Other varieties: spinach 31 Keren Kayemet Street and 26 Halamed Heh StreetPinati: B+ Only is Israel is a nationwide chain restaurant also a venerable historical institution. Pinati – which now has almost 20 locations – has been serving up local comfort food for almost 40 years. It dishes up a portion of shakshuka with a thick spicy sauce, with a texture reminiscent of matbuha, surrounding a nicely cooked egg and a bit.The sauce had huge pieces of garlic in, and though they’d been cooked long enough to be tender, the flavor overall was a little too strong. It certainly receives the best-value-for-money award, and is served with pita bread and pickles.NIS 20 Eight locations in JerusalemItzik’s Place: BI’m the kind of person who likes to have her cake and eat it too. So since one of the shakshuka options at Itzik’s Place is half-and-half – half tomato and half spinach – I jumped at the chance. The spinach half wasn’t particularly inspiring – mostly raw spinach leaves topped with globs of mozzarella. The tomato part of the dish had a sauce with big junks that was the slightest bit watery.The eggs were fairly well cooked, with one very small raw spot. Served with bread and salad.
NIS 38 Other varieties: spinach, half-and-half and balkan33 Bethlehem RoadAzura: B Tucked at one end of the Iraqi shuk in Mahaneh Yehuda, Azura is a refuge for the hard-working lunchtime crowd, with its hearty traditional Middle Eastern fare. I was warned before ordering that the shakshuka was spicy, and they were not wrong. But the heat was just on the bearable side, even for my decidedly Ashkenazi palate. The sauce is richly flavored, but fairly swimming in oil, and the eggs were a touch overdone. Served with pita bread and pickles.NIS 254 Ha’eshkol Street (up the narrow stairway)Shakshukia: CWhen you dine at a restaurant that only serves one food (and is named for it), the hope is that it knows how to perfect that one dish. But at Shakshukia – which is what the Lion’s Den bar has turned into during the day for the past three months – this is not the case.Though the dish arrived looking picture perfect, the eggs were mostly raw. I don’t have a problem with runny yolks – but raw whites, not so much.When I sent it back, they simply recooked the version I’d poked through – but not that well – instead of providing a new one.Once I convinced myself to eat it, I was turned off by the huge pieces of barely-cooked garlic dotting the sauce, which was fairly thick and hearty. Though the dish, bread and pickles is a fairly good deal, I’d rather take my money elsewhere.NIS 20 Other varieties: spicy, mushroom and hot dog5 Yoel Salomon StreetNext month I’ll be taking to the streets and tasting Belgian waffles around the capital. Have a favorite in Jerusalem? Let me know at triedandtastedjpost@ gmail.com.