Everyone’s heard of Israel’s traditional fare, such as shwarma and hummus. If you’re lucky you’ve even gotten to taste some of it. But Israel’s eats have become a lot more varied as of late, and it’s not uncommon to find both new interpretations of old classics and completely exotic fusion dishes, as well. Just take a walk through Jerusalem’s popular (and my favorite) Machane Yehuda shuk, and you’ll find storefronts selling artisanal sourdough breads right next to trays of traditional loaves of challah, or bakeries offering middle-eastern baklava and representative chocolate rugelach. Both the old and the new are celebrated, which makes for a unique and delicious cuisine.
I definitely had my share of good food this trip- whether it was simple but satisfying street fare (falafel, anyone?) or a completely indulgent brunch at Luciana, replete with house-made gravlax, fresh juice, middle-eastern cheeses and the spiciest shakshuka I’ve ever tasted. Of course, sometimes it’s about the little things; slushy iced-coffees to fight the midday heat, or ice-cream topped waffles that are made all the better by being eaten at midnight.
My trip is now over and I’ve (sadly) had to get back to reality, which means waffles and croissants don’t really figure into the equation. But I still have good memories of the food we ate, so I figured I’d share a few pictures of some of the great stuff we saw and sampled.
∞ Hot-from-the-oven artisan loaves at the Machane Yehuda shuk ∞
∞ Freshly squeezed lemonade and mint, AKA Limonana, a popular Israeli drink ∞
∞ Neon candy never fails to bring out the sugar-crazed little girl in me! ∞
∞ Delicious mid-morning cappuccino from Aroma, the beloved Israeli coffee chain ∞
∞ Cheese pastries in the shuk ∞
∞ Pomegranates used for juicing into fresh fruit juice ∞
∞ Fluffy, chocolate filled doughnuts ∞
∞ Fresh dragon fruit and fruit cups in the shuk ∞
∞ My favorite Jerusalem rugelach from Marzipan Bakery. (They make a delicious hostess gift! ∞
retrolillies 
5 responses to “For The Love of Food”
You make me want to get on the first plane! It’s obviously very, very different from when my husband was there in the 70s… though he does still talk about how wonderful the fruits were.
Trust me, I want to get on the first plane back myself! The fruits in Israel are indeed wonderful- my favorite are the big baskets of figs they sell in the market for $5 that are unrivaled!
This is an amazingly beautiful post Chaya! I’ve always wanted to visit Israel, and now when I do, I’ll know exactly where to go and what to get. The last photo of the rugelach is seriously torturing me…please tell me you partook in 2, or 3, or 4…;)
Thanks so much Bonnie! Israel is a beautiful country and totally not how it is portrayed in the news! I’ve only ever had amazing experiences there. As for the rugelach, I definitely had more than 4. They were THAT good! Loved your apple cake post by the way!
everything looks yum! you make me want to go to israel and taste everything!!