In a Hurry? Have Some Curry (or Dahl)

Date: August 8, 2011
Name: Ichikidana
Address: 4 HaEshkol, Mahane Yehuda market, Jerusalem

The Quartet's mid-day shuk excursion took an unexpected twist when R and D decided that it mustn't end without a visit to Ichikidana. The challenges were many: We had to convince M that 25 minutes would be enough time to eat and not get a parking ticket, we had to convince N that Indian food would be good, we had to convince the waiter (telepathy) to not take his time, and we had to convince the parking police (good thoughts) to grant Sir Lancelot a few grace minutes.

Ichikidana has been in the shuk for a few years and is the only place in Jerusalem that serves simple, fairly priced Indian food. The place is small, and has about 4 tables inside, and another 2 on the porch. We ordered the largest sized platter and a lot of cold water - both arrived promptly. The platter contained an assortment of cooked vegetable dishes, dahl, cheese, and chutneys, with a healthy dose of rice and bread.

We all agreed that the food was better than we remembered. The rice was well seasoned, and the chutneys were zesty and delicious. When it came to the cooked dishes, our opinions differed: the eggplant was a little sweet, but had good, subtle flavor. The reviews on the yams ranged from OK to great, and the potatoes were infused with coriander and (too?) spicy. The cabbage was cooked with mustard seeds, but had a slightly bitter aftertaste. The dahl, on the other hand, was too bland, and the cheese was much closer to labaneh than ghee.

The platter was perfect for 4 not-so-hungry women with time only for a quick meal. Otherwise, it would probably be satisfactory as a meal for 2-3 people. Bottom line, we wouldn't make a special effort to return to Ichikidana, but if we were in the mood for Indian food and happened to be in the area, we would happily stop by.

Hopefully, M and N have seen the light, and will join future culinary endeavors - and possibly be guest bloggers!

I'm (Eating Paneer) on a Boat

Family. Can't escape it, can't avoid it. Even more so when your family holds reunions aboard a cruise ship. There is a long list of things I'd prefer over confinement to a small space and non-stop kitschy, mediocre activities, all while the floor rocks to and fro. But my emboldened family wasn't going to let my fear of boats stop them, and we embarked on a 3-night cruise to the Bahamas.

Others have written about the wonders and glory of cruises; this post will focus on the culinary side of things. We'd taken the exact same cruise in the past, and everything was strangely comfortably familiar. Less getting lost (stateroom staircase connects floors 1-13, cross to dining room and lounges on floor 4), less wondering what's happening (ongoing buffet, plenty of mediocre activities and games), less worrying about finding each other (meet at meals, do your own thing in between).

Yet sitting down for dinner the first night, my heart leaped with joy: Indian food for dinner! The menu featured Paneer Makhani, with rice and raita. The menu promised pappadams, but these did not materialize (yet). The curried sauce was quite good, but the paneer was cruise-quality (read: raw tofu?), and the raita was lovely.

The problem began on the second night. The menu featured a curry, which ended up being strangely identical to the first night, except that potatoes displaced the paneer and the pappadams actually showed up. The third night offered Kaju Paneer Dhansak, which was essentially the first night's dinner, plus a few chunks of pineapple in the curry.

Now, a quiz. Can you identify which dinner was served on which night? All correct answers will be entered into a drawing; one will be selected for the grand prize - an invitation to be a guest blogger and review an Indian restaurant of one's choosing. Good luck!!

Maharaja

Date: May 23, 2010
Name: Maharaja, Ramle
Address: 87 Herzl St., Ramle

Ramle is an up and coming city in Israel. It's most known for the Ramle-Lod market, a traveling clothing market with unattractive, yet cheap, clothing. Its association with Lod also confers upon it all the glory of the Ben Gurion Airport. Soon, it'll be the place to live - but only we know this. Luckily, our blog has few, or no, readers (if you laughed, please send us an email)

Rumor has it that Ramle has some of Israel's best Indian food, due to the large Indian community there, primarily from Kochin. Thus, joined by M, we set out to discover for ourselves the magic that is Ramle.

We parked the car in what appeared to be an abandoned lot right across the street from downtown. Nearby was a functioning mosque, and we heard the muezzin calling to prayer. We felt called to Indian food, so after a quick picture, we moved along and found the restaurant. Visiting a new city, hearing the local sounds, and the dusk would have amounted to a romantic evening if we'd been anywhere else.

Maharaja is a 2-part business: the storefront has a small bakery and grocery store, stocked full of Indian and eastern products. The back sports a restaurant, in a dark, dingy room whose decor appeared to be left-over from the 1980s. We noted approvingly that our co-diners were mainly real, authentic Indians, and settled into a booth. We ordered a variety of dishes (our eyes were definitely larger than our stomachs), and meanwhile sipped mango lassi.

