As Starbucks takes over America, and Hillel, Joe, Aroma and Arcaffe battle for control of Israel, small, independently owned cafés are becoming fewer and farther between. In Jerusalem, Gulindo, on Shammai St. 17, is bucking the trend, creating an intimate space with character. Jerusalemite recently spoke with founder and proprietor Reuven Wolaj, an Argentinean immigrant who runs Gulindo with his Israeli-born wife.

How did you come up with the name Gulindo? My wife, whom I work with, is called Geula, and I call her Gueli. She calls me Lindo, so when we decided to open the bistro, we combined our nicknames and came up with Gulindo.

What made you decide to open an independent café so close to the flagship branches of Aroma and Hillel? Basically, we're offering people an alternative. We're smaller and our goal is to create a personal connection with our customers. Here they are not just a number. We have regulars that come and sit at their own particular tables and I already know what they want to order before they even open their mouth. It's more intimate here. Some people prefer the anonymous vibe of chains, while others prefer our intimate atmosphere. Basically, each place speaks to different people.

Gulindo is a quiet café during the day and has a bar vibe at night. Was this the original intention, or something that just happened? Gulindo is billed as a Bistro Bar, and that's what happened. We're a bistro by day and a bar by night. We change our lighting, our music and even our food offerings at night. Our morning music is much more shanti (chilled out) than our night music, and our morning foods are breakfast foods, whereas we offer more bar-type foods at night.

Gulindo also doubles as a gallery. How do you decide what artists to feature? I have a friend from the Musrara School who serves as my curator. We change our exhibits each month. Last year we hosted music nights as well. We want to create a cultural vibe here and give a platform to Jerusalem's artists and musicians, to create a sense of community here for them.

Gulindo quickly became a favorite for locals as well as visitors to Jerusalem. What do you think it is about your cafe that makes it so popular? I'm glad to hear that it's popular. After three years of hard work, it's good to see that our efforts are being rewarded. I guess the café is popular because we're good to our customers. We don’t charge too much. We have discount cards that regulars get so that after a few meals here, they get a free meal or drink. We like to give here and not just take.

Most of Jerusalem's cafés have the same items on the menu. What stands out on yours? What can I get in Gulindo that I cannot get elsewhere? We have a lot of dishes here that aren't offered elsewhere. We use different mixes of cheeses than other places. We make everything ourselves here in the café, as opposed to some of these chain stores where they make a quiche in one place and then it's shipped to a whole chain of stores. All of our ingredients are really fresh. We have high standards for our food which we make new each day.

If you could change just one thing about Jerusalem, what would it be? I would like to influence the municipality to support new businesses and small businesses. They need to make it easier to open a business here. I had to fight very hard to open Gulindo, and if a city wants to grow, it shouldn’t be that way.

Tonight is your last chance to enjoy the myriad of top-notch wines being offered to you at the Israel Museum's Israeli Wine Festival. The three-night affair's finale promises to be jam-packed, if Jerusalemite's visit earlier this week is any indication. It is Thursday night, after all.

The Sculpture Garden has been transformed quite nicely into a highbrow bacchanalian, with lovers of fermented grape juice being given the opportunity to enjoy live jazz, plush outdoor couch seating areas, fancy chocolates and cheeses and plenty of other food options. And wine. Lots and lots of delicious wine that many of us could never afford to buy on a regular basis, but when you're talking about 55 NIS per entrance (which buys you a glass that you can rinse and refill as often as you'd like, one gulp's-worth at a time), the party is on.

Our favorites from this year's yield include the Tzova Sangiovese, the Psagot Franc, the Galil Pinot and the Dalton Barbera. Gush Etzion's cherry liqueur is not a wine really, but it was also alcoholic and extremely tasty.

Click here for more photos.

Jerusalem's internationally successful espresso bar chain, Aroma plans on opening its doors in Shuk Machane Yehuda tomorrow afternoon, following years of rumors and weeks of construction. The beloved market has undergone many changes in recent years, with photo galleries and clothing boutiques now located in stalls next to fishmongers and spice grinders. Many have argued that the gentrified Machane Yehuda lacks the blue-collar romance that it once held, and those of us who believe in balancing "progress" with "character" have defended the market's renaissance. But with an international franchise eatery moving in, we have to wonder how slippery the slope may be after all.

