Mealtime: Hummus at Abu Hassan

In Yafo,  there is great food to be discovered. There are many great restaurants in and near the Flea Market,  the old city, Yefet St, and near the port. Instead of heading towards those areas, head into the back streets and you will find a restaurant that simply serves Hummus, Masabacha, and Ful. Its quite affordable,and a tasty option for breakfast or lunch. Its Abu Hassan. Its not the best Hummus or Masabacha, but if you want a pretty good hummus experience and you are in Yafo, head to Abu Hassan. What makes the experience in my mind is the pickled spicy pepper sauce that they serve the hummus with. It is tart, acidic, and spicy. All of the flavors that you want in contrast the rich and thick hummus, or ful. It is really busy most of the time serving customers both for the restaurant and for take away.I know some people will say Abu Hassan is not the best, I agree it isn't. It is however a great hummus experience and if you enjoy the velvety texture of a good hummus, head to Abu Hassan.

Mealtime: Burritos at Donkey

My friend Ian had heard about this restaurant called Donkey here in Tel Aviv. He said it was a burrito restaurant like Chipotle. I said I was interested in going at some point and on Thursday was that day. I had been to another Mexican restaurant here in Tel Aviv, but Donkey specializes in Burritos. Located on near the corner of Carlebach St and HaKhashmonaim St, Donkey serves massive burritos and tacos. It is a fast food style place with a large bar allowing you to pick and choose what goes onto your taco or burrito. They had all of the typical suspects, rice, black beans, salsa, chiles, sour cream, guacamole, grilled chicken, shredded beef, ground beef, a vegetarian option, and all of the other normal condiments at a burrito joint. I got the shredded beef burrito with all of the fixings. The quality of the burrito was decent. It was nothing like back home getting Anna's Taqueria that is for sure. At first I thought it was nothing special and I thought it would be bad, but it was not. For sure it reminded me of the burritos back home, but for what it was worth it was good. Definitely going to go back. For anyone who loves burritos and wants one in Tel Aviv, Donkey might be the best bet. It was a great break from the usually food fare here in Tel Aviv. 

Street Art in South Tel Aviv: part 2

Walking the streets of Tel Aviv, it is very hard to miss the graffiti. As I have said before it is omnipresent in the city. Here are some more examples of the cool street art that I have stumbled upon in my travels through the city. Most of this street art  is found in Shapira, near the Central Bus Station, and the Florentine. I hope you enjoy and there is more to come for sure.

Homecooking in Israel

Going to the shuk has become a weekly routine for me. For the most part I tend to stay away from Shuk HaCarmel in the city center because it very touristy. My market of choice is Shuk Hatikva in the Hatikva neighborhood. I go there because I volunteer near there and it is a great market and mostly locals shop there. It does not have the touristy t-shirts and Judaica and other things. For the most part there are the same products available everyday, but sometimes the butchers will have something one day and won't have it the next. So on Friday when I went to the market with my roommate Jeremy, I found a brisket. Something I had not seen yet at the market. I jumped on the brisket and knew exactly what do. Brisket might be my favorite thing to eat that my family makes. The smell brings me right back to New England and the people I care about the most. Cooked in my interpretation of the sauce my family uses and potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots.  Being in Israel for ten months, I have been looking for things to bring me back home. Cooking has been a stand by for me when I miss home. Food and the smells of food has a magical way of bringing a person back to a time, place, and the people that were there. Eating the brisket I made with my roommates brought me back to Massachusetts at my house and Vermont at my Nana's house. The happiness that I felt was what it was really about. A delicious brisket on a rainy day was what I needed. It came out amazing. It was the perfect thing to make any person with a soul happy. It was homecooking at its finest. I know my family would have approved of the brisket I  made. 

Arab Populations Tiyul

This past Thursday, my program went on a tiyul(trip) up north to the Wadi Ara region of Israel. The Wadi Ara is known for its Arab population. As part of our class on the Arab Populations of Israel, we learned first hand what these populations feel about their situation. We went to the cities of Umm al-Fahm,Baqa al-Gharbiyye and Bartaa. These cities have an Arab Muslim majority. These cities also are extremely close to the Green Line and Bartaa is divided by the Green Line so there is an Israeli Bartaa and a Palestinian Bartaa.

The city of Bartaa is very interesting in that is divided by the Green Line, yet not the Separation Wall. Both sides of the city are connected, yet some residents carry Israeli ID's while others carry Palestinian ID's. Since the city is in a unique situation, there is a tax free zone on the Palestinian side since the PA has not come to collect taxes. This means that Palestinian side has lower prices on goods and has attracted many residents with Israeli ID's to set up businesses on the other side of the Green Line and vice versa. With the economic situation being as it is, many Israelis travel to Bartaa to buy goods since it is cheaper than buying them in Israel. When talking with some of the residents, they all have something different to say. Every single one feels differently about the situation. Some feel Israeli, while others feel Palestinian. Yet they all feel Arab. Some point to one side or the other, yet it was interesting to hear one man say its extremists on both sides for the current status quo. We also learned that many residents of Bartaa  want to keep the status quo because of the economic benefits they experience. It was interesting to learn that even though they would like to see something done about the situation here, they are looking at what will make them prosperous and stable.

 After Bartaa, we went to Baqa al- Gharbiyye to talk with a group of teachers at a local high school. It was very interesting to hear what they had to say. We had so many questions for them. It was eye-opening to hear what they had to say and how they have experienced living in Israel as an Arab. After that we went for lunch at a great restaurant for shwarma, hummus, and falafel. All of the food was delicious and flavorful. I had lamb shwarma in a pita, but others got hummus, falafel and salads. As is typical in other Shwarma and Falafel restaurants in Israel, salads are available with your meal. You go up to the buffet, and take which salads you want. The fried eggplant and cauliflower were great.

After lunch, we went to a very cool art museum in Umm al-Fahm. The gallery was very interesting. They were getting ready for a new exhibit so some of the pieces were not labeled, but it was fascinating. The gallery also had an exhibit on the elders of the Wadi Ara. When looking at the faces of the elders, I noticed that they did not have happy facial expressions. Their facial expressions seemed to be indifferent, sad, or pissed off. Maybe they seemed this way because of what they had experienced during their lives. They have obviously been through a lot. They have seen discrimination, not to mention the status quo. I could see the history they had experienced on their faces. It left me wondering why the status quo is what it is. The other side of the conflict was evident. It was great to see it. It brings the whole situation to a new level for me. Anyways, it was a fascinating tiyul and it left me asking many questions. If I could do it again I would because it was a very rainy and gross day so we had to dodge the rain while we were walking. Anyways more to come from Tel Aviv in the coming future.