Our food arrived in a timely fashion, and a variety of colorful dishes filled the table. The samosas were delicious, and the chutneys were right on. The tempura platter featured a variety of battered and fried vegetables, and was beyond delectable. The other dishes were a little less exciting, although in D's opinion, anything consumed in half-darkness can't taste good (except when hiking). At the evening's end, R bought a little box of desserts made with rose water, which were a little too sweet but helped her make it through the night shift (it's not what you're thinking - she writes subtitles).

The prices were fine and the quantities were ample. The food itself wasn't enough of a lure to return to Ramle, although perhaps if Maharaja were closer to Jerusalem, we'd stop by for another round.

Satiated, we left the restaurant and were thrilled to find Rotkapchen loyally waiting for us, unstolen. The drive home was punctuated with an impromptu tour of the news offices, studio, and subtitles office (woohoo!)

The search for awesome Indian food continues... Stay posted!

Subkuch Milega

Date: May 17, 2010 (before Shavuot)
Name: Subkuch Milega
Address: 22 Hamashbir st, (Florentine) Tel Aviv

When we adventure, we adventure. When we go hiking, we take a map but when we have urban adventures, things are a little more spontaneous.

We started our day in the Herzeliya Marina, where we experienced two amazing forces intersecting: Couchsurfers' generosity and the beauty of sailing.
After basking in the awesomeness of sailing (and the sun), we headed to Tel Aviv to continue the adventure. A short and productive visit to the flea market and it was time for dinner.

Do you have the address? Um... Let's ask those people. Maybe it's over here. No, over there. Excuse me, do you know where... I think it's really far! Are you sure you want to walk all the way there? Maybe we can find the address in a phone book... Didn't they replace the phone book with Google?!?

Finally, we made it!

Subkuch Milega tries to replicate the experience of an Indian guesthouse in Tel Aviv. It's located in the Florentine neighborhood which hosts many shanty Israelis who long for the mother-ship, India. The upper floors are a hostel, and the restaurant occupies the first floor and courtyard.

We chose to sit outside, where there were low tables and many battered, colorful mattresses and cushions. The walls had a number of authentic art pieces.

Per our waitress' suggestion, we ordered a platter with a few different dishes. And we waited. And waited. And waited. The chef must have hopped on over to the subcontinent to pick up some ingredients, because it took about 45 minutes until our food arrived. Luckily, we came across a shesh-besh board (backgammon) and kept ourselves entertained (read: confused, due to the non-traditional game pieces and die). Cookie Goddess proved... you never know when you might need a Scrabble letter (or two).

Our food finally arrived and we dug in. Dipping naan in sauces, tasting the lentils... But we slowly realized that culinary journalism has its challenges. In addition to the long wait, we found ourselves facing mediocre food, lacking exciting flavors and textures. Tepid at best, the food was nothing to write home (or a blog) about. Plus, it was expensive, priced quite high for an Israeli meal, let alone an Indian one.

Not all was lost. We began the day as guests aboard a Couchsurfer's yacht, and ended the day in Couchsurfing spirit, by giving advice to travelers. During our meal, we overheard (ok, eavesdropped) an Anglo girl talking to two Israeli men. She was asking about sites to see, places to visit, and Jerusalem. Once the Israeli men left, we turned around and offered our two cents. As die-hard Jerusalemites, we had plenty of advice and ideas of how she should spend her time in our cool (and holy) city. We parted ways, but not before writing out a list of places, phone numbers and even a hand-drawn map or two.

Despite the Indian meal being the low-point in our day, we overcame the extreme difficulties and managed to enjoy our adventures on sea and land. One more place checked off the list.

Journalistic Delinquency

A year has passed, and plenty of good food has been consumed around the globe -- not in DC (Cookie Goddess).
In honor of the reunification of your favorite culinary blogging team, we deliver a four course blog entry, featuring the best of last year's Indian deliciousness.

Besides reporting on past culinary adventures, these entries are an homage to those special Israeli-Indian eateries that have since passed: Gandhi, formerly on Aza Street in Jerusalem and Almora in Even Sapir (a moshav near Jerusalem).

These entries pose a significant challenge to the aging bloggers; three out of the four meals featured were consumed over a year ago. We've learned our lesson and will try to be more timely in the future.

There are already a few adventures on the horizon, which will be promptly covered by yours truly. When we part ways at the summer's end, we hope to continue updating the blog, each from her own corner of the world.