The Old City of Jerusalem is a place where tradition runs thick, and besides the centuries of religious strife etched into its golden stones, the traditional aspect is most apparent in the Old City's dining options. Small, family-owned restaurants specializing in one or two traditional dishes abound, and legions of fiercely loyal customers have kept many of them in business for generations.

The chief example of this kind of restaurant in the Old City is Abu Shukri, a small and unassuming restaurant that casts a shadow so large that in much of Arab (and Jewish) Jerusalem, the restaurant's name is essentially a byword for "hummus."

Hummus is the Abu Shukri family's specialty and enduring culinary contribution to the Holy City, and the restaurant, a small and dimly lit cave with a few little tables and plastic chairs, serves little else. Menus are frivolous and Abu Shukri doesn't bother with them: your choices are hummus with techina, with optional toppings of fuul (stewed broad beans) or toasted pine nuts, swimming in olive oil. Meals come with fresh pita and pickles, and a bowl of hot falafel balls is a recommended accompaniment.