Jerusalem may be known for its Old City, political machinations and religious strife, but among Israelis, it is also said to have the best outdoor food market in the country.

Since 1928, Machane Yehuda has been the city’s destination outdoor food market. You can buy anything from dishware to diapers, pitas to peppers, halva to challah. Machane Yehuda is where the city’s ultra Orthodox nudge up against their secular peers, where tourists bump into a local sect of nuns doing their weekly shopping and where soldiers stop in for a snack on their way home. It’s the meeting place for all Jerusalemites and any visitor.

In recent years, the shuk, as it’s known in common parlance, has become an even hipper destination for locals and tourists. Following the uncertain times of the second intifada, many shoppers stayed away from Machane Yehuda, creating an economic dilemma for the stall owners. The shuk’s managers decided to up the ante, renovating its overall look and encouraging owners to open different kinds of businesses, including cafes, boutiques and higher-end stalls. For the first time, you could have a supremely fine cappuccino and brioche before shopping for cucumbers and tomatoes, while taking a peek at some Israeli designed clothing and picking up a bottle of local boutique wine. The shuk has changed, but for the good, and the locals have been flooding back.

If you’re planning a visit to Machane Yehuda, plan your shuk itinerary according to the day of the week and the vagaries of your appetite. A morning visit means breakfast at Café Mizrachi for their crisp and buttery croissants served with homemade jam or their sumptuous brioche –filled with creamy ricotta cheese and golden raisins. Energize with a strong cup of cappuccino and you’re ready for some shopping.

If you’re a cook, enjoy the abundance – from fresh fruits in season to vegetables piled up in attractive heaps, with big green bundles of herbs and fragrant olive oil in abundance, you’ll find everything you need for the perfect meal. Keep in mind that when it’s not in season, you won’t find it - enjoy what it means to buy locally grown produce and specialty seasonal items such as young, green almonds in the spring, bright red strawberries in the winter and uncured olives in the fall.

Snack time? Israelis take their nuts and dried fruits seriously – stop in at Moreno’s, and pick up a bag of plump, medjool dates, fresh-roasted sunflower seeds or a bag of Jerusalem peanuts, soaked in a crunchy coating.

By now, you’ve gotten a lay of the land – two main shopping avenues, one covered and one a wide-open street, lined with stalls and shops (as well as an Aroma outlet, a much-debated addition to the market). The shuk is bordered by Agrippas Street on one side and Jaffa Street on the other. Follow the noise in the outside part of the shuk and find yourself in the Iraqi market, established in pre-state times and home to traders from the Fertile Crescent, where Palestinian shopkeepers first set up their stalls in the 19th century and did business with the Jews from the nearby Nachlaot neighborhood.

Agrippas is home to a variety of dry goods stores selling household goods, clothing and food, as well as simple restaurants famed for their down home fare of grilled meats, salads and all manner of stuffed vegetables. Sami’s, Sima’s and Ima’s are a trio of family run eateries and Hatzot, a sidewalk stand, is best after a late night spent in the nearby bars and hangouts in the neighborhood surrounding the shuk. Within the shuk’s borders, consider a meal of supreme perfection at local institution Rahamu, where you’ll wallow in a bowl of steaming, kubbeh soup - a Kurdish specialty – reveling in the semolina, meat-stuffed dumplings floating in either a red or slightly sour, green broth.

The two main streets of the shuk are bisected and trisected by a host of smaller lanes and pathways. Keep your eyes open as you pass the fishmongers and butchers, chef’s knives at the ready to dissect fresh hunks of fish and meat. Offal is king in Jerusalem, where the city has a dish named after her – Jerusalem mixed grill -- a tasty sauté of innards that should be eaten without asking too many questions about what makes up the mix. Stop in at the aforementioned Ima’s at the bottom of Agrippas for what many consider to be the ultimate version of this dish, and don’t bother asking for the recipe, it’s a state secret.

On Fridays, Shabbat eve, there are bees buzzing lazily around the honey-coated challahs and yeast-dough pastries filled with sweetened poppy seeds, chocolate or cinnamon. Sweet challah is a Jerusalem specialty and really more cake than bread. Consider buying some stuffed ‘cigars’, tubes of meat-filled, fried dough, and a trio of salads for dipping – a zucchini-based chopped liver and Turkish salad, a tomato-and-pepper mash, are popular options. Once you’ve noshed enough, finish up with a bracing glass of etrog or citron juice. Whatever your ailment and by now, indigestion, Uzi-Eli Chezi, the etrog man will recommend something fresh to settle your stomach , calm your nerves and energize you for the way home.

WHERE TO GO:
For a great cup of cappuccino, Café Mizrachi, 10 Shezif Street, second aisle on the left off the covered part of the shuk, when entering from Agrippas.

Make a cheese find at Basher Melech Hasalatim V’Hagvinot, 53 Etz Hayim Street (the main drag of the shuk), 02-625-7969.

Try the boutique experience at HaEgoz, a firmly offbeat boutique offering a range of Israeli designs in clothing, accessories and small items for the home.
HaEgoz, 30 HaEgoz Street, 02-623-2467.

Pick up some art at Agrippas 12, a cooperative gallery of 15 artists, housed in a renovated apartment.
Agrippas 12, turn onto Harav Haim Elboher Alley from Agrippas, enter courtyard and turn right, up flight of stairs; 02-623-3257, open Sunday – Thursday, 4:30 pm – 7:30 pm; Friday – Saturday, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm.

Sidle up to the street side counter of Steakiyat Hatzot for a serving of specially seasoned grilled chicken stuffed in a pita.
Near 127 Agrippas Street, kosher.

Stop in at Rosa, for a beer accompanied by live music, DJ sets and art exhibitions from local artists. An alternative hangout for the young and the restless.
2 Dekel Street, off Agrippas, 02-623-6318, open every night except Friday from 8:00 pm until the last beer is served.

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