Middle Eastern food

Eran and I had lunch plans today. We had decided to meet on the corner of 14th and 8th. At the appointed time, I watched as he strolled across the street. He was dressed in black with orange bug-eyed shades. He looked a little like an Isreali Bono.

He lived just catty corner to where we were standing. He pointed to the building and told us that Elinor would be joining us. We walked to the doorway of his building and she appeared. Her belly was huge. She's pregnant with twins; her due date is three weeks hence. "Generally, twins come early," she told me, and she may deliver this week.

We went to a small Turkish restaurant on 14th Street, just west of 8th. I had a chicken gyro, finishing off the meal with black Turkish tea. We talked about photography and about raising families and about Isreal and the Middle East. They both dream about visiting Syria and Lebanon. We raved about the food, and they gave recommendations for out of the way places to eat.

Elinor told me her mother is coming in three weeks to help take care of the children. "Though if I give birth beforehand, she's ready to jump on the next flight out," she said. She looks beautiful, and they both tell me the pregnancy has been surprisingly easy. Elinor tells me she's more calm during the pregnancy as well. She's been taking on jobs that she would otherwise have turned down due to the stress. Now she takes them in stride. She hopes that her calm will remain after she gives birth. Otherwise she might always have to be pregnant to achieve her current zen-like state.

When we left, we all walked north. I was heading to Bed, Bath & Beyond, and they were looking to buy snacks. Friends had told them to prepare snacks along with their overnight bags for the hospital. Elinor told them she could always send Eran out, but they told her she wouldn't want to be without him for five minutes. They stopped by a deli owned by a Lebanese man where Eran said they made the best halwa. I was tempted, but didn't step inside.

I had my first halwa in Damascus. A small chunk of it sat to the side of my breakfast tray. I tried it on flatbread, still warm from the bakery. It was delicious. Later, Iman told me that it was good for the skin, among other things. She cut a chunk for each of us off of a brick they had in the kitchen and we ate it off the knife with our fingers. "It's good, no?" she asked. It was great. Tomorrow, I'll have to go back to that deli on 7th and correct today's mistake. Posted by eku at July 21, 2004 7:41 PM