This restaurant, one of the best and most affordable in Jerusalem, can be found where the Via Dolorosa and Al Wad Road meet. It’s famous for hummus (mashed, seasoned chickpeas eaten with pita bread) that is so spectacular that in more tranquil times, people in Jordan used to send out for it in insulated ice chests, and lines of Israelis waited for tables on Saturday afternoons. This is a bring-your-own-napkins kind of restaurant, and the Formica tables may be cracked and broken, but the hummus has been written up in periodicals ranging from the New York Times and Condé Nast Traveler to Playboy magazine.
Try your hummus with whole chickpeas in olive oil, or with brown beans (called fool), or with roasted pine nuts (my favorite) and be sure to ask for the pita bread to be served hot (included in the price). I like to order a small plate of chopped salad and mix it in with the hummus; falafel here is fresh and spicy. In 1999, Abu Shukri began to add meat to its menu — you can get excellent grilled kabobs, shwarma, and kubbeh (cracked wheat dumplings stuffed with meat). Mint tea is a good beverage choice.