Palate Report

Today I start off by saluting a food I've come to know and love. Sure hummus exists in the states but here, in Israel, hummus is the staple of all things edible, and locally its quality far exceeds anything available back at home.

Salads and dips and spreads and anything else you can shmear, lather, glop or shovel are the basic building blocks of authentic middle-eastern cuisine and Gillian and I have tried our fair share. Hummus is by far the most versatile but tahina (sesame seed sauce), hatzalim (eggplant dip) and labane (cheese spread) have all become fast favorites.

Of course none of these could be consumed properly without an appropriate scooping, smearing and shoveling tool: the pita. Again, I know that pita exists in the states, but like New York is to the bagel, Israel is to the pita. At home, pita can often be confused with cardboard, or if you're really unlucky, chewy. Here, pita is baked fresh every day and is served fluffy and flexible. It is also employable as a vessel for such favorites as felafel (balls of fried chickpeas) and shwarma (shaved meat, usually lamb). In addition to pita, we have discovered some other types of bread that aren't so popular (they don't exist) back home. Laffa, kinda like a wrap but with more substance, and malawa, a flaky sort of wrap, circular in shape and tasty beyond belief.

Burehkas, or flaky pastries filled with cheese or potato, are also quite popular here either for breakfast or as a snack. I'd comfortably compare their prominence to bagels and donuts at home. Sadly, in the land of the Jews, nowhere have we come across a good bagel and donuts are practically non-existent. (I say practically because during Hannukah "suvganiyot" are fashionable to eat but are awful, spongy, not fluffy, disgustingly pathetic attempts at replicating the goodness that Krispy Kreme perfected long ago.)

That's all I've got on food for now but I think it gives you an decent overview. As for what they don't have... that's a very long list. Among the things I miss the most: Chinese food (apparently, noodles and soy sauce pass around here), good pizza (they don't use enough cheese, the dough is wrong, and people put ketchup on it...), a decent cheeseburger (McDonald's & Burger King are our only options), and god help me (sure we're neighbors now, but the kind of neighbors who don't lend each other gardening tools) I miss diners. I know many of you remember I had the same complaint about Boston, but believe me, Boston was in good diner shape in comparison. At least in MA you could find a restaurant willing to pretend... here they simply don't exist. I'm sure there are other things I will no longer take for granted when I get home, but these are the ones that I find myself pining for. Gillian on the other hand misses pie. She really misses pie. I can't blame her. They just don't do pie here. It's a real shame.