There’s a food revolution going on at Jerusalem’s central market, Machane Yehudah. These days, sellers hawking their produce are cushioned by cafés, pubs, French bakeries, gourmet cheese counters and even jewelry boutiques. It’s a perfect way to spend your mid-morning. Have a wander, stock up on goodies for dinner, and then pop into one of the restaurants for a coffee or fresh lunch.
At Tzidikayhu, the left side (both in this picture and walking toward Agrippas Street) is all things fish – marinated herring, smoked mackerel, and lox salad. Vis a vis is his salad and appetizers stand, chock full of marinated olives, dips, stuffed cabbage and vine leaves, and salads dressed with fresh lemon rind.
Cafés such as Mizrahi (above left) use the market’s daily produce to create a light, fresh Mediterranean menu. A salad I tried – and then returned to have once more on a later occasion – is called the Ya Ya salad, with arugula, beetroot, apple, cranberries, roasted sweet potatoes, and…and…I can’t even recall the many other ingredients! Their baguette comes from an incredible bakery next door.
Pereg is known the world round for its North African spices and their unique rices and salad mixes, made up of nuts, herbs, spices and dried fruit.
Bordering the back side of the shuk, on Agrippas Street itself, is the famed Marzipan bakery, renowned for their to-die-for rugelach. To my knowledge, no one’s really sure what their secret ingredient is. But gooey cinnamony or chocolatey loveliness like this isn’t to be missed!
