Ask not what your hummus can do for you.

Friends,

Dafna is really at a loss. A terrible, confusing loss. She doesn't know if this is a roundup, a retrospective, or maybe even a recollection. Allow her to explain.

There has been much consumption of hummus, among other delicious things, over the last few weeks (months, more like it.) But it just doesn't have that roundup feel. Maybe summary is the word. Yes. Summary indeed.

This summary begins with an old friend and a new-to-me trick. I'm talking about the amazing, and amazingly affordable, hummus at the Turkish Kebab House in West Haven, Conn. Dafna has coveted their hummus for years, served with a delicious, chewy sort of focaccia (please don't be sad, pita.) It's salty, garlicky, peppery, almost eggy-tasting, and most importantly, creamy in the best way. Normally, creamy hummus is bland and almost like a mayonnaise, but those Turks have a secret trick. A secret trick with roots in the backyard of their most-hated enemy. That's right. The secret, you ask? Greek yogurt. Just a tablespoon or two. It's incredible, and unites even the biggest haters.



Next up was a trip to the Hummus Kitchen, a mini-chain Dafna always assumed was just one more notch in the belt that is NYC's burgeoning, and frequently questionable, hummus scene. The hummus was easily the best in the city. The hummus with meat, a combination of beef and lamb, was perfectly fatty and salty, the hummus underneath holding up against the oily mix on top.



But that's not what we care about. Nor do we care about their delicious, herb-filled falafel or crispy bourekas. No. Here's all that mattered:



That's right. Do not adjust your monitors. Goldstar Beer! Sweet and bitter, malty and smooth. Drinkable even warm. Available for 5 shekel at most convenience stores. Goldstar is the most elusive Israeli food product in New York, and here it was, all along. At about 200% mark-up. Oh well.

Okay, but then what happened is that Dafna went to a different Hummus Kitchen branch with Gabby, seen below, and remembered that yes, the hummus is the best. But even better? Dafna finally found it. The holy grail of good falafel. A falafel sandwich that is greater than the sum of its parts. Every flavor melds together - the lemony, minty chopped Israeli salad, the thick pickle slices, the creamy tahina and thick hummus, the hot, fluffy falafel. Separate, each impressive in its own right. Together, unstoppable.



Okay, hold on. That may have all been really boring. We know what you're really here to see. The reunion of the creative team behind this brilliant hummus blog, right? No one actually likes Dafna's blurry iPhone photos of NYC hummus. We know. Well, Rachel has those pictures, and a forthcoming blog about Palo Alto's newest hummusiya, among other things. But here's a cool shot of the organ player at PA's old-timiest movie theater, where we saw Strangers on a Train. Creepy.



One last thought: do yourselves a favor and never stop watching this video from you know who: Michael and Shimrit Greilsammer - Tirkedi.

Hummus With a Side of Violin

Nothing goes better with hummus than Michael Greilsammer. There have been so many sightings of this fantastic Jerusalem musician that it’s seriously hard to keep up. It all started two Thursdays ago when Rachel went to the Israel Museum’s “Contact Point” and spied Greilsammer playing a private violin concert for some lucky patrons. Rachel was filled with a jealous rage.

Later, she saw him at the Jerusalem tent protests at Tzahal Square — who knew that little grassy area outside the Old City had a name? Greilsammer and his singer/guitarist wife Shimrit came out to perform and show their support for the cause sweeping Israel over the last week—for the government to regulate the out of control housing prices. The crowd of mostly Ashkenazi students had a definitively social vibe of beer drinking, music and dancing. Getting the government’s attention has never been so fun. The protesters set up around 20 tents, which they have slept in for several nights so far. If Dafna’s looking for an apartment, look no further: This location’s got fresh air, amazing light, a beautiful next door view of the Old City and friendly haredi neighbors.

The next Greilsammer sighting came two days ago when Dafna and Rachel learned, thanks to Emily Bernstein, that they are featured in one of his music videos! Please notice their blurry, bobbing faces from 56-58 seconds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsEds_HvMa8


Now the question is of course, do you think Michael and Shimrit have noticed all of the Rachel sightings?


In other news, Rachel is moving to an apartment in Rehavia today. In honor of the occasion, she tried a hummus restaurant in the neighborhood yesterday; from Gaza to Berlin, purportedly tasty. The hummusia (hummus restaurant in Hebrew) derives its name from that time in 1992 when Germany invaded the Gaza Strip, took their hummus away and made the residents eat bratwurst. Actually, the restaurant just sits at the corner of those two streets.


