Food on the Move Tips | Page 49 of 66
The Old Market in Bethlehem: A Morning Souk Under Stone Arches
The old market in Bethlehem's historic center starts at the end of Al Mdbasseh Street and winds through lanes under stone arches all the way to Manger Square. Every morning farmers from the surrounding villages bring in their produce - villages like Battir, whose terraces are on the UNESCO list. And at the food stalls a big metal tray sends up the smell of stewed beans called ful.
The Walled Off Hotel, Bethlehem
A few meters from the wall in Bethlehem stands a hotel opened by Banksy, one that boasts the worst view in the world. On the ground floor coffee is served among his originals, and upstairs there's a museum of the wall and a gallery of Palestinian artists. The piano bar is free to walk into - seeing the works costs you one coffee.
Pita: The Flatbread With a Pocket to Fill
The most important ingredient in a pita is air: the steam that puffs up a disc of flour, water, yeast and salt in a blazing oven and leaves a pocket in it for falafel, shawarma or hummus. The name reached Hebrew by a detour through the Balkans, the bread itself is older than farming, and it took Israel to shrink it into the little "hundred-gram pita". I ate one every day in Israel without ever ordering one.
Jerusalem bagel
Za'atar: The Levantine Spice Blend with Sumac and Sesame
Za'atar is a spice blend of dried Syrian oregano, tart sumac, toasted sesame, and salt - all across the Levant, you mix it with olive oil and dip bread in it. The same word means both the herb and the finished blend. It is eaten mostly in the morning, on manakish flatbread or on labneh, and in Jerusalem you even get it in a little bag with your kaak al-Quds bagel.
What to Bring Back from Israel?
Israeli cuisine pulls together Jewish flavors from all over the world, so I'd already tasted plenty of these treats in the countries they came from. In the end I brought home three specialties: pasta-shaped bisli snacks, peanut bamba, which holds a quarter of Israel's salty snack market, and ptitim pasta nicknamed Ben Gurion's rice.
Pani Cunzatu: Bread of Shame
Pizza Secca: The Dry Pizza from Catania's Bakeries
Pizza secca is Catania's "dry pizza": a sheet of dough rolled out to a few millimeters, brushed with tomato paste, oil and oregano and baked until crisp. The bakeries of Catania sell it cold and by weight, and nowhere else in Sicily will you find it. This piece explains why a dry flatbread is called pizza, how it differs from sfincione and where I bought mine.
El Camino Tapas Restaurant, Prague
Isai Ramen Restaurant, Prague
A review of Isai Ramen, a Prague restaurant that specializes in ramen, the Japanese noodle soup. Both the Miso Red and the Thick Broth Miso ramen were absolutely perfect: strong broth, noodles with just the right bite, tender meat and an egg that wasn't overcooked. Plus a glass of calpis, the Japanese drink made from fermented milk. Most of the guests were Japanese - the best endorsement you can get.