Caffit
Menu:
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Best choice for non-hotel breakfast!
First, an important history on Israeli breakfasts:
Israel started as a working class country. The early pioneers who settled the land and worked on kibbutz would pride themselves on working 16 hour days planting crops in the field and plowing with a tractor and preparing irrigation pipes. To head out in the heat and work the long, hard hours, we need a big, full breakfast. Workers would then come in for a large lunch, a siesta to break the heat and offer some rest and relaxation, and a few more hours of work with a small dinner to cap off the day.
Today, the Israeli people have morphed into a start up nation that logs onto our work, luckily the ethic of the robust breakfast in Israel is here to stay.
My mantra has always been that breakfast is one fo the 6 most important meals of the day. I would argue, few know how to start that process better than Caffit.
Caffit has a few locations, but their flagship and best run location is in the heart of the German Colony on Emek Refaim Street. While technically open for lunch and dinner too – and often hopping for both of those meals – the breakfast at Caffit is hard to beat, if you are not staying at a five star hotel.
The Caffit breakfast, as it is called, is the signature meal for before mid day. A smattering of cheeses, spreads including pesto and mashed artichoke with baked garlic (this is AMAZING), granola and fruit and more is served with a small bakery of mixed breads and muffins. The options are bountiful but, not overwhelming as to get you sick from trying all of them or get you sick from having to waste too many. This dish also comes with eggs of choice, a cold and hot drink. Do not forget to try the fresh squeezed-on-premises carrot juice!
If you are eager to veer from the Caffit breakfast – try the Green Eggs, called in Hebrew, Shakshuka Yeruka. It is a variation on the traditional Shakhsuka eggs in tomato and onion ragout that pervade the Middle East. This one has eggs, bok choy, spinach, cream and cheese, poached in a deep frying pan and served simmering. Not advisable for the lactose challenged or those counting calories but, unforgettably delicious!
Caffit in the botanical gardens of Jerusalem has spectacular views and is a serene surrounding, though the service at that location is less than the other locations. The food is equally as good and the views compensate for waiting for the missing parts of the order.
If you are not tethered to an included-hotel breakfast – Caffit is the ideal place to start your day!
