Comfort Food
There are times that I forget that my friend Joy is half-Syrian (perhaps it's because the other half is pure-bred WASP). But, the other night, when we hooked up among the hookahs on Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue to grab dinner at one of its many Middle Eastern eateries, Joy's heritage not only became quite apparent - but turned into a windfall for the culinary diplomacy process between the Arabs (Joy) and the Jews (moi).
We settled into the "pretty in pink" Fountain Cafe, which really does feature a small fountain in the middle of the dining room, and I let Joy take reign of the menu. She smiled warmly as she glanced at the offerings, regaling me with stories of her family - including her Grandmother's gifts in the kitchen, her belly-dancing aunt and the antics of her entire Brooklyn-based clan.
It became clear that meat-stuffed Grape Leaves (pictured above) were to her what Matzoh Ball soup is to me - comfort fare, pure and simple.
And, with comfort always in short supply in the big city, we ordered big - happily stuffing ourselves with a vegetarian plate that featured Baba Ganoush, Hummus, Fried Cauliflower, Falafel, Tabbouleh and a crisp, green salad. We also dug into an appetizer portion of warm meat-stuffed Grape Leaves, which according to Joy, weren't a home-run due to their lack of yogurt sauce, and shared a heaping platter of Fool Moudammas, an Arabic bean salad.
Once a good deal of lemon juice had been squirted upon the lot of the dishes, along with a fair pinch or two (or three) of salt, Joy had to admit that it all did taste a bit like home. All it really needed was a tad more garlic to take the meal over the edge and firmly ground it in the realm Joy's childhood memories. But, alas, we couldn't ask for a few minced garlic cloves, without insulting the Fountain's chef.
And, goodness knows what might've landed in our Tabbouleh the next time, had we incited his wrath. Don't even think that our mission of peace could persuade him otherwise. But, diplomacy will forge onward.
Guess next time Joy and I go out, I'll have to introduce her to real Jewish comfort fare - Chinese food.