The verdict: Gaza to Berlin is fantastic. Thank G-d Rachel moved. It is the creamiest hummus she’s ever had. So smooth and the flavor of the chickpea really sang. This lingo is all coming from “Top Chef,” by the way. It had a nutty quality that made it taste like creamy peanut butter. A tangy spinach vegetable on top was a great complement, and the lemon, garlic and oil layer on top coexisted in harmony. With regards to the creaminess, Rachel noticed they use a food processor to make the hummus, while at Ben Sira they make the hummus in mysterious bubbling pots. It was obvious this place was going to be good even before she walked in the door. If you see Israeli men in their 20s or so packing the place, you know the hummus is tops, experience has shown. The minute families are involved, the quality drops.

Stop the Presses!

Okay, wait. A few things.

1. So as it turns out, Dafna had it all wrong at the Hummus Place. Yes, the West Village branch (or sneef, in Hebrew!) was good, but then she went to the Upper West Side sneef with her mom, and wow was that one so much better.

Here's the "eggplant sandwich," or sabich:

It was pretty great. Pickles, egg, techina, lots of fried eggplant. No potato but that was okay.

It was so okay, in fact, that Dafna went back the next day with Marlowe, friend from Israel and current resident of Merced, visiting the East Coast for a bit. She had the hummus-techina with falafel on the side. Dafna loved the falafel, Marlowe was not the biggest fan. Even though she looks pretty pleased here:



Why else do we care about Marlowe? Because her brother owns the Maoz Vegetarian branch in Berkeley, and vouches for its tastiness. So that's a pretty great little circle, and Dafna thought a nice way to include Rachel's Bay Area entourage of family and well wishers.

Okay, that's it. Just a short one this time. Nothing too crazy. Move it along!

Roundup, Shmoundup. Bo Boundup.

Howdy Faithful Followers,

Well, this post, technically, is a round up, but it's starting to become clear that our idea of a round up now must be expanded, due to the rampant 'round up' abuse that Dafna has so frequently committed. Can we call it a half-circle up? Because there's a lot to be said about different hummus places in New York City, but perhaps it's not a round up. You guys tell us.

A few weeks ago, Dafna wandered down to the Upper West Side in search of this magical land known to some as 'The Shtetl,' to others 'Little Tel Aviv.' There were tales of hummus, sabich, Goldstar Beer, and many Jews. She got off the subway, dawdled west on 72nd Street, and almost immediately laid eyes upon SoomSoom, a sort of falafel/sabich fast food place.

$7.50 for a sabich?? This better have been the best. Ever. Period. Here's what it looked like halfway through (and I think upside down somehow):



Okay. Sort of hard to distinguish what's going on there, so here's the situation: good, creamy hummus, nice spongy pita, two, count them TWO hard boiled eggs and eggplant. All of those things would have been fine on their own, but everyone knows sabich and fried potato go together like the cliff and the sea at Rosh Hanikra. SoomSoom, however, did something really strange. They shoved in half a ton of boiled, unsalted potato slices. Boiled? What? Maybe it's easier/faster to do, but it was so unflavored, and there was just so much of it. Ack. The good news was their little salad area, which contained all of the classics - Israeli salad, onions in sumac, green and red cabbage, spicy shredded carrots, amba, etc.

Then, across the street, like an oasis of coffee-flavored blended ice beverages in the barren Be'ersheva landscape, there it was: Aroma. Rachel has been spoiled by Aroma in Tarzana (the other Little Tel Aviv), but Dafna has never experience American Aroma. It was like walking into an alternate galaxy. There they were, all the salads, sandwiches, delicious drinks and bourekas, but everything was in...English. Dafna got an ice Aroma and vowed to return one day soon, demanding pickles on her egg salad sandwich, per usual.

Okay. Let's take it back to our humble hummus beginnings for just a moment. Last Friday, Dafna ended up at the Hummus Place in the West Village. Here's the 'hummus with fava beans' (Hummus Place, don't abandon your roots - you mean 'hummus with ful'!)



Looks awesome, right? Well you know what? It WAS awesome. Yes, the cilantro dressing was a little much, but the egg in the middle was great, the hummus warm and light, the beans not too mushy. Pita was debatable, but fine. Could there have been more? Sure. But a good showing, all around. (Minus all of these ridiculous New York prices, wah wah.)

Out of desperation, there may soon be ventures to Maoz (a chain falafel place? Eek), a place near Columbia called Amir's, and Nanoosh, which looks maybe decent. We'll keep you in the loop.

What else? I'll tell you what else! Do you people know that Rachel Marder has been officially employed by the Jerusalem Post as a copy editor for more than a month now? Here's her byline on this article, too! Dafna continues the job search. Anyone want to lend a hand?

That's all for now, folks. Wishing you all a Shabbat full of Shalom.

