The smell of fresh paint

February 21, 2005 by Israelity · Leave a Comment
Filed under: General

Is this your first time here? Don’t be nervous… it’s mine too.

I remember the first time I moved into the Hebrew University dorms on Mount Scopus. I was the first one to arrive on the floor, and the silence was overwhelming.

The strongest memory I have from that afternoon is the smell of fresh paint. All of the hallways and rooms had been given a fresh coat of blindingly white paint, and all the windows were wide open, blowing the clean institutional smell through rooms and hallways.

I had just finished four years in the navy, and shipboard life had not prepared me for this moment of ‘aloneness’. I was anxious for somebody, anybody, to arrive.

I didn’t have long to wait though. Soon the floor was awash in the sound of laughter and music… as well as the aromas of ethnic cooking styles that nature and politics had never imagined mingling together in the air.

Well, I hear Harry moving around in the next room, cooking up something about Tel Aviv’s Kitchenette… so I know I’m not alone here. But the newness and nervousness of this new beginning is still lingering in the air.

In the next days and weeks this spot will be filled with the thoughts and experiences of a diverse group of writers who span the political and religious spectrum about as broadly as any collection of English speakers could reasonably be expected to.

I don’t know about you, but I’m as nervous and excited as I was on that first day of school.

Ah, the smell of fresh paint!

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Tel Aviv’s Kitchenette

February 21, 2005 by Harry · 1 Comment
Filed under: Food, General

My friend Kobi and I love discovering new off the beaten path restaurants in Tel Aviv. There is no stone we won’t turn to satiate our appetites for satisfying meals and Tel Aviv doesn’t lack interesting places. Romanian, Tunisian, Eastern European or Yemenite. If you crave it, you can get it.

Deep within the Yemenite quarter of Tel Aviv lies one of my favorite culinary gems – Mitbachon (Kitchenette). It’s a happening place, open 24 hours a day serving homecooked comfort food – Israeli style. You won’t find mac n’ cheese here but rather comfort food Israeli style – cous cous with vegetables, goulash, homemade meatballs and some of the best chopped liver this side of the Mediterranean. The food is great, the ambience is as laid back as it gets and the food is cheap. The food is very similiar to the myriad of ethnic restaurants that can be found in Tel Aviv that caters to workers, but the clientele at the Mitbachon is noticeably more hip. And the biggest plus is that it’s open 24 hours a day.