside that blends into the coffee shop next door. There is one thing that makes this place really unique. On the Azza side of the restaurant, there is an open section of wall that has a counter. Instead of having seats or stools, there are swings! Yep, that's right, swings that you sit on and eat your ice cream.

This is a nice little shop and a place you should stop at if you're nearby. I wouldn't make a trip across the world for it, but if you're in the neighborhood, stop in.

Cafe Yehoshuah

Sorry, no picture this time. My camera is broken and I can't take any pictures for a while...

On Derekch Azza (Gaza Street), there is a restaurant that I have been walking past for the last few months. Cafe Yehoshuah. Every morning I walk past as they have some of their fresh fruits and vegetables being delivered and when I walk home at night, it is usually full of people. Finally, I stopped in for some dinner.

For dinner I had their gnocchi in a red cheese sauce, as recommended by Marina. Tasty! The cheese sauce was creamy with a little kick, just the way I like it. I don't know if I have ever had gnocchi before, but I liked it. Not too much else to say about the meal itself. It was everything I expected.

I was intrigued by the meal that two of my friends ate. They ordered a stereotypical Israeli Breakfast for dinner. It looked really good and I decided that I needed to go back, the next day.

For lunch after attending the Israeli Rabbinic Program Ordination Ceremony I grabbed lunch and split the "double" breakfast. Yum!
The brought us eggs, bread, tahini (cilantro and regular), Israeli Salad, apples, pears, tuna salad, chicken salad, a tomato puree, and muesli. I tasted some of the muesli that my friends had ordered last night and I have to say, that's a great breakfast food. It is similar to oatmeal, but it is served sitting at the bottom of a 1.5 oz glass mixed with honey, underneath yogurt. It worked really well with the turkish coffee as a way to finish off a great lunch.

That was something that surprised me. I hadn't intended to order Turkish coffee. All I wanted was just a cup of black coffee, but apparently the english word black is the same thing as Turkish. It was a really good cup of coffee, and I'm not complaining about it in any way, shape or form. Just now what I was expecting. It was also good to have some very fresh tasting orange juice to go along with it.

Basically, what I'm trying to get at, is that Cafe Yehoshuah is a place that you need to stop at if you can. Not only is the food good, but the atmosphere is really relaxed and is a nice restaurant/coffee shop/bar. I really liked the fact that when it is nice out, there are panels in their roof that they can pull back and let the sun come in. I spent a good deal of time watching the clouds pass.

Finally, they have internet. Free internet. I think I found a spot that I will go to do some homework.

Beijing

Israelis don't know anything about Chinese food, or so that was what I have been told. Until I tried this new place that opened a short walk from my apartment, I would have agreed with you. If you're an American in Israel looking for your fix, come down Derech Azza to eat at Beijing.

The restaurant is still very new, so the servers still feel like they're smoothing out some of the bumps. I would also not recommend going on a Saturday night, after Shabbat because it takes a while for the chefs to get their cooking into high gear. Other than that the place was great!

The first thing I had was a meat, egg-roll. Very tasty. A good crispy crust that flaked apart just the way I wanted it to. Good overall mixture of all of the ingredients, although I couldn't tell you what they actually were. I added some of the sweet and sour sauce they had on the table too, not too shabby.

For a meal, I got the Beijing Chop Suey. I ordered it without the beef. When it arrived, the chef had accidentally added some too it. Yea for surprises! It was a little spicy and it was great to have an asian spice as opposed to the Mediterranean stuff that I've been having for the last three months. Well cooked noodles and a good sauce made the whole meal really solid.

If I wanted to, I probably could have saved some more of it for another day, but I was on the hungry side. Very filling, very tasty. I've satisfied my craving for asian food for a while now, and at least I know a place that is really good.

HaFalafeliyya

About a 2 minute walk from my apartment there is this little falafel shop that I've been grabbing food at since the first day I got to Israel. The first thing I like about this spot is that the owner works there almost every day. I see him sitting talking to customers, reading his paper, prepping everything. There seem to be only two or three other employees that I see working there on a regular basis. He's really friendly and almost always makes fresh falafel for you.

If I needed to rank the falafel here, I can't rank it as the best I've had, but it's really good food and you can't be the location in relation to my place. The falafel is seasoned really well. There is something spicy to the falafel itself. When you add to that the spicy sauce that I always add, it's the right level of heat for me.

The hummus is standard and the chips are pretty good as a topper. They're the best when they're fresh out of the fryer. On the whole, I'd say the falafel here is solid, but not incredible. You really can't beat the location for me and the atmosphere is very neighborhood-ish. They also added a clever sukkah for the holiday that's going on right now. Just another testament to the owner.

