There are many cities that never sleep, but Jerusalem isn't one of them – locals tend to turn in early, and even on weekends, by two in the morning the streets of downtown are nearly empty. Thus the community of 24-hour restaurants is still relatively small, which makes the Shammai Street branch of Mifgash Hashech especially welcome.

The original Mifgash Hashech is in Talpiot, Jerusalem's hard-working-by-day, hard-clubbing-by-night industrial region, and the premise is simple: to give revelers an open-all-night place in which to gather after long hours of partying, where they can recharge their batteries with hot Israeli-style comfort food.

Downtown Jerusalem may not have Talpiot's massive club crowds, but there's always at least a few night owls to be found inside the glass-walled restaurant, enjoying mini-pizzas, various oven-fired breads with a choice of toppings, salads, sandwiches and Mifgash Hashech's specialty: sachlab, an Egyptian pudding served hot with cinnamon, coconut shavings and chopped nuts on top.