UNDERGROUND GUIDE TO ISRAEL BY JANET MENDELSOHN MOSHE
Where fish and high fashion collide Going gourmet in Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market
“Horses and buggies traversed Jerusalem’s largest roadway, and an occasional camel ambled up Jaffa Road, stopping to rest while Arab por- ters unloaded fresh vegetables at the market’s entrance. Te narrow alleyways of the shuk were bustling with people jostling for nearly ripe tomatoes and unblemished cucumbers, fresh carp and even a side of beef.” Tis description portrays the open-air
Mahane Yehuda fruit and vegetable market in central Jerusalem of the 1920s, but almost a century later, the shuk has changed little. Jerusalem housewives still shop beside chefs haggling for the market’s freshest produce to be had at a bargain price, and the open-air market is still cluttered, teeming with noise and colour. Tese days the produce also in- cludes delicacies like strawberries the size of a baby’s fist, pineapple, fresh asparagus and endive. Still the pulse of Jerusalem, the Ma- hane Yehuda market is located in the city’s
centre, and there is no finer place to look for freshly roasted pistachios and exotic spice mixtures that can improve any recipe. Today, the market staples of fruit, veg-
etables and dry goods are joined by new business ventures, as well as the well-heeled, stylish Israelis who like to visit the ‘authen- tic’ sites of Jerusalem. Take for example Café Mizrachi, which is located in the middle of the market, in the middle of downtown Je- rusalem. Mahane Yehuda bisects two main thoroughfares, and shoppers oſtentimes en- ter from one direction, browse and fill their string bags and backpacks and then exit from the other way. A stop at Mizrachi’s is always convenient, and the coffee and sand- wiches are worth braving the crowds. Eli Mizrachi is a second-generation mer-
chant in the market, and he formerly served as chairman of the market’s vendors’ associa- tion. When he decided to open a café in the
middle of the market, his friends scoffed at his idea: in the middle of the intifada with buses blowing up and terrorists infiltrating crowded areas like the shuk, who had the time or presence of mind for a leisurely cup of coffee in the marketplace? Mizrachi hoped to showcase his daugh-
ter’s baked goods, and he wanted to bring traffic back to the market. Not only did his café prove to be a raging success, but many other exciting food venues have opened up in his wake. Topolino’s specialty is always a wonderfully prepared fresh fish from the market and another bakery/café offers pas- tries and borekas, while also introducing the Georgian cuisine of southern Russia. Eli Ally, a self-proclaimed “medicine man,”
sells his creams and tinctures, but his biggest crowd pleaser is a drink made from a mixture of etrog (citron fruit used during Sukkot) and gat, a leaf that is a mild intoxicant.
Mahane Yehuda marketplace is making a come- back after years of attracting restaurant chefs looking for the freshest produce of the day
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