So naturally, when Lior called me at work yesterday morning to see if I wanted to get lunch, I immediately dropped all concerns about my data analysis and asked him "When and where?" "I'll pick you up in 30 minutes.," he eagerly explained. "We're getting hummus." I looked at my watch—9:30am was awfully early for lunch but, hey, I can always eat. Of course, I was a little less thrilled that I'd be filling my belly with Middle Eastern garbanzo bean paste rather than a crisp cold slice of American apple pie, a la mode.
When Lior picked me up in his blue Ford Focus, I hopped right in he told me to get comfortable: "It's kind've a long drive." Given that most Israeli's think a long-drive is half-an-hour, I shrugged this information off at first. When Lior told me that it was a "two-hour drive to the best hummus in Israel," I grew a tad concerned! "This better be some darn good food," I thought to myself. I'd heard of people back in Tucson driving two-hours up to Phoenix to grab an In-and-Out burger. But instead of sitting in a car for two-hours with the anticipation of a delicious cheeseburger in my mouth, I was stuck in the car thinking about a slop of bean paste from Abu-el Abed's hummus restaurant. Yum?
The drive up to the Christian-Arab town where Abu-el Abed's is located (just north east of Haifa) was astounding. Had it not been for Lior's expert tour-guide skills, I undoubtedly would have missed out on much of the landscape. We drove past beautiful fields of olive trees, avocados and peach orchards. We saw small plantations of ripening bananas and forests filled with oak trees, eucalyptus, and pine. Lavender bushes and plants with tiny yellow and purple flowers grew alongside the entire road. On the drive, I noticed road-signs for Nazareth and Jerusalem which felt a little strange—it's not everyday that you see a road-sign for a place you read about in the Bible! Lior pointed out a place on a nearby mountain where a group of religious followers had built a temple with the belief that this mountain-peak was the spot at which Elijah, the prophet who ascended into heaven in a fiery chariot, built an altar to God. Perhaps the most fascinating things on the drive, were the numerous mounds of earth that Lior and I saw. Yes, mounds of dirt can be exciting! It turns out that beneath these dirt hills are Israeli cities which are waiting to be excavated but haven't been yet because of lack of funds and time. Basically, there are ancient ruins sitting under the soil and people just move in and build cities around the ruins until the government investigates them! It's incredible.
When we finally arrived for lunch at Abu-el Abed's, I was starving. It was 1:00 (it took longer than expected because of a few wrong turns) and Lior hadn't allowed me to eat anything for the past few hours, demanding that the only way you can appreciate good hummus is if you go on an empty stomach. I was skeptical: "Hummus can't be that great if you only want to eat it when you're stomach is growling from starvation!"
I was surprised. The hummus was excellent! Lior explained to me that hummus is made from cooking chickpeas for several hours, mashing them, and combing with tahini, lemon-juice, salt, garlic, and generous amounts of olive-oil. The dish I ate was served warm and mixed with some other types of beans. It had very little tahini and a lot of lemon juice, giving it an acidic taste which was very refreshing. Of course, I relished the fresh pita bread and Lior showed me how to eat the hummus Jewish-style, by using the pita bread to "wipe-up" the hummus in a clock-wise motion. The Arabs use a fork to place the hummus inside the pita pocket.
After Lior and I were all done with our hummus, we went to the counter to pay for our cheap meal (only 13 shekels a piece!). When I realized that the man with the long finger-nails and sweaty brow was both handling the money and making the food, all I can say was that I was glad I'd already eaten the food and that I hadn't seen him first! Lior explained that Arab towns are not exactly the most sanitary places to visit. Between the cook/cashier and the litter throughout the streets, I understood why. I also understood what Lior meant when he said that Arabs make the best humus in Israel. It really was very tasty.
On our ride back to Rehovot, Lior drove along the coastline. It was excellent to see the sea-water lapping against the shore in the afternoon sun—the water went on for miles!
For the rest of the afternoon and evening, I did work on my computer at the lab and then back in the lobby of my dorm. Tanmay and I went out to dinner at a restaurant across the street from the dorm. I had Schnitzel Weizmann (breaded and fried turkey) with French-fries. After we'd gotten our food, Ari (a summer student studying math) and his brother happened into the restaurant and joined us for the rest of the meal. The four of us talked about our days, Ari helped me think through some data analysis problems, and the three of them taught me a bit about soccer. After dinner, Tanmay, Ari, and his brother headed off to the pub to watch the soccer game between Turkey and Croatia. I headed back to the dorm to do some work.
1 comment:
I can relate to the unsanitary food conditions...many times I have looked at the hands of the chefs/waitresses here and wondered if I should have ate my food lol.
Post a Comment