The Foods of Chanukkah in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
Hannukah is a great time to eat in Israel. But this is not a holiday for dieters. Plan to deny yourself calories when you get back home: Hannukah means sufganiot, delicious doughnuts filled with jam, chocolate, or a variety of gourmet fillings. You will find them in every bakery, supermarket, and outdoor stall.
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Plan to visit one of the shuks - large outdoor markets - in the late afternoon. In Jerusalem, there is Mahaneh Yehudah, a market that starts on Yaffo Street and stretches over a large part of downtown. In Tel Aviv, the famous Carmel Market on Allenby Street likewise offers fresh produce, baked goods, cheap clothing – and the funky, untidy, raucous, vivid atmosphere of the Middle East.
In either shuk, pick up some dried fruit or a luscious pastrie to munch on while you wander around. Consider bringing some of those glowing oranges or pink grapefruit back to the hotel. Or maybe one of the fruit juice stands will tempt you to a freshly-squeezed drink.
Enjoy the jostling, bustling, colorful crowd of shoppers. You'll see a myriad of people, fromEthiopians to Russians, as well as Arabs, Filipinos, Yiddish-speaking older folk, Chinese workers. A common purpose brings such diverse people together: each person is intent on taking home the best produce at the lowest price. Differences are set aside while the serious business of shopping gets done. Vendors shout their wares, folks haggle, everyone moves on.
Drift from stand to stand. You could spend hours looking and noshing. Here wooden trays display fresh pita, big, floppy Iraqi flatbreads, and stacks of light bread rings covered in sesame seeds or za'atar.
Stop in front of the spice stores, where the merchants have set out their wares in bins. Inhale – how many spices can you identify? Cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, pepper! Pick up some Hawaij for soup, or Baharat to spice meatballs. Exotic packaged spices make appreciated gifts for the cooks back home, and are not expensive.
There are many small eateries and restaurants around the outdoor markets. Most of them are clean, but if someplace doesn't look appetizing, pass it by – there will be a better one a few yards on. This lovely little eatery on a side street of the Carmel market offers Egyptian food.
Falafel and shwarma (meat grilled on an upright spit) are excellent street food. Falafel, being based on chickpeas, tehina, and salads, is a good vegetarian choice.
Can you resist bourekas? These are flaky puff pastries stuffed with mashed potatoes, cheese, spinach, or mushrooms. Some places offer bourekas split in half and stuffed with hard-boiled eggs. Ask for them to dribble a little tehina or hot sauce inside.
For your sweet tooth, nose around the displays of gorgeous baklawa pastries and blocks of hand-made halvah. And since it's Hannukah, you'll find stands selling menorahs and dreidels – Hannukah spinning tops – another good gift. (Play the dreidel game yourself, with friends, or use it as an ice-breaker at a party.)
As dark settles over the shuk, at least one vendor will clear a space next to his stand and places a menorah on it. He fishes a skullcap out of his pocket, plops it on his head, and solemnly says the blessing for lighting the Hanukkah candles, right there on the sidewalk.
Back in 167 BCE, the Syrian-Greek tyrant Antiochus ruled the Holy Land. He outlawed Jewish observance, massacred innocents, and looted the Temple in Jerusalem.
The Maccabees, a priestly family, formed a Jewish rebel army. The Jews succeeded in overthrowing Antiochus in 165 BCE. When they came to clean the Temple out, they found the sacred Menorah in the wreckage, but only one phial of consecrated oil– enough to burn only one day. It took eight days to process this special olive oil. But a miracle happened: the oil in the one phial burned eight days and nights, long enough for the new batch of oil to be prepared. That's why Hannukah is an eight-day holiday.
After your walk through the shuk, stroll through a nearby residential neighborhood. You will see menorahs glowing in many windows, quietly advertising the holiday miracles to the world. If you're lucky, you may hear a family singing the traditional "Maoz Tsur" song. And if you're hungry, wend your way to one of these shuk restaurants. They offer fresh, typically Israeli foods at popular prices.
Jerusalem
These three restaurants are all located on Agrippas Street, behind the shuk, at around No. 82. Most restaurants in Jerusalem are kosher.
Sima Restaurant. Grilled steaks, lamb chops, "Jerusalem Mix" of grilled chicken hearts and other offal on skewers, French fries, kubeh soup (kubeh are Kurdish meat dumplings), and a variety of meze salads. Choumous, tehina and pita are put on the table as a matter of course.
On the next corner is Sami Restaurant, a successful takeoff on Sima, offering much the same menu.
Hafinjan. Traditional working-man's fare of choumous, ful, and other foods served in a pitta. There are also rice and beans and meat stew. Hafinjan is popular for its big portions and low prices.
Tel Aviv/Yaffo
Dr. Shakshouka, 3 Beit Eshel St, next to the Yaffo street market. Kosher. Open every day till 1:00 PM. Closed Saturdays; open again on Saturday night. Famous for its traditional Lebanese/Moroccan folk dishes, the star of the menu here is shakshoukah: eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, with or without sausage or eggplant. Incredible décor of old-fashioned cooking pots hanging from the ceiling, plenty of atmosphere, friendly service and delicious ethnic food.
Mazzarine, 17 Gordon St., Tel Aviv. Kosher. Open Sun.-Thursday 8:00 am -11 pm. Fridays open till 6 pm. Closed Saturdays. Exquisite dairy café, serving quiches, salad, savory and sweet pastries, beautifully-made cakes.
A note for vegetarians: most meat places offer salads, fresh pitta, and choumous, or ful ve choumous – choumous with fava beans, tehina, and a chopped hard-boiled egg. In fact, ful ve-choumous is the main dish in some of the smaller eateries.
Respected Israeli food and wine critic, Daniel Rogov, has lists of restaurants worth visiting in Israel. Follow the links and print the lists out:
Eastern European Jewry brought latkehs to the Hanukkah table. Oh, those latkhes. Crisp and brown on the outside, yielding and savory on the inside. Just close your eyes and eat. Jewish soul food.
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Miriam Kresh is an American living in Israel. She has travelled throughout Latin America and lived in Brazil and Venezuela. Presently she writes, cooks, and thinks deep thoughts at home with her husband and their young daughter. Her food blog is Israeli Kitchen.
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Reader Comments (3)
Miriam has wonderful posts of food and recipes on her blog. But this post in particular is so mouth-watering. The food in Israel is special and tasty (of course, you have to know where to go), but Miriam can help show you the way.
the sufgainot look delicious. and so does the falafel! lovely article!!!
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