After spending more than ten years working in a lawyer's office in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem native Yatsor Nachmias was looking to come home. Nachmias wanted to open a coffee house, and, "Aroma was the name." As part of the Aroma franchising process, he spent a half year working and learning all the ins and outs of the business. "The beginning was difficult," he recalls. "Eight hours on your feet, making things, working in the kitchen."

Manager Eli Cohen claims that Aroma "brings something new to the shuk – something European, to upgrade the shuk and bring something back for tourism. Just like the Kotel, tourists go to the shuk. There's no place to really sit and enjoy your juice or coffee. We're bringing something to the shuk where people will come sit and enjoy." Perhaps Cohen simply isn't aware that Aroma will not be the first place where one can sit and enjoy a coffee in Machane Yehuda.

Sharona Zohar, owner of Hamsa, a bag and clothing boutique next door to Aroma, says she is, "very happy" about the opening, and understandably so. "The name Aroma can help here, work and help those in the shuk."

Similar but more equivocal sentiments were voiced by Assaf Barashi, who sells clothing nearby. "The shuk was once food for the house; now people are coming to pass the time.... Of course [Aroma can help business], but on the other hand it's a bit bothersome – what will happen with the rent?"

Back at the almost-finished Aroma construction site, Cohen defends his infiltration. "To be a chain is not something bad," he says. "You bring in a name and level of service and cleanliness and quality. We think forward. The goal here is to raise the level of the shuk."

The new branch has encountered difficulties with City Hall, as the municipal government has recently decided to remove all tables and chairs from the area – all of them. The issue is now a court matter. "Of course we are in a war over this," says Cohen. "We're working on it and hope to win."

Aroma's new branch is located at Machane Yehuda St. 26 and can be reached at 02-622-2833.

Photos of the signature red awning and black logo in the context of the open-air market (top) and of branch owner Yatsor Nachmias by Greg Tepper for Jerusalemite.

Avi Ben, owner of the Avi Ben Wine Shop chain, is helping bring the "nectar of the gods" to Jerusalem mortals with the Israeli Wine Festival, an event held each summer at the Israel Museum. The festival, which attracts wine connoisseurs, wanna-be wine connoisseurs and those just looking to get loaded, runs from July 15-17 and offers attendees the chance to taste hundreds of top-shelf bottles for a flat fee.

How did you first get into the wine business? I started 25 years ago, working in my family's business, which was wholesale alcohol distribution. I soon realized that I was more connected to wine than to alcohol and that the type of people that enjoy wine are a bit different than your regular alcohol drinker, so I decided to develop this aspect of the business.

I opened my first store in Mahane Yehuda as a wholesale distributor. Then I opened a wine store in Talpiot in the mid-1980s. When I opened a second store in Nachalat Shiva in 1993 people thought I was crazy. That I was opening specifically a wine store and not an alcohol store – a store with tastings and courses in wine appreciation. It was definitely different, but it succeeded.

On July 3 we opened a new store in the shuk, right across from Rachmo. I've completed the circle, returning to the same place where my wholesale distribution store used to be. Today people say to me, "What? You're opening a store like this in the shuk?" But people said the same thing to me when I opened my store in Nachlat Shiva, and I proved them wrong.

All across Israel, the wine culture has changed, it has developed, and I was one of the pioneers of this development, one of the people at the forefront of this change, because of my own personal affiliation with wine, my personal taste for wine and the wine business.

You are one of the organizers of Jerusalem's annual Wine Festival. How did the Wine Festival come to be? What was the impetus behind it and when did it start? The first festival was held five years ago, in 2003. It was a time when bombs were going off regularly in Jerusalem and we noticed that business was slacking off - especially in the summer, when many of our regular customers went on vacation.

It was a bad time for Jerusalem in general, so we decided to organize a fair that would bring wine distributors to Jerusalem. We picked a great location, the Israel Museum, and once they agreed to house the festival, all the planning became easier. People loved the location, they loved the idea, and it was a huge success. We're now in our fifth successful year.... (click here for the full interview)

It's the weekend. Jerusalemite likes to celebrate these milestones in time the same way it likes to celebrate everything else: with a plate of creamy hummus.

