An expansive restaurant right smack in the middle of town on Jaffa Road, with an inviting and leafy outdoor seating area, the Village Green is one of Jerusalem's only specifically vegetarian restaurants (as opposed to merely kosher dairy), and also one of its only cafeteria-style joints.

Focusing on natural and wholesome ingredients, the Village Green stocks an impressive array of occasionally exotic soups, quiches and casseroles, rices, noodles, salads, crusty home-baked whole grain breads, cakes, pies, muffins, cookies, and just about everything a hungry vegetarian (or open-minded meat-eater) could ever ask for. Grab a tray and slide on down the line, loading your plate as you go.

Somewhat curiously, the Village Green's clientele is almost entirely mainline religious American tourists and immigrants, not exactly the crowd you'd expect to be drawn to chickpea salad, Indian lentil soup and organic rye. Hippie Israelis are nowhere to be seen, but perhaps the somewhat high (though still affordable) prices scare them off.