Mahane "Madhouse" Yehuda, and Pizza: part deux

I'd been hearing about this really big open air market here in town for a little while now - apparently it's a "must see" in Jerusalem. After banging my head against the brick wall that is the Jerusalem bus routes/non schedule for over an hour, I decided to hoof it the 4.4km to the Mahane Yehuda market.

The day was sunny and wonderful, and Google Maps suggested a new path for getting across town that took me down a road I hadn't traveled yet- Bethlehem road - which is a few blocks from our current apartment. It runs through the German Colony, and is brimming with cafes, shops, green grocers, and restaurants. I expect Lee and I will return to do some eating/drinking in the next week or so. (The German Colony has two main roads- Bethlehem is one of them, both are chock-full of shops/bars/cafes....good places to go hang out).

I walked past some now-familiar places along the way to the market, including the first restaurant we had dinner in, and one of the several cafes I've stopped in for coffee. When I got to the marketplace, it wasn't exactly what I'd pictured. I had imagined in my head something like a flea market or arts and crafts festival- rows of stalls set up in a parking lot or open area, with a fence or some other barrier around the outside. It actually was a series of permanent stalls, set up in rows, with canopies between the stall rows - so 'open air' was a bit of a misnomer. The goods themselves opened up into the rows, but could be put away into steel door 'closets', and some of the stalls you could walk into, and shop around inside. (I didn't take any photos this time, as I was alone, and didn't want to whip out my camera in the crowd and draw additional attention to myself. Lee and I have plans to go back together, so I'll take some then.)

The market was much like the Old City - less touristy - with spice stalls, and butchers and cheese and so many fruit/vegetable stands, and clothing and appliances and pretty much anything you can imagine wanting to buy. I walked up and down the aisles a few times, bought some Christmas presents, and stopped at a butchers to take a look at his wares. Fortunately they mostly speak English, so I was able to get the chicken thighs I wanted, and then something interesting. There was a tray of...meatstuff. Thick slices wrapped in foil, and on display. The butcher said "This, this is very good. My mother made it."

me: "What is it? It's not headcheese, is it?"
butcher (laughing) : "No. Traditional food, meat with spices, it is very delicious."
me: (being ever-experimental) "Well, I need to try it then, give me two slices."
butcher: "Good good! Put in oven 20 minutes, will come out perfect."


(Raw(?) ready to go into the oven)

So I walk out of the market with chicken, meatstuff and pressies for the folks back home. I also stopped at one of the green grocers on Bethlehem street, and bought WAY too much fresh produce - not too much for eating, but the carrying back home was brutal. Note to self: buy an old lady roller cart for market outings.

Dinner on Sunday night was....interesting. I made baked cauliflower (Lee had never had it before!), and meatstuff. Which smelled awesome- like a Mediterranean feast in one dish. It cooked up a bit like chorizo, with lots of red flavorful oils cooking out of it. It was spicy and wonderful. Lee will tell you differently ("It's a bit spicy for me, and I don't like these fat bits."), but he did manage to eat the whole serving. I would eat it again, but I am sure I'd be eating solo if I did!


(It was yummy, but I'm the one writing history here....)

The next day I get a message from Lee: I want pizza. There has to be better pizza here.

Fortunately, my friend Esther (hi Esther!) had sent a link in the comments after our last pizza disaster, detailing all the 'good' pizza in Jerusalem. We decided to give Pizza Sababa a try, as it's closest to us (in the German Colony!), and "sababa" means "cool" in Hebrew- a slang term we learned last weekend from Eyal and Amit.

I picked Lee up from work (on foot) and we trundled through the rain last night to the pizza joint. Walking in it was....not what we'd expected. It was small and too brightly lit, and was like any other pizza counter we'd seen. We decided to go through with it anyhow and, electing to skip the corn topping, decided on a mushroom and olive pizza ("You want them both together?" "Yes." "OK!"). We sat at one of the cleaner booths next to the window (me with my beer, Lee with his sensible water), and in a very quick 10 minutes, a pizza was put in front of us, with four cardboard 'plates'. Green olives! A lot of them!


(Holy olives batman! Cardboard "plate")

Pizza has been slightly redeemed. It wasn't good by our standards, but it was miles better than the cardboard Domino's we'd had last time. I suppose we'll keep trying, and I'm dying to try pizza from the curiously named Pizza Obama, which is on the walk to Lee's office, or to the Old City.


(Yes, we can!)

Today: Christmas shopping in the German Colony. I love all the little cute shops!