But of course, most of Jerusalem's famous hummusiot close up shop for the weekend, leaving those Jerusalem residents and tourists who do not observe Shabbat bereft of warm chickpea ambrosia. On Shabbat, there is nary a fuul bean nor a warm pita to be found in the city center.

But there is another way.

The famous hummus restaurants in the Arab sections of the Old City are open for business on Saturdays, and all Jerusalem visitors owe it to themselves to give these restaurants and their generations-old hummus recipes a try.

The two Old City hummusiot that garner the most attention are Abu Shukri in the Muslim Quarter and Lina in the Christian Quarter. Both are simple, unadorned establishments filled with quiet men who are deadly serious about the pursuit of perfect hummus. Both are Jerusalem institutions. And both of them have faultless hummus, intensely flavorful and swimming in a deep pool of olive oil in the classic Arab style.

So what are you waiting for? Taste a piece of Jerusalem tradition.

Photo courtesy of plate of hummus courtesy of thisyearsboy under a creative commons license.

This week in Jerusalem? Well, it's like any other week in Jerusalem, save two major differences: the booze flows freer and the movies are less lowest-common-denominator. So pour out your 10-shekel Hebron Vineyards "wine" and spit symbolically in the direction of the cramped seats and terrible screens at the Rav Chen, because this week is all about the Jerusalem Wine Festival and the Jerusalem Film Festival.

• The Film Festival starts today and lasts well into next week, ten whole days in which Jerusalem's cinemas give their screens over to the artsy, indie and well-regarded. Of course, Jerusalemite will be keeping you updated on the best of the Fest throughout the week, so stay tuned.

• And since this week is devoted to appreciating the refined and sublime, you may as well kick it off tonight with that most refined and sublime of musics: jazz. Well-regarded Israeli jazz songstress Hagit Goldberg and her band are putting a bit of the devil in all those nice Mormon boys and girls at Brigham Young University - and like any great temptation, it's free.

• If the blue notes and suspended ninths of jazz don't move you - if indeed your heart pulses to a more robotic sort of groove - don't fail to hie your cyborg self down to the Yellow Submarine for a night of electro by a deeply-stacked lineup of Jerusalem's finest electronic music artists.

• On Friday morning, get a firsthand look at the oft-overlooked history of one of Jerusalem's most interesting neighborhoods: Mamilla. It's not just a ritzy mall and an empty luxury neighborhood - once, the wedge of city tucked between downtown and the Old City was a literal war zone. Find out more by joining up with the Tower of David Museum's tour group.

• If you've got bored kids between the ages of 3 and 7 in need of entertainment on Saturday - and if there's anything reliable about kids between 3 and 7, it's their constant need for entertainment - see how they like The Marzipan Fairy, another puppet production from the Train Theater. Alternately, if you or your kids are kind of unnerved by the Train Theater's leering wooden puppets (and who could blame you?), take them to Beit Shmuel for a whole day of old-school Israeli arts, crafts and activities.

• Bid farewell to Shabbat on Saturday night by digging on Renaissance man pop star Boaz Sharabi, performing in support of his new album Breathe at the Jerusalem Theatre.

• On Sunday Brigham Young University offers another tantalizingly free opportunity to see one of the acclaimed Arab classical musicians the Galilee keeps pumping out, in this case Nazareth piano prodigy Bishara Harouny.

• Swing by the Israel Museum on Monday (or any other day during the month) to peruse a display of landscapes rendered entirely from recycled waste. On (recycled) paper, it's a children's event, but adults - especially the eco-conscious - should find plenty to appreciate.

• Or expand your minds either by checking out hometown heroes the Kolben Dance Company performing their multidisciplinary Plus-Minus (for free) at the Gerard Bechar Center or intellectually grooving on soul-patched, internationally acclaimed local boy jazz hornblower Avishai Cohen and his trio at the Yellow Sub.

• The Wine Festival starts tapping the barrels on Tuesday evening (and runs through Thursday evening). 55 NIS gets you entry and a bottomless wine glass, with over thirty Israeli wineries clamoring for the opportunity to fill it for you. Let them. Sweet Lord, let them.

