Hook-ah Me Up, Joe!

This has been a pretty busy week. I needed a little down time tonight after getting back from work. One of the best ways to blow off some steam is to blow off some smoke...no, not that smoke...I'm talking about a good hookah (hoo-kuh) session! I'm sure plenty of my readers have smoked some hookah at some point in their life, but for those who haven't (by the way, you're missing out), let me explain a little bit about this Middle Eastern practice.

Joe is so excited!!!
Pictured with roommate Zach Berg.

A hookah, or the device used to smoke a moist form of tobacco known as sheesha (shee-shuh), is a tall, slender pipe. The sheesha rests in a ceramic bowl on top of the pipe, with coals placed on top of the bowl. The pipe then leads down to a water jar, which filters the smoke as it is drawn down through the device. About halfway up the pipe are openings for air flow and for attaching hoses, from which the tobacco is inhaled by the smoker.

A hookah pipe, set up and ready to smoke!

Sheesha comes in a wide array of flavors. I have tried many, including mango, raspberry lemonade and Irish coffee. The flavors are strong (in comparison to other forms of tobacco) and make hookah smoking a very enjoyable experience. Also, because of the water filter, the smoke is much cooler than other forms of tobacco, giving it a less harsh feeling. Tonight, we smoked a sheesha called Sweet Drop, which had an intense menthol flavor over a less prominent fruity one.

The coals glow red hot
when air/smoke is inhaled through one of the hoses

Smoking with Joe and I tonight was Zach Berg, a fellow Bradley student and one of Joe's roommates. Hookah is gaining a lot of popularity with American college students and has become a recreational alternative to smoking other substances or drinking. Hookah leaves smokers with a slight head rush and an overall calm and relaxed feeling. It contains a minute amount of niccotine, but is considered non-addictive. I should note that hookah is not known as a safer alternative to other forms of tobacco, but it's health effects are not well understood. You can check out the Wikipedia page on hookah to learn more about the practice and its origins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookah.

Finally, I'll leave my readers with a couple videos from Joe, Zach and me's hookah experience:

Joe calls me "The Dragon."

I call him "The Ring Master."

There Ain't Nothin' Like a Home-Cooked Meal

Joe and I went to Seth's parents' house to eat last Thursday. It was the second time I have been invited over there for a meal, and, both times, I came away having eating a delicious meal. Seth's mom is a great Lebanese chef, and I couldn't wait to see what new foods I was going to get to try!

That evening was one of the first actually chilly ones of the fall season, much to my relief after such a hot summer, and the air was full of autumn mist. Thankfully, the house warm and comfortable with the heat from the oven, and the Alwan family was as welcoming as always. Eating with us were Seth's brother, George's, family and Gabe.

Pan of shawarma, with tahini and
pita bread on the side.

Once a prayer was said, we sat down to a table full of intruiging dishes. The first thing I put on my plate, shawarma (shuh-wore-muh), was actually familiar to me. I had it the last time I ate at the Alwans',  in the summer of 2011. It is a dish that consists of shavings of meat (in this case, beef) that are plated, topped with tahini sauce, and then picked up with a piece of pita bread to be eaten.

The next dish I tasted was also familiar. It was kibbeh (ki-beh), which is beef that is rolled into a ball with grain and onion, kind of like a meatball. As I've said, I have had kibbeh before, but the first time I had it it was raw. This time it had been cooked. Either way, kibbeh is a very hearty, tasty food.

Rolled, cooked kibbeh.

The final dish I had was one that was totally new to me. It was shishbarak (shish-ba-rek), a ravioli-like pasta stuffed with meat and spices, served in a yogurt sauce. We ate it like a soup, and it was the perfect food for such a cool day! After learning that Seth's mom hadn't made it in about a year, I totally understood why his family was so excited to have it for dinner.

A large, steaming pot of shishbarak.

Leave the Newtons for nursing homes.

