When life gives you Yemens make Yemen-aid

Eating has always been the pinnacle of enjoyment for Dylan Stein. Eating good food is an essential and indispensable part of Dylan's life. Living as a student, unfortunately, prevented his culinary adventures from being as lavish as he would have hoped and he had to ask himself, " How can I stretch each dollar? He finds himself again in Tel Aviv asking himself the same question and he's finding the places to eat that will make his stomach AND wallet happy... The Hungry Canadian is happy to share these thrifty and delicious finds with us... Welcome to "Cheap Eats Tel Aviv"

Walking into the Yemenite quarter in Tel Aviv is akin to walking though rip in the space-time continuum. On one side, bustling Allenby street with normal two way traffic, ATM machines and neon signs. Turning off Allenby –through the void— You will find yourself wondering if you have landed in the early 20^th century. These narrow winding narrow lanes gives one a somewhat eerie feeling of inner calm and quiet.

It is a pleasure to simply wander (and by wander I mean get lost) in the Yemenite district. The sights, smells and sounds are a distinctly different part of Tel Aviv. On thing worth mentioning is rehhov Yom Tov, which is just on street over from Hacarmel. This is small extension of the shook you have probably never been to and this ‘ shuk junior’ boasts much cheaper prices on meat.

There are many intriguing ‘hole in the wall’ type places that you can sample in the Yemenite district. Here are two that I tried:

Just a few streets over from the Shuk one can find Erez (24 Nahiel).

This place hooks you up with two types of dips: eggplant garlic dip and halbe. They also keep a steady flow of free pita (be careful not to fill up). I went with a lunch special that was a choice of two skewers and three sides.

( Three Sides)

The pargit, which is young chicken, was bomb.

There was also a home cooked section and a desert section on the menu. Overall an excellent place for a lunchtime grub out.

If you are in the mood for soup head to Rina and Zcharia (22 Hakovshim)

The place was packed and every one had a bowl of soup in from of them.

We Started off with three types of Yemenite bread ( some of it bigger than your head) and halbe

(Bigger than head)

I went with the meat soup and my companions went with the chicken...

but if you are feeling adventurous…

The highlight was the owner, Zcharia, who made a lot of jokes in Hebrew that we did not understand and gave us some almonds and raisins from his own personal stash.

(Zcharia in middle)

Go get lost in the Yemenite quarter.

Chew Cheaply and Smile On.