• If you can get over that terrible red wine hangover you'll no doubt be nursing after you wake up facedown somewhere around the Wohl Rose Garden midday Wednesday, stumble over to the Bible Lands Museum to hear an English lecture delivered by the engaging Professor Wayne Horowitz of the Hebrew University. The subject? Cuneiform. It's supposed to be "exhilarating," which is asking a lot from inscrutable little triangles.

And all of you remember, oenophiles and undiscerning quaffers alike: drinking and driving anywhere is a bad idea. With Israeli drivers, it's suicide. So take a cab home, because we want to see you here next week.

Photo courtesy of Orly Segal Communications.

Chef Moran Mizrachi comes from a long line of shuk-ites. Her grandfather opened a roasted nut snacks stand there in the 1960s and her father, Eli Mizrachi, helped jump start the Mahane Yehuda renaissance when he opened Café Mizrachi in the early 2000s. Moran, the café's chef extraordinaire, trained at Paris' renowned Cordon Bleu before returning to Israel in 2001 to put her newfound skills to work. More than a chef, she is Café Mizrachi's lifeblood, and our interview was constantly interrupted by customers' hugs and greetings. As the interview drew to a close, Moran was on her feet, off into the shuk to buy vegetables for the day's quiches.

What led you into the restaurant business? When I finished my army service and my post-army trek in South America, I tried to study economics in Be'er Sheva and was bored out of my mind. So I decided to leave school and do something that really interested me instead. I thought about it and eventually decided to study cooking. It runs in the family. My father is also a chef.

At first I was thinking of going to culinary school here in Israel, but while I was trying to figure out where to enroll, I by chance ran into one of my old youth group counselors, and he told me he was about to leave for France to attend culinary school. I said "You know, I'm also thinking of going to culinary school." So he gave me a list of all the schools he'd researched in France and England. Soon after, my father and I went to France to check these places out, and I decided to study there.

I understand that your family plays a prominent role in the shuk – has it always been this way? How has Machane Yehuda changed since your childhood? Even though we lived in Nachlaot, I didn't come to Mahane Yehuda much as a child.... (click here for the full interview)

Where can one get a slice of good pizza in Jerusalem? That question is certainly a difficult, perhaps impossible, one to answer, because there is no good pizza per se in Israel. It's simply fruitless to compare Jerusalem pizza (or Tel Aviv for that matter) to its American counterpart. More often than not the crust is exhaustingly chewy, there is either not enough or way too much sauce, and the cheese is low-quality rubber. Toppings can also be problematic, as your entire pizza is likely to be covered from the top of the crust to the point of the slice in corn, tuna (from the can) or olives.

So in the same way that one would not expect to find the world's greatest falafel in the Upper West Side, one shouldn't search for the greatest slice in the holiest of cities. It's just not going to happen. So let's not quantify it as where to find good pizza in Jerusalem, but rather where to find pizza in Jerusalem that is good for Israel. Sadly, we must set our standards low, because the ugly truth is that it's more likely than not that disappointment is baking inside any given local pizza oven. The perfect slice must be a proper balance of high quality cheese, a crisp yet chewy crust and a flavorful and fresh sauce, and in Jerusalem (as with many other issues here), the proportions are all out of wack.

Big Apple Pizza
At first glance, it appears that someone did a lot of shopping at one of the myriad of tschoky stores that litter Times Square. New York license plates and Statue of Liberty figurines ordain the walls and countertops. Back in they day they used to blast recordings of New York radio stations (Z100 if I remember correctly) to contribute to the "authentic" atmosphere. Their pizza is without question one of the best Jerusalem has to offer. Freshness is key, and Big Apple has enough volume of sales that their slices are rarely sitting out, and if you have a few minutes to wait, fresh pies are always coming out. So if congealed cheese is your thing, this is not the pizza for you. Their cheese is without question of a higher quality than the status quo, and thankfully they do not fall victim to the Israeli habit of oversaucing. Their crust is chewy, but not exhausting to the jaw.