After the meal was done, and I was ready to just go lay down and digest, Seth's mom brought out a tray of brownies. While I was too full to even consider dessert, I did take Seth up on trying a fig out of his dad's garden. I had never had a fresh fig before, only in Newton form, and they were not on my list of favorite fruits. That totally changed, however, once I ate this one. The flavor was bright at summery, with a perfect blend of sweet and tangy. Whatever Nabisco uses in there cookies tastes nothing like what I had popped into my mouth.

Once dinner was over, Seth, Joe, Gabe and I hung out in the basement for a while, watching Netflix and trying not to fall asleep from our full stomachs. After Joe made us watch Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, a shoddily-made Writers' Strike-era Neil Patrick Harris show, I knew it was time to go before I wasn't going to be able to get up. 

Joe and I said bye to Gabe, who was leaving for home in Baltimore the next day, and thanked the Alwans when we got back upstairs. It had been such a relaxing evening, and I was grateful for the non-Bradley meal. It's times like that when I really appreciate family and really appreciate the Lebanese sense of the term. To people like the Alwans, family is everything!

Seth, his brother's family, Joe, Gabe and me after dinner.

You Want Hummus With That?

One of the best ways I have discovered Lebanese culture and influence in Peoria is by eating at Lebanese/Mediterranean restaurants. There are a number of them in the area, but on Tuesday I ventured to Pita's Mediterranean Wraps (http://www.facebook.com/pitasmedwraps), which is located on Knoxville Ave. I was joined by Seth, his cousin, Gabe, and Seth's nephew, Anthony (Benson). 

This blog is not affiliated with the GOP.

Pictured left to right: Seth, Benson and Gabe

After walking through the doorway and being greeted with the warm, spice-filled air created by the ovens, the next piece of authenticity that stood out was the set of beautiful Mediterranean landscape murals covering the walls. Walking towards the counter to get a better look at the marquee-style menu only sealed the promise that this trip was going to be worth it.

Gazing upon the items listed, I found myself having a bit of trouble making a decision. The collage of American and Mediterranean selections all seemed as though they could satisfy any amount of hunger (mine was pretty large), but I knew I had come to sample something other than what can be found at any McDonald's or Pizza Hut. By the time it was my turn to order, I had decided on an order of falafel (fuh-lah-ful), a roll of za'atar (zah-tar) bread, one beef pie, and one lamb pie.

After we had all ordered, we took our drinks to a booth and visited as we waited for our food to be brought to us. It was a great time for me to get to know Gabe, who has been visiting from Baltimore, and congratulate Benson on getting his drivers license. 

Seth waiting for his food.

Benson is one of Seth's brother,
George's, four kids. Gabe's dad is the brother
of Seth's mom.

Our food was quickly delivered by one of the co-owners of the restaurant, Rose. She and her sister, along with members of their families, recently took over management, and Seth says the food has never been better. I was able to talk to her for a few minutes, during which I learned all the made-to-order meals are homemade with fresh ingreadients on a daily basis. 

You can see the baked spices inside
the rolled flatbread.

This was immediately proven when I took my first bite of za'atar bread. Za'atar is a piece of flatbread that is covered in a mixture of spices and seasonings (this mix is za'atar) and then baked to amplify the flavor. It can be eaten flat like a pizza, or it can be rolled up and enjoyed like a wrap. Either way, the za'atar made at Pita's was delicious!

Once I finished the bread, I moved on to the falafel, which is made when balls of groud fava beans and/or chickpeas are deep-fried. Mine were served on a bed of lettuce and olive oil, with a tahini (tuh-hee-nee) sauce on the side. Tahini is made with hulled sesame seeds that are ground into a paste.

The falafel was definitely my favorite
part of the meal. So good!

Beef or lamb?
Only the first bite will tell.

Finally getting to the meat pies, I had a hard time discerning the one with beef from the one with lamb, because both were identical from the outside. I took my best guess as I lifted the first one to my mouth. It was beef, moist and savory. 

