Practically every consequential Palestinian street has some sort of fast food stall adorned with brightly coloured bowls of salads, pickles and sauces. This is food you grab on the run, munch on your way or take home as part of a meal. In comparison with the European or American equivalent, this fast food is surprisingly nutritious and tasty.
It is common to begin a sit-down meal in a restaurant with meze, an assortment of salads, pickles and seasonal munchy things served with fresh bread, however these can easily make a meal on their own, and have spoiled the appetite of many still waiting for a main meal, so watch how much you munch if its only supposed to be a starter. A number of the popular meze dishes are also the foods served on the street as fast food.
The meze can be followed by one of the 'traditional Palestinian main meals' which are usually meat centred and excessive in quantity.
Every town has its sweet shops, selling slices of sweet sticky syrup doused concoctions from the huge metal trays decked out in their windows. There are also seasonal sweets for festivals such as Ramadan.
With coffee houses, fresh juice stalls, wandering juice sellers and bars the choice of beverages is equally wide, with drinks to fit every occasion, cold and hot, soft and alcoholic, bitter and sweet.
The arguila, the tobacco water pipe, is the traditional after dinner relaxant.
