A Taste of Jaffa: Exploring Jerusalem Avenue with Reality Star Modi Safuri

Many will tell you there is no better place to start the morning than Jaffa, especially when the first thing before your eyes is a plate of hummus. While many spent their Sukkot holiday overseas, I dropped by Jerusalem Avenue as it slowly awakens, where Modi Safuri was waiting at the fountain square, launching new local food tours.

Safuri waited for me and about twenty others who chose to come from all corners of the country, couples and families. He greeted everyone with a smile and with the first tasting of the day: Abu Hassan hummus, brought especially to the meeting point. Pita breads were torn, the hummus passed around, and a few minutes into the morning we were already eating before we had even started walking.

The truth is, I am not a tourist in Jaffa; I spend time here at least once a week, and Jerusalem Avenue is certainly not unfamiliar territory. I grew up in Tel Aviv, know quite a few of the restaurants and businesses in the area, and have previously participated in food tours along the avenue. And yet, this tour managed to surprise me. Perhaps precisely because the stops were familiar—suddenly you discover another side of the people behind them, who they are, and how many stories can hide on a street we think we know.

The person leading us is not just another guide holding a colorful umbrella and reading facts. Modi Safuri is part of the story himself. Anyone who knows him from television will instantly recognize the face: Safuri participated in "The Amazing Race" and "Come Dine with Me", and in recent years became a familiar figure in the entertainment columns following his publicized relationship with reality star Gal Rubin. But even before reality television, headlines, and life in front of the cameras, he was a boy who grew up in Jaffa—and today he takes people to see the city through his eyes.

Starting with Abu Hassan

The first stop is actually a tasting delivered to us. Modi, as mentioned, brought hummus and falafel from Abu Hassan to the meeting point at the fountain square. The legendary hummus joint, whose original branch is located on Dolphin Street, is one of the names most closely identified with Jaffa's food. Its story began with Ali Karawan, who wandered the streets of Jaffa with a cart selling hummus. Later, he opened the place, which became a family institution, and the business remained in the family's hands over the years. The menu remains very simple: hummus, ful, masabacha, and pita—without trying to be fancy or offering dozens of surrounding dishes.

But this time, I am not standing in line for a table amid the hustle and bustle of customers and waiters. Modi already made sure the hummus reached us. We sat on the avenue, near the fountain, and started scooping. There is something rather amusing about the tour not even officially beginning yet, and it is already hard to stop eating.

Jaffa through Modi's Eyes

Yet with the tranquility that comes only after scooping good hummus, we began to walk. Along the way, Modi started talking about his childhood. He was born and raised in the Ajami neighborhood, in a Jaffa of an entirely different era. He shared that he grew up in a shared building with communal toilets and bathrooms, where rabbis also lived. During those years, his connection with Judaism began.

As a Muslim child, he studied in a Jewish kindergarten and later, at his own request, his parents sent him to a Jewish religious school. Simultaneously, he also studied Islam. For him, the bridge between the two religions is not a theoretical idea, but something he grew up into.

When he describes the Jaffa of his youth, the picture is far less romantic than the real estate stories we know today. He describes a neighborhood that suffered from severe crime, poverty, and a reality where children grew up into things that should not be part of childhood. Life at home was not easy either; his father went to prison, the family property was seized, and he recounted how he had to start working to help support the household.

Raw Kebab at the Butcher Shop

Our next stop was at 57 Jerusalem Avenue, at the Galil Butcher Shop. This is a long-standing butcher shop specializing, among other things, in original kebabs. Here, we received one of the most surprising tastings of the tour: we tasted the kebab mixture while the meat was still raw—just like fine tartare. The mixture is prepared on-site, and the seasoning and meat are sealed in a bag together and thoroughly blended. It is the kind of thing I would not necessarily choose to order for myself at a restaurant, but on such a tour, it is fun to sample something you do not encounter everywhere.

There is something interesting about stopping inside a butcher shop rather than a restaurant: instead of receiving a plated dish, you see the raw ingredient on its way to becoming food. It is less polished, much more local—and in my eyes, precisely for that reason, it fits this tour perfectly.

Historic Shawarma

From there, we continued to HaPoel / Herzl Inn at 67 Jerusalem Avenue. If you think shawarma is the most predictable thing in the world on a Jaffa food tour, you are probably right. But sometimes the predictable things are the ones that work best.

Herzl Inn has been operating here since 1969, meaning it is a place that has seen generations of Jaffa and Tel Aviv residents walk through its doors. Today, it serves turkey shawarma, falafel, and salads, but the history of the place is part of the experience just as much as the food itself.

Cheeses, Breads, and Salads

After the meat came a respite at the "Cheese Warehouse" at 64 Jerusalem Avenue. This delicatessen has been operating for about 25 years, offering cheeses from Israel and around the world alongside fish and salads. Here, the table filled with various cheeses, breads, and salads. Following the hummus, meat, and shawarma, this was a tasting of an entirely different sort.

And here too, there is something lovely about the tour's format. Instead of entering, choosing a product, and leaving, we received a tasting that allowed us to get to know the place without committing to a full shopping trip.

Ending on a Sweet Note

After all the hummus, meat, shawarma, and cheeses came the stage where it was clear no more food was truly needed—and then we reached Sweet Jaffa. Located at 1 League of Nations Street, just a few steps from the avenue, the shop is dedicated to the sweet side of the story: chocolates, sweets, and products from all over the world. It is an almost inevitable conclusion to such a tour. After about two hours of walking and eating, we were surrounded by colorful shelves and an amount of candy that momentarily returned all of us to childhood.

Those wishing to join the tour can find upcoming dates on the Travel With Modi website, including subsidized tours in cooperation with the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality. The price for the subsidized tour is 55 shekels per participant, and a quick glance at the website showed three tours already scheduled for this month.