Finishing that one and knowing my remaining option, I took my first bite of the lamb pie. It also tasted great, but the flavor was gamier (shoutout to Andrew Zimmern from Bizzare Foods) and had a bit more spice to it. I have not eaten lamb often, but this recipe made me feel as though I might be in the  future. Both of the pies were delicious and were well worth their $1.50 price from the specials menu!

As we neared the end of our meal, Gabe, who had gone to the counter for some more ketchup, came back with four pieces of baklava (bock-lah-vah), which Rose had given to us as a kind gesture. Baklava is a dessert made of layers of pastry and chopped nuts, which is sweetened with honey. It was the perfect ending to such a satifying and exciting meal!

Delicious!

The first piece was so good, I had to take
home a couple more in a doggie bag!

Overall, this was an awesome trip to an excellent restaurant! Rose and her employees were extremely kind and generous, making feel as though we were eating supper in their home kitchen. I would recommend to everyone that they should go to Pita's Mediterranean Wraps at least once (though I'm sure that number would increase after the first visit), and that they should take advantage of places like this, wherever they live, so that they can try something new and add some za'atar to their life!

Me and Rose

Don't Let Tayta Hear You Say That

Last week I went to Joe's parents' Cedars Pita Bakery, which I'll share more about another time, but where I ate lunch with some of Joe's family. The food was great (again, I'll share more in a different post), but like other times when I have been a guest at a Lebanese-American function, I found myself quickly lost in the conversation. Silently, I listened to the family members visit cheerfully in either of their two native languages. Portuguese, for those from Brazil, or Arabic, the official language of Lebanon.

Usually, in these types of situations, I just look at whoever's talking, as if I can clearly understand what their saying, and respond accordingly with what everyone else in the discussion is doing. If they smile, I smile. If they laugh, I give a hearty chuckle. If the group gives any sign of disapproval, I frown and shake my head. I know I must look like a fool to everyone else, especially when I misjudge the tone of the conversation, but it helps me at least feel like I'm part of it.

Sometimes, when Portuguese is the dominant linguistic choice, I can pick up a handful of words and phrases. This is due to the fact that Portuguese is a Romance language (based on Latin) and shares many roots with English.

Arabic, on the other hand, is an entirely different beast to conquer. Known by many as one of the hardest languages for English-speakers to learn, Arabic is a Central Semitic language, related to Hebrew, Aramaic and Phoenician. Basically, many of the sounds and words of Arabic are nothing like what most of the Western world is used to speaking. Joe has even said that he was once told that many Arabic sounds can only be formed by muscles in the throat that are usually used during vomiting.

Gross facts aside, Arabic is a very complex language, the written form of which is even more difficult to master. Joe can only speak Arabic, while Seth and other second-generation relatives can write only a limited amount.  To make things even more challenging, Arabic is read from right to left, instead of left to right like English.

Back to my story, though...

As I sat in the back of the bakery, listening to the seemingly chaotic conversations, the chatter was suddenly halted. Joe and Seth's grandmother, referred to by the traditional Arabic moniker Tayta (tie-tuh), had started scolding Joe's mom. While I wasn't sure if this was a joke or not (which I later found out it was), I had reached a point in the afternoon when I just had to know what was going on. These are the moments when I ask Joe or Seth the painfully ignorant question, "What did [he/she] say???"

"Taboosh," Joe replied.

"Huh?"

"Taboosh. It's what we might call 'idiot' or 'moron.' Tayta hates it when we use that word. She yelled at me about saying it when I was little, so when my mom just called me it, I told on her to Tayta!" he laughed.

While the humor of the situation was somewhat lost with me as I tried to store this newly-learned swear word in my brain, I did come to appreciate the lesson learned on this day: even in a language as complex as Arabic, one bad word is enough to tick off a friends' grandmother.