tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6579213173749170024.post4575593132900130466..comments2024-01-02T02:18:30.960-08:00Comments on Israel Thrives: Letter From IsraelMike L.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06450806807610560873noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6579213173749170024.post-28263552417588663642014-10-04T08:16:47.067-07:002014-10-04T08:16:47.067-07:00And just what, may I ask, is wrong with gefilte fi...And just what, may I ask, is wrong with gefilte fish, sir?!<br /><br />;)<br /><br />As with all foods, leave the stuff in the supermarket jars behind, put some care and quality ingredients into it, and it can be elevated to world-class fare.<br /><br />Ashkenazic cuisine gets a bad rep anymore mainly because even the remaining NY- and Montreal-style delis no longer care. Thank G-d for places like Portland's Kenny & Zuke's and Brooklyn's Mile End Deli and Berkeley's Saul's and Ann Arbor's Zingerman's and (sometimes, when they're on) Philadelphia's Hershel's, and others who do still care!<br /><br />But yeah, I personally prefer Sephardic cuisine, and that of the Mizrahim, myself. I'd take a fine shakshuka and a piece of fresh, crusty bread over most any other meal any time and any day of the week. Ditto sabich, which is the greatest sandwich in the world, imo...JayinPhiladelphiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556212008313470286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6579213173749170024.post-24688999052362635122014-10-04T07:21:30.872-07:002014-10-04T07:21:30.872-07:00I have to say, when I first visited Israel the las...I have to say, when I first visited Israel the last thing that I was thinking about was the cuisine.<br /><br />I did not really think about it much, because I tend - for obvious reasons - to associate "Jewish" food with Jewish Ashkenazi food, which is not so great... I mean, unless you're a fan of gefilte fish, or whatever.<br /><br />But, needless to say, the primary culinary influences in Israel are Mediterranean cuisines, more generally, so the food was delicious.<br /><br />I still insist, tho, that the eastern Mediterranean truck here at the Oakland farmer's market makes falafel as good as I had in the Old City or Haifa's Arab section.<br /><br />Of course, he tells me that his recipe comes from Israel, anyway.<br /><br />So...Mike L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06450806807610560873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6579213173749170024.post-77932603021334596512014-10-04T07:06:05.081-07:002014-10-04T07:06:05.081-07:00Going down to 40 tonight here in North Philadelphi...Going down to 40 tonight here in North Philadelphia. Cucumber season is a distant memory. I'd stop by if I could!<br /><br />I'm not complaining, though. This is my favorite season, and I love winter squash, potatoes and apples. Not to mention fresh / wet-hopped beers.<br /><br />Still in the upper-70s inside my apartment (doesn't cool down to room temperature until late October, generally after we have our first entire week of lows in the 40s, here in my no-a/c-having, east-facing corner rowhouse - it's sunny and bright in here during the day, but brutally hot from May through September!), but I don't complain about the weather until the winter winds pick up and the first snow falls. Then I pretty much want out of here until Spring. Which, fortunately, comes pretty early in Philadelphia. Well, at least most years. Certainly didn't come early last year. And I was working in North Jersey last year. We had flurries up at work on May 1.<br /><br />I hope my new job (over-the-road, long-haul trucking for the next year, starting in about three weeks) takes me away from winter for weeks at a time, but knowing my luck I'll probably spend most of it in the Rockies, the Upper Midwest and / or New England. Oh, well.<br /><br />Chopped liver is one of my favorite foods, and I sometimes go an entire week living on lunches of liverwurst on rye w/ onions and mustard. Can't say I've had a liverburger yet, but I would definitely go for one!<br /><br />I'm a huge fan of offal tacos, especially off trucks or in corner delis down South Philly. The selection / availability was definitely much better back out West, though. Mike lives in one of the greatest cities in the US for tacos. If we meet up one day, he should be ready to head into Fruitvale for tripas and buche. ;)<br /><br />Portland was great for tacos, too, but mostly out in East Portland, and especially down Woodburn, OR.<br /><br />I really hope I have a day or two off in a Southwest border town sometime over the next year, so I can walk into Mexico and spend a day just eating. Heh.JayinPhiladelphiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556212008313470286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6579213173749170024.post-56325464637066540462014-10-04T00:30:51.398-07:002014-10-04T00:30:51.398-07:00Jay, there's still some cucumber salad in the ...Jay, there's still some cucumber salad in the fridge, if you're in the neighbourhood. I used to write a cooking column called Cooking for Kids. The first recipe was for Liverburgers. People actually wrote letters to the editor saying Loved the column, but is she serious? Some things never change. (Cow eye tacos? Really?)elanorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00822967878741031129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6579213173749170024.post-65623160975800856652014-10-02T15:41:35.178-07:002014-10-02T15:41:35.178-07:00I'd get down with lamb eyes. Probably wouldn&...I'd get down with lamb eyes. Probably wouldn't even be the most unusual thing I've eaten. I've had cow eye tacos from a truck already.<br /><br />This is fantastic wordplay -<br /><br />"<i>I invented a new cucumber salad this year! And, as cucumber salads go, it went.</i>"JayinPhiladelphiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556212008313470286noreply@blogger.com