Timul Simshon

Since last Friday was the start of Yom Kippur, I needed to get a little grub in my stomach to hold me over for the day. My mom had mentioned checking out this place near Ben Yehudah Street called Timul Shimshon. I went with a small group of my classmates to check it out and to get a good brunch in.

The atmosphere was great. You need to duck into a dark, smelly alley, but when you walk out into the light you find a really nice outdoor patio. From what I was told, the inside is really cozy too. Apparently they let you read and buy random books off their shelves. We sat in the sun and just hung out. It was a great relaxing vibe for brunch.

I ordered their Shakshuka with spinach. They served it with a good cheese, I don't remember what it was called exactly, but it mixed with the heavy dose of tomato and eggs. I ordered it extra spicy, as I love my food. It was great! Then I started eating the shakshuka with their fresh baked bread. It crumbled so nicely, but also was firm enough to scoop up some of the "stew-ish" thing that I had.

The shakshuka came served with an Israeli Salad, which was good, but not great. I think it's getting to the end of the season that the veggies are perfect. The salad improved when I added their t'china to the mixture. The sesame added another layer to the flavor.

Initially I had some orange juice to drink, but I noticed that some of my friends had very tasty coffees. I ordered an espresso that comes with your meal. Very sweet creme on the top that finished with a smooth and slightly bitter espresso. I really liked the brunch and it was great to share with a good group of friends.

The only downside was that it made me miss Kaitllin. Brunch was something that she did a lot with her family and since I've been together with her, it's kinda become a bit of a thing to do. I can't wait to take her there this winter and I highly recommend you check it out if you're in Jerusalem.

Pizza Panini

Before I even start this blog, I will say that the pizza here is nothing like a good slice from Mesa or a from a random pizza place on a NYC corner. As far as an Israeli pizza place though, Panini is awesome! They don't use a lot of sauce on the pizzas, but they always have a bunch of random toppings on their ready to go pizzas.

Tonight I had the regular cheese and a green olive slice. They could use a little more cheese to pull out the flavor, but it's a great blend of cheeses. To go on top of their standard toppings, they have a good selection of spices that you can put on top, zatar and panini spices are some of the random ones that I've thrown on the top a few times. They also have a great spicey sauce that you can drizzle on your pizza too.

The bad part is that the place is on my way home from just about anywhere, it's on Derech Azza at the corner of Ramban, actually just a few minutes walk from my house. I actually haven't stopped there to many times, but I'm always tempted.

One of the "owners", Yaakov, is awesome! He likes to deliver to people and chat them up. He mentioned casually that he works in real estate. What a great way to check out other people's apartments, right? I think he's an ex-Pat American and he seems to like the HUC students. He was telling us one night, the night before our Ulpan final, that he had delivered to a few other study parties. I'm definitely a fan on this spot. If you come visit me, we're stopping here for sure.

Hamarosh

Since school started today, I don't know how much free time I will be having to write about random things that I'm doing. I'm not sure how exciting this whole semester is actually going to be. To spice things up a little bit I'm going to take pictures and write about some of the great places I've visited to eat. For those of you in Israel, this could be boring since you may have shown me this place or eaten there with me.

So here goes the first one;

Hamarosh



Everyone on Ben Yehudah will tell you about Moshiko and how great their falafel is. One night I was wandering the area with Brian and Marina. This guy who works at Hamarosh stopped us with three fresh falafel balls and said to try it. Wow! I don't even know how many times I've been back to this place it is fantastic.

If they are not that busy, they will give you a taste of their falafel. It's the right kind of dry with really good spices. Their Charif (spicy) is really good and is not that spicy. For you Minnesotans, this is good news.

Their T'chinah is also very flavorful and adds so much to the hummus and charif. They have a multitude of salads that affect the flavor in different ways. At this point I can't tell you what is exactly in each of them since I have a hard time remembering their hebrew names. One is a cabbage, one is like a cole slaw and there are a few others.

My personal favorite is to always add the chamutzim (pickles) towards the top so I can have them with their freshly fried cheeps (french fries). I usually get it on Laffa bread, which is like a thinner pita that wraps like a burrito. It's thicker than a burrito and costs more than if you get just a pita. I say it's worth is because I like the doughy texture of the laffa over a dried pita taste. That's just me though and the pita is pretty good too.

If you're in Jerusalem, this is the best main-stream falafel I've had from a major place. You can probably find hole in the wall stuff that's better (like the random square in the old city that I might be able to find if you gave me a day), but for your money and time's sake, check out Hamarosh. It's at the bottom of Ben Yehudah Street, near Yaffo and Kikar Tzion (Zion Square).