29 August 2006

After reading the discounted cooking books at various stores (including one I will definitely get in the near future, entitled "Ground Meat" in Hebrew) I appropriately became hungry.
I convinced myself at first that I was going to go to the shuk ( or "suq" in Arabic, the stereotypical market/bazaar of the Middle East, with crowded alleyways and merchants trying everything possible to get you attention) to get several pieces of fried kubbeh, a Levantine specialty of ground lamb and pine nuts wrapped and fried in a bulgur wheat shell. Think fried dough with meat inside, 'nuff said.
Before going, I did some wandering and stopped by the etrog juice man (Yemenite Jews use the etrog (i.e. citron) to sure many aliments – the "etrog juice man" is a landmark in Jerusalem who claims to be able to cure hundreds of illnesses with various anatomical parts of the etrog) for a juice called "Etrogat" which includes grapefruit & other juices and an herb called gat, which is the Middle Eastern version of coca. It's technically illegal in Israel, but that apparently doesn't stop the etrog juice guy from peddling MidEast speed.
Wandering around some more, I came across one of the many restaurants that are embedded in the shuk – this one was kosher, dairy, and Indian. For the equivalent of $7 I got a full thali platter and homemade lemonade with mint, not to mention a ring-side view of shoppers with their numerous plastic bags, a store-front synagogue with a full crowd for the afternoon service, and female cadet soldiers passing by, all within eight feet of my table. Incredibly pleasing with the Indian food complimenting the sweltering heat, and who knows if I'll be bale to find the place again in that market labyrinth.