Food

Crowdfunded shnitzel without killing coming to your kitchen

August 2, 2016

Shir Friedman calls me a care-nivore. “You’re someone who cares about not harming animals…but you still eat them,” she says with a smile. Friedman wants to change all that. If Friedman’s new company takes off – and judging by the rapid response to their Indiegogo campaign, I have every expectation that it will – I […]

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The Little Bakery that Could

February 25, 2016

When the German Colony branch of Jerusalem’s Pe’er Bakery closed down last year after 43 years of operation, fans of its signature sweet whole wheat challah let out a collective kvetch: where would we go for challah now on Fridays? But Pe’er’s challah is back in the neighborhood, albeit at another establishment – the Coney […]

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Ch’aliyah: immigrating because the bread is better

May 21, 2015

Ever since making aliyah, we’ve joked that we could never leave Israel, and certainly never move out of Jerusalem…because of the challah. All that changed two weeks ago when the bakery that has been the source of perhaps the best kosher sweet whole wheat challah in the world closed down. After 43 years in business, […]

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Who Took My Bar Munchies?

March 22, 2015

Who ever heard of a bar without bar munchies? But that’s exactly what happened to us recently when my wife and I mustered up the courage to head out with friends on a cold Jerusalem night to check out Gatsby’s, a much talked about new cocktail lounge in downtown Jerusalem. The first thing to know […]

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Watching The Clock at the Wine Festival

August 7, 2013

One of the highlights of the local summer scene, the Israel Wine Festival, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. My wife and I – along with many thousands of visitors from around the country – anxiously watch the clock waiting for the week when we can descend upon the Israel Museum in Jerusalem to sample some of Israel’s best […]

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Lining up for the FoodTrip

July 30, 2013

We came for the food but stayed for the line – that magnificent, long and winding, eager and utterly un-Israeli orderly line that was so unexpected the program’s organizer felt compelled to break into the music, take the mic and comment on its very existence. The food and the line were both part of this […]

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Musty Smell, Fine Food

April 14, 2013

I’m not sure if the oddly wafting odor of mold, or was that mildew, emanating from the walls of Racha, a funky restaurant in the center of Jerusalem specializing in Georgian food (the country, not the U.S. state), was intended to be part of the experience. Perhaps the smell was meant to evoke memories of […]

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Falafel Ovadia Patriarch Passes Away

April 10, 2013

Ovadia Ched died recently. Most residents of southern Jerusalem have felt his impact – even if they never met the man himself – in their stomachs. Ched was the owner of the eponymous felafel stand that has stood on Bethlehem Road in Baka for nearly 40 years. Ched was 82 when he died after a […]

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The Fattest Holiday of Them All? Purim, Pesach, Shavuot or Hanukah?

February 28, 2013

Purim may now be behind us, but some of the sweets still remain. The holiday, which is officially about retelling the story of how the Jews were almost annihilated in ancient Persia, is perhaps best remembered going forward by one’s increased belly size after partaking of one too many hamentaschen – the classic triangular-shaped Purim cookie Ah, […]

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Bagels, Politics and Personal Ownership, Here and There

November 7, 2012

While all eyes today have understandably been focused on the U.S. elections, sometimes it’s the little things that are elevated to true shmooze status. And for fast foodies in Jerusalem last week, it was the closing of Tal Bagels on Emek Refaim. Let’s face it, no matter who’s president, you still have to eat bagels…at least a […]

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