Guest Post by Leah Zeff

Hello to all of Rachel and Dafna's blog followers. I have never blogged but requested this special opportunity to publicize an extraordinary find in the hummus world. While I was recently in America I found a hidden gem in the refrigerated dips section in the local Safeway. It is creamy and delicious, and packaged in a nice clear container with a red rimmed top. Comes in a variety of flavors such as supremely spicy (highly recommended), roasted red peppers, greek olive, and many more. Yes, keep your eyes peeled for Sabra© brand Hummus (OU Kosher, Parve).

Hummus, even unto its innermost parts.

Okay people. Dafna has been having intense, uncontrollable, incapacitating cravings for, surprise ... hummus. Specifically, for the what she now considers to officially be her favorite Israeli hummus, Ben Sira. Yes yes, there's that delicious Nahariyan locale known as Danny's Hummusiya, but something about that Ben Sira charm. The beans in the table, the planning to have enough cash before you go because they don't take credit card, the mushrooms and cauliflower. Rachel gets to go whenever she wants, but Dafna just gets to hear about it and dream. She's also been craving shakshuka, and made this little pan of it recently: Supposedly New York City ( I always imagine myself in those Pace Salsa Commercials with a southern accent when I say that. New York City??) has some decent places, some of which I've even been to. There's The Hummus Place, which matches in texture but is a bit undersalted as I recall. The Chickpea lacks two important flavors - pride and love, both of which may be even more important than lemon and salt. Taim has good falafel and sabich but pretty standard hummus. Supposedly there is a place in the outer reaches of Brooklyn, Mimi's, that actually serves authentic, I feel sick but I can't stop eating this, please someone just take the fork away, hummus.

Well folks, I did it. I went. I sat on the B train for 55 minutes of an ethnic safari - rivaled only by the ride to Hebrew U. through Mea Shearim - until I reached Mimi's. And holy cow, was I disappointed. It started out innocently enough, ordering hummus with pitriyot - mushrooms. But two things made me uneasy before I took my first 'wipe.' First, it took 15 minutes for the order to come out. My order being a bowl of already-cooked hummus. Second, I heard a microwave. Let's gloss over the hummus itself, which was overly lemony (who would think such a phrase could appear in this blog?), overly salty (seriously, who is writing this thing??) and under-spiced. But the kicker? My hummus had spots of that sort of darkened, hardening crust that can appear on half-eaten hummus sitting in the fridge for weeks, or as I discovered when we made hummus last June, forms when you leave hummus sitting in the hot sun. You know what that means? It means they microwaved my hummus. Need I go on? Case dismissed, court adjourned, other legal jargon.

But then, this event, the second Hummus Taste Off, happened recently (thanks, Amanda, for the tip.)

So, there's minor hope for hummus in New York City, after all.
(This stuff's made in New York City?? Seriously, just watch this commercial)

Wait! Also, meet Dafna's soon-to-be new roommate. Tim currently works as Fordham University's Alumni Relations and Development secret weapon, without whom the school would likely implode.

Springtime for Israel

Chodesh tov, friends! Time to throw a little Jewish knowledge your way. Today is the first day of the Jewish month of Nisan. This is an important day for several reasons. Firstly, it's Rachel's Hebrew birthday. Secondly, tradition teaches it's the day the mishkan (the tabernacle the Jews carried in the desert for 40 years) was finished. Thirdly, recognizing rosh chodesh ("head of the month") Nisan was the first commandment given by G-d to the Jewish people. Soon followed by the commandment to never covet your neighbor's hummus or falsely testify against hummus. The arrival of Nisan also means Pesach is upon us (14th Nisan), so start peeling those tomatoes, liquidizing your sugar and hiding your quinoa (it's a gray area?!). Speaking of delicious foods, I went to the hummus capital of Israel last week with my parents and the Congregation Beth Am group that was visiting. The restaurant was a major crowd pleaser. The hummus was okay. Kind of a let down, honestly. Lacking in flavor, crucial lemon juice and too oily. None of that stopped me from dipping the fries like a beast. I mean, it's still Abu Ghosh. I had a wonderful visit with my parents. We happily spent several days in the lush, rainy north. Below, our hike in Banias. Everything is in full bloom in the north. Springtime always makes me think of Hitler in the best way. My cousin apparently built this beautiful new metal sculpture called "Turning the World Upside-Down" (by Anish Kapoor) at the Israel Museum. My dad, pictured in front of it. I found a photograph at the Israel Museum of one of Dafna's pastry chef colleagues. August Sander, German 1876-1964. Pastry Cook, 1928. Moshe Dayan on King George St. Sculpture of the national sport in Israel, spitting like you just don't care. Outside Dafna's favorite government building, the ministry of culture and sports. Shout out to UConn for winning the NCAA! I've been hearing about some tasty hummus in the Ein Karem neighborhood of Jerusalem. Looking forward to trying that!