Things I Learned: 8

Please note that the observations below are based on my personal experience. They do not reflect the opinions of any organization, employer, company, or other contributors to this blog.

• A few weeks ago I wanted to make sloppy joes, but could not find Worcestershire sauce or ground beef in the supermarket. Instead I bought some sausages from the freezer section and they were delicious. The frozen, processed meat game is strong here.
• We usually have beans-and-rice once a week. As far as trophic levels, you can’t really get any lower and as this vintage clip suggests, serve them together and you get “a flavor that’s supreme.” The problem is, there are chickpeas and kidney beans here. No pintos. No navy beans. No black-eyed-peas.
• Hazelnut is the Israeli high fructose corn syrup. It is in everything.
• Instant coffee is useful. No really, hear me out. Sometimes you can’t wait for the Turkish coffee to “cook and settle”, so pour that hot water over some freeze-dried crystals, drop in a few ice cubes, and ingest. Immediately.
• Supermarkets here also carry bananas that never ripen. It would be helpful if they were clearly labeled though. So you can plan…
• You can get craft beer in Israel, but you really have to try (not in supermarkets) and it’s about $3.00 per bottle (see below). Of the ones I have tried the oldest brewery was founded in 2006. Alternatively, you can buy a bottle of red wine from the Galilee for $6.75.

• The order in which the ingredients are placed inside the pita when you order a falafel matters. A lot. Some of these guys should take more pride in their work and their product. Put the hummus on the side of the pita, not just at the bottom. Why do I have to tell you this?
• Mexican food is not a thing here. There is one burrito place in Haifa that I know of and it never seems to be open. I can’t find salsa that looks like salsa in the supermarket and I have yet to see tortilla chips.
• Cereal comes in gigantic (500 grams) boxes. Milk, on the other hand, comes in tiny (1 liter) containers.
• On Fridays we buy challah at a restaurant down the street. They get it from an Orthodox neighborhood here in Haifa. It is probably the best challah I have tasted—after the challah that Adena makes, of course. Here’s the lunch I had at that restaurant last week. The dark brown stuff is ful.