Pizza Sababa
Pizza Sababa is appropriately enough the David to Pizza Hut's Goliath. This family -owned joint has been around since 1990, and for many years Pizza Hut was located directly across the street. A few years ago the more expensive Pizza Hut closed down, while Sababa's sales are going strong. As the lone enduring pizza joint on the German Colony's main fairway, they certainly have a monopoly on pizza eaters and passerby who want a quick bite. In my opinion, that is why Sababa remains popular. Its all about location, though I have heard numerous people mention their pizza as Jerusalem's best. Sababa prides itself on the homemade sauce and dough, but their pizza tends to be stingy on the sauce.

Chili's
The only prominently treyf (non-kosher) Pizza joint in town, Chili's loves nothing more than to serve their pizza with pepperoni (though its really salami - if you are going to serve meat on your pizza, can't you at least be authentic?). They also have pizza with goat cheese, grilled peppers, grilled chicken and other toppings you will literally NEVER see in any other pizzeria in Jerusalem. Their sauce-cheese balance is very good, and their crust has a nice crispiness to it, but due to their unique toppings, the slices tend to sit on the counter a bit too long. It's best to go with friends and order a fresh pie.

Tito Bravo
Finally, California cuisine comes to Jerusalem. Not like we've been asking for it, but it's a welcome addition to Jerusalem's culinary scene. Tito Bravo delivers with, without question, the freshest ingredients of any pizzeria in the city and a unique Israeli flare. Your Italian grandmother (or neighbor) might never forgive you for ordering a pizza with a sunny side up egg, labane and zaatar on a sourdough crust, but don't worry about upsetting her too much: You can order your pizza with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil as well.

Green Door Pizza Bakery
Not Italian pizza at all, but you can't write about pizza in Jerusalem and not mention Green Door Pizza. It's Arabic style, which is pretty much thick pita bread with tomato sauce (from a can), cheese and a cracked egg. It's not about the pizza but the experience of walking through the green door, smelling the smoke from the wood -burning oven and washing down your 10 NIS pie with some turkish coffee.

Pizza K'mat Chinam (Pizza almost for free)
For pizza-dabblers on a budget, this place (not yet listed in our guides, but located at Shmuel Hanagid St. 1, at the corner with Ben Yehuda St., and reachable via phone at 077-750-9900) is a dream come true. For real-deal pizza aficionados, though, it's the ultimate nightmare. A large pie runs for merely 20 NIS (26 NIS with toppings), but you get what you pay for: The dough is foamy, and there's little to no sauce and "cheese" on it. 

Ben Jacobson contributed to this report.

Late last year, as part of its efforts to continue to foster tourism in Jerusalem, the city government began offering a smartcard loaded with a plethora of deals for visitors to the Old City. Called the "HolyPass," and offered at participating tourist sites, hotels, travel agents and stores in the Jewish Quarter, it promises "25% savings on admission to Old City attractions," an attractive number in a nation known for its thriftiness.

The card, at 99 NIS ($30) for adults and 50 NIS ($15) for children, lasts for one week after activation (which takes place the first time the card is used) and grants free access to a total of five historical sites: two major sites and three, well, less major sites.

The major sites are: City of David National Park, Jerusalem Archaeological Park, Tower of David Museum, Burnt House, Temple Institute and Generations Center.

The other sites are: Sephardi Synagogues, Ariel Center for Jerusalem in the First Temple Period, Emek Tsurim Archaeological Experience, Roman Plaza, Ramparts Walk, Herodian Quarter - Wohl Museum of Archaeology, Old Yishuv Court Museum and Zedekiah's Cave.

It's also good for a discount on the Route 99 bus tour and a 10% discount on something called the Segway Peace Forest Experience, which sounds like it could use the help.

Despites its claim of enabling "wider access to Old City tourist sites, at reduced cost," the HolyPass may not necessarily save you money - it only becomes a bargain if you use it to its fullest extent. Imagine that during an Old City visit, you visit the City of David, the Burnt House, the Sephardi Synagogues, the Herodian Quarter and the Ramparts Walk, a rich tour by any standards. Regular admission to all five sites would run 86 NIS for adults and 44 NIS for children, a savings of 13% (13 NIS, $3.89) for adults and 12% (6 NIS, $1.80) for children compared to the HolyPass. If you are traveling with family - say, for example, a party of two adults and two children - paying for regular admission to those sites would save more than $11 (38 NIS) - that is, lunch for one. The larger the family, the worse the deal.

