Best Sandwich Deal in Jerusalem, NS10

I'm always looking for a good deal for quick and inexpensive lunches. Recently I saw that a new place at 42 Jaffa Street, Coney Island Bakery, the lightrail stop, sells their "ready-made" sandwiches for only ns10 and sandwiches to order for ns15. The roll is standard size, and there was enough filling (I had tuna) to eat and feel satisfied. There's lots more than double the amount of filling in the sandwiches as you get in those five shekel stores/kiosks, which are all over Jerusalem now. Yes, you really get much more food than you'd get buying two 5 shekel sandwiches. 

The only problem was that there are times when they're all out of readymades, and then you can design your own for ns15. Maybe next time I will design my own with more salad etc. When I got there, there was only one, which luckily for me was the tuna I had been craving. But fifteen shekel isn't much for a sandwich either. I'm pretty sure that they also have larger rolls for those who want a heartier sandwich, but I got there during the busy lunchtime when there wasn't the large display and choice I had seen out the week before.

Coney Island is more than just a sandwich place. The management has promised to invite me over sometime to sample the real food they offer, too. And they do catering and have yummy-looking New York style desserts. This visit was as a regular customer. I was in a rush between Matan and work.

Phone 02 940 0008 Avi@coneyisland.co.il 054-569-6135
Sun-Thurs 6:30AM-11:00PM Sat: 1 hour after Shabbat ends -11:00PM

"Italian Salad" at Jerusalem's Iconic "Cafe Rimon"

I asked that they "hold the croutons," which made the salad better as far as I'm concerned. 

This week a friend and I met at what may be the oldest, open since 1953, Jerusalem restaurant still going strong, Cafe Rimon.  Over the years, the Rimon has gone from dairy to meat and now has two, one of each, side by side, just off of Zion Square, Jerusalem.

It was recently (at least since my last visit a couple of years ago) redecorated and now has a handicapped WC (toilet) on the main floor. Rimon looks incredibly modern now. It's open every day except Shabbat, closing an hour before and opening an hour after. You can get a 10% discount from Eluna.

I was in the mood for a salad and also didn't want to pay too much. I took the "Italian Salad" from the long list of NS49 lunch specials and requested that it be without croutons. There was lots of pesto, which I love, and it was very filling. I didn't even touch the tempting rolls which accompanied it.

My friend and I sat in a quiet corner inside, outstaying the other lunch customers. We weren't nudged to leave by the staff. By the time we left, "lunch hour" was long over. For those who like the ambiance of outdoor cafe eating, there are lots of tables where you can watch the foot traffic in downtown Jerusalem.

It's obvious the the owners are trying hard to have "Cafe Rimon" live forever.

4 Luntz St, Jerusalem Tel: 1-599-50-10-30; 02-625-2772; 02-624-3746 Kashrut: Mehadrin Badatz Yerushalayim

Open Sunday - Thursday: 24 hours. Friday: until one hour before Shabbat. Motzai Shabbat: from one hour after Shabbat. Closed Shabbat.

Downtown Jerusalem, Like a Pedestrian Wonderland

When the Jerusalem Light Rail was being planned and constructed, everyone was so inconvenienced and pessimistic about it. It was clear to all that it would be a disaster and a deadly one, Gd forbid. Statistics from other cities were bandied about, and we expected quite a few deaths each year from careless pedestrians and distracted train drivers.

Amazingly, bli eyin haraa, Jerusalemites have taken very well to the trains and the tracks, which are empty most of the time. And, as you can see in the picture, Jaffa Road fills with pedestrians, cyclist etc when there's no train to be seen. And the trains are equipped with loud horns to convincly urge everyone out of the way when necessary.

For those of us who have always gone to the downtown  Jerusalem "triangle*," we are enjoying the new reality. The air is much clearer without the bus fumes and other pollutants. We've learned how to get our tickets and pay for the train rides. It's hard to remember what Jerusalem was like just a few years ago before the train...  Yes, very much like how only a few of us oldtimers remember when there was vehicular traffic on Ben-Yehuda Street, even taxi stands.

Things change. Yes, that's life.

*the "triangle" is the area between Jaffa Road, Ben-Yehuda Street and King George Avenue, which forms a triangle.

Culture in Jerusalem, Painting Exhibit

My friend Ellen Lapidus Stern  gave me a call before Passover that she was opening an exhibit of her paintings in Jerusalem, on 45 Emek Refaim Street. I promised to make a great effort to get to see it, and today I did go.

The exhibition is open everyday from 8:30-9pm and is closing on May  10.

It was wonderful seeing her paintings up on those walls in the old building. In some ways the well-worn walls were the perfect backdrop for Lapidus's art.

I hope you can get there to see all her meaningful and beautiful paintings. Yes, they are for sale.

Here are some photos of the paintings. All of the photos here in this post were taken by me, Batya Medad.