Meorav yerushalmi (or any one of
umpteen other
transliterations,
Hebrew is a pain), literally "Mixed
Jerusalem" but
usually translated as "Jerusalem mixed grill", is the official
fast food of the
Holy City.
Descriptions of the stuff tend to sound distinctly unappetizing, as
the food consists of chopped chicken heart, liver,
spleen and other mystery meat grilled together with
a few bits of actual lamb and maybe an
onion or two. The mixture is then spiced up
(the details vary and every restaurant guards its
recipe zealously) and,
if you were wise enough to request it, slapped into a
huge chunk of fresh laffa bread. (Pita is a
poor substitute, mainly because it's not big enough!)
Top it off with a
little hummus, chips and salad,
and you have an extremely tasty and filling
snack -- nay, meal -- for peanuts. And I'm serious:
you don't have to be an offal freak like me
to enjoy this stuff, the chopping blends all the bits
together and the spices make it taste sublime.
The best place to try meorav yerushalmi is unsurprisingly Jerusalem, more
specifically Agrippas Street in the Mahane Yehuda
shopping area, where competition and sheer volume keep
prices low and quality high. Disregard scruffy
interiors and pick a place where the
locals eat (Sima is pretty dependable), and
avoid, at all costs, the touristy joints in the Old
City.