Pizza in a hut and shakes in a shack: It's sukkah time
Any other time of the year, asking to be seated in a booth means you have a large party or want some extra comfy, semi-circular accommodations for your meal. Come Sukkot though, that request will mean your dining experience will be had under some romantic leaves and, if you're lucky, a few choice hanging pomegranates.
The Sukkot, or festival of booths, tradition of eating (and living for that matter if you are super hard-core) in a temporary dwelling covered by a leafy, or bamboo, roof goes back thousands of years to the salad days of Hebrew wanderings through the desert. Back then, the Jewish people had to live in temporary structures, not unlike the semi-nomadic Bedouin of today, as they spent 40 years slogging through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. The shantytown that Jerusalem transforms into during that time is in commemoration of the huts the Hebrews inhabited then.
Much like during Passover, many Jerusalem restaurants are only too happy to accommodate the religious habits of many a Jerusalemite and the thousands of tourists that come from around the country and the world to visit the Holy City during the holiday. But unlike Passover, which has strict dietary restrictions that force restaurants to radically rework their menus (mashed potato sushi, anybody?) for Sukkot, establishments have merely to throw up a few walls and thatched roof to complete diners' sukkot experience. This year, as in the past, dozens of eateries have done just that, and like the restaurants themselves, they range from small, cramped or pe-ish shacks to spacious or fancy demi-buildings.
Those looking to dine out in a sukkah will have their choice of pretty much any kind of establishment. Super fancy joints like 1868, Canela and Villandry will have sukkot as will more working class establishments, like Joy Grill and Beer, Cup o' Joe and Grill Bar.
There will be plenty more restaurants who also do the shantytown rock, ranging from pretty much any food genre like Italian (Angelica) French (Gabriel), Asian (River Noodle Bar), Café (Ticho house) and still more than you can shake four species at.
Just a quick walk around town and you'll see that pretty much every restaurant puts one up for the season.
And while a restaurants like Buffalo Steak house and Beit Hamaayan have no problem forsaking their names and putting up temporary tabernacles, notably missing from the list is the most aptly-named Pizza Hut.
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