Where Is All The Hummus? And Shawarma?

Hello again!

Sarah is busy looking up cheap eats for us so I figure I'd make another blog post. This time it's about food!

For those of you who know me (and now for those of you who don't), I love food. It's delicious, it sustains me, it makes my tummy feel good, it adds to my ever expanding waistline, and depending on where you eat, it can immensely diversify your palette and cultural savvy. Yes, food is wonderful in so many ways! So you can imagine my delight at the opportunity to try some truly authentic Middle Eastern cuisine.

Well, consider that delight completely dashed. AD's cultural food selection isn't exactly the greatest. Let's refer to the Exhibit A - the Mushrif Mall food court. Yes, they have a couple of (overpriced) Middle Eastern-y restaurants, but they're outnumbered by Wendy's, KFC, Hardee's (or Carl's Jr. as some of you may know it as), McDonald's, Pizza Hut (that has a self-serve salad bar? What in the ...?), and lastly, a Subway. It's a veritable hodge podge of North American dining delights! But where are the hole-in-the-wall restaurants that serve up hummus and shawarma from a scary looking Lebanese man who vaguely reminds me of those Libyans from "Back To The Future"? You know the ones I'm talking about.

Fig 1.0.: Great Scott! THE LIBYANS!

Yes, I'm fully aware that Lebanon and Libya aren't the same country. Just go with me on this one, okay?

But I digress. Where are these delightfully sketched-out (but not actually sketched-out, I-make-shawarma-in-the-same-place-my-cat-does-doo-doo) restaurants? The hunt is on to find it! You would think it that with us being so close to the Middle East, i.e. in the Middle East, would make it incredibly easy to find a restaurant that serves up the good stuff. But thus far, nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. I would say the Arabic equivalent to "nothing", but I don't know it. Cut me some slack! I've only been here for three weeks and everything is pretty much in English.

So, where else would one go for delicious, authentic, chickpea slurry goodness (hummus is basically pureed chickpeas with tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and salt)? How about the local grocery store where all the locals shop for their local foodstuffs? Yes, brilliant idea!

NOPE.

Turns out the only hummus they had was gross and smacked of chalk and despair. And it had a giant olive in the middle of it for some strange reason.

Fig 1.1.: A quick Google Image search shows this as "despair" and indeed, that hummus tasted the way this balding gentleman feels.

With the failure on both shawarma and hummus fronts, Sarah and I have given up our search for authentic Middle Eastern food temporarily. We'll continue it again when we're both a little more settled in our place and in our work lives. I'm convinced that there has to exist that one place that serves up Middle Eastern food that isn't super bland and tasteless. Or perhaps that's just how it's supposed to be? Is it possible that the Middle Eastern food tastes better in Canada than in the Middle East? No! I refuse to believe it! Come Hell or high water, I will have my brilliantly delicious shawarma!

Fig. 1.2.: The stuff that Middle Eastern dreams are made of.

There will be more food adventures to come! I've been cooking with strange Asian vegetables as of late. I got something called "Bangladesh String Beans". They're kind of wrinkly and incredibly long. I'm excited to see what they taste like! Also, we recently had Subway. I'm sure all of you know about Sarah's not-so-secret love affair with Subway's cold cut combo. Well, they don't have that over here (probably because the cold cuts they use are infused with pork) so she got a Subway club instead. A video of our experience enjoying that is yet to come!

Oh, and on an entirely non-food related note, look at this creepy toy I found at a discount store.

Fig. 1.3.: This must be the reason for uncontrollable children.

Until next time!

- Bernard