It is always the same question when you arrive with a low budget to unfamiliar city and you are looking to eat something in order to be full - where and what to eat?
Today, Jerusalem invites the traveler for a very rich culinary tour where you can find almost most of the main dishes from all over the world. But when it gets to money calculations there's also a solution. In the last year many small café shops and small Humus, Falafel and Shawarma (-lamb or chicken meat-) restaurants were opened in Jerusalem, giving the traveler many options where and what to eat and how to calculate his expenses. This is very important for the traveler in Jerusalem because he can plan his journey on a daily basis and decide where to eat his breakfast, lunch and dinner and how much to expend in advance.
For example, when I visited Rome I ordered coffee in Piazza Venezia and I was astonished by the price, almost 7.00 Euro! Today you can find this same coffee in Jerusalem and pay only 1.00 Euro! The culinary changes which Jerusalem faced during the last years and the global recession made some of the restaurants and coffee shops owners to reduce prices or at least to give as many options they can to the coming various travelers. Some places were opened offering the potential customers a variety of coffee and food for only 1.00 Euro. It is not only a pricing revolution but also implementation of a philosophy which claims that food shouldn't be so expensive.
You can eat Falafel, which is the traditional Israeli food, for 2.00 Euro or to have Shawarma for only 4.00 Euro. Snacks like sandwiches, salads or even Sushi are offered for only 1.00 Euro. So, if you are planning to arrive for three days to Jerusalem and you are looking to visit the most interesting sites which the city offers, choose the heart of the city as your starting point, the corner of Agripas and King George streets. You will find next to it the "King of the Falafel and Shawarma" and next to it the "Coffee like". In both places you will find variety of food and cheap prices. If you are looking to eat the famous Jerusalem Humus, you just have to cross King George road and you will find "Pinati's Humus". Agripas street will lead you back to "Mahane Yehuda" market while King George road will lead you to the "HaTachana", fun and food place where the first railway of Jerusalem used to be in the past. Those who are looking to go to the old city will go to Jaffa road and continue straight until they face the walls of the Old city.
The famous "Jerusalem Triangle" - Jaffa road, King George road and Ben-Yehuda Street - offers the traveler many options of food but also shopping. Bargaining is allowed not only in the Old city but also in the many souvenirs shops along Ben-Yehuda Street. Once there was a jock in Jerusalem: if you walk along the Triangle and collect one ward from each shop owner you will be able to construct one whole sentence in Farsi, because most of the shops owners are Jewish Iranians. Today, Jerusalem competes successfully against any other major city in the world, not only with its sites but also with the variety of food and prices which are offered. So, next time when you arrive to visit Jerusalem, don't forget to call me and ask for another "tip".