But you can make up the increased price of the HolyPass for tourist sites by using it for discounts at a few select gift shops and restaurants in the Old City. Several Cardo shops and jewelers offer a 10% storewide discount, including the Bar-On Judaica stores and Rozen Jewelers (see the full list here). Five conveniently located Jewish Quarter restaurants also offer hefty discounts: Menora (15%), Cardo Keyad HaMelekh (15%), Bonkers Bagels (10%), Moti's Cafe (10%) and Miznon HaRova (10%).

Of course, to make back the 38 NIS that not buying the HolyPass saves, that aforementioned imaginary family of four would have to run up nearly 400 NIS in restaurant bills, which seems unlikely, unless they choose to eat at one of the same five restaurants in the Old City over the course of a few days, which gives all those fantastic restaurants elsewhere in the city the short shrift. So essentially, the HolyPass pays only if you plan to do most of your gift-shopping in the Cardo - and given how expensive the Cardo shops are, the 10% savings will certainly come in handy.

That's Jerusalemite: helping you spend wisely.

You can read more about the HolyPass on its website.

Photo of shops in the Cardo courtesy of keithwills from flickr under a creative commons license.

Rising out of Jerusalem's northeast corner, offering commanding views of the entirety of the Old City and much of West Jerusalem beyond, is Mount Scopus (Har Ha'Tzofim), one of the seven hills upon which Jerusalem is supposedly built, a relatively modest mountain that still figures prominently in the city's history and continues to capture the Israeli imagination.

The mountain is so-named because it served as the lookout point from which Roman troops planned their assault on the rebel-dominated city of Jerusalem during the Great Revolt of Judean revolutionaries in the 1st century CE. The Hebrew University, the first secular Hebrew language institution of higher learning ever established, was opened on Mount Scopus, and occupies it to this day. During the 1948 Independence War, the school and its accompanying hospital (Hadassah Mt. Scopus) were cut off from Jewish-controlled Jerusalem, leaving the mountain as a garrisoned Israeli outpost in the midst of Jordanian territory, which it remained until the unification of Jerusalem in 1967. The areas around Mount Scopus, particularly Ammunition Hill, saw incredibly fierce fighting during that year's Six Day War. The Hebrew University's massive tower atop the mountain dominates the Jerusalem skyline.

Visitors to Mount Scopus can still enjoy the views of the Old City that gave the mountain its name, the Dome of the Rock shimmering in the sun atop the Temple Mount. Unfortunately, it is difficult to gain access to the Hebrew University's campus if you are not a student or an invited guest (due to security concerns), but the area still offers other attractions. Down the road (Etzel Street) from the university is a British military cemetery and memorial, the final resting place of several hundred fallen soldiers from World War I, which offers an opportunity for quiet contemplation. Going further past the traffic circle and up the hill takes you along the Hebrew University's Idelson dormitory, and two falafel stands operated by the Arab residents of the French Hill neighborhood. Jerusalemite recommends the further of the two stands (French Hill Falafel), as the other one is attached to a dentist's clinic of the same name, which conjures images of a dentist running back and forth between his deep fryer and drill, and is rumored among Hebrew U students to cause stomach upset. Further along still you'll see off to your left the French Hill shopping center, which includes a grocery store and several small restaurants and cafes.

At the end of the road are the gates to the Arab village of Isawiyya, a notorious hotbed of political unrest during the Intifada. Visitors are not always welcome. Before arriving in Isawiyya, turn left (the first left turn after passing the shopping center area) and follow the road's curve until you get to Tzameret Ha'Birah (about five minutes' walk), a neighborhood on Jerusalem's fringe characterized by its stunning views of the Judean Desert. The steeply terraced neighborhood offers a playground and a great number of impressive vantage points. Early risers can take advantage of a rare opportunity: at sunrise on a clear day, you can see all the way to the glimmering Dead Sea, forty minutes away by car.

Photo of Mount Scopus view courtesy of tmesis from flickr under a creative common license.