"Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

Friday, February 27, 2009

Damascus -- The Menu

Today I will tell you about one restaurant we went to. Sorry, but I don't know the name. I think this was my least favorite place, and it's not that this place was bad. Rather the others were just so delish! We'd just had a wonderful time at the mountain overlook where we'd seen Damascus at night. There were 7 of us in 2 cars so we stopped by a cute restaurant for dinner. Andrew was in his gusto mood to try anything the guys recommended, whereas I was Ms. Picky and not so apt to try new stuff. I have nut allergies so I have an excuse. And after looking at this menu, I was glad I was picky. I just don't see this stuff advertised in most restaurants I frequent in the States. OK...none of them. Can't say I've seen brains, kidneys, livers, testicles or tongues at O'Charley's, Ruby Tuesday or Cracker Barrel. Maybe they are there and I just missed 'em! (Gotta hate that!) Seriously, brains with egg?

Soooooo, I looked at this menu and probably had one of those deer-in-the-headlights faces ... something like 8-/, but thankfully, I found out "shish tawook" was similar to grilled chicken .... ahhhh, something safe. *whew*





The offending menu. I mean LOOK at it!




Ol' Andrew was gung ho to try the local cuisine, but found fatteh wasn't his thing. Can you guess which bowl was his? Thankfully the fries were good and I gave him some of my chicken because, well, I'm just sweet like that, ya know?



Oh, here we are! See how happy I am with my chicken? I was just overwhelmingly glad I wasn't eating brain salad. I'm lovin' Andrew's face at the prospect of having to finish off that bowl of Shami goodness! (evil laugh)

(Aren't y'all wondering about this stupid hat I wore nearly every day? C'mon, admit it! I look like a character from The Cat in the Hat, right? Ha!)



I'd already eaten all the chicken before I remembered to take a picture. (Thankfully, Samer took the one above and sent it to me in time for this post.) Mushrooms aren't my thing ... so I gave them to Sami since he loves them.



And here are our dinner and looking-at-Damascus-at-night companions.
Mohammed and Ahmad (aka Jake)


Basheer, Samer and Sami

Notice the pictures in the background ... we saw those e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e!

Pictures from February 3, 2009
Damascus, Syria


4 comments:

Louai said...

actually i dont know this Dr.seuss!!!

Loool

it seems to me that it was so cold there for this hat ??

Joni said...

Louai, cat in the hat is a character from a children's book. He wears a tall hat - all the time.
here is a link to a picture:
http://www.afn.org/~afn15301/pics/catnhat2.gif

Susie, what is Shami? And Fatta? Either way, I am glad I didn't eat brain salad. :-|

Your shish tawook came with FRIES? That's funny. I've only ever had it with rice.

Carmen S. said...

I chuckled seeing you in that hat so often. I assumed it was a culture thing.

That menu would have frightened me. I am SUCH a wimp when it comes to trying new things. lol

Susanne said...

Louai, I think you saw the cat in the hat and that's why you are laughing. I favor him with my black hat, huh? :-)

Yes, some days and evenings were breezy and some were chilly enough that the hat was beneficial in keeping me warm. Also I have wild hair so the hat was helpful in keeping it tamed.

Joni, from what I understand "Al Sham" or "Sham" or "Cham" is the locals' name for where they live (Damascus) so when I call something "Shami," I'm using it to mean "Damascene" or something local.

"Fatteh" is a local dish, local cuisine ...something famous in Damascus and not so much in other parts of Syria. Did you see the picture of it in those bowls? It was some mixture of boiled pita bread, mashed chickpeas and tahina (a paste made of ground sesame seeds.) To me it seemed like chickpeas mixed with a plain yogurt or sour cream though not as thick as those. Still, I just don't like the taste of plain yogurt or sour cream so fatteh wasn't to my liking much. I did try a bite of Andrew's.

Actually we ordered the fries separately. I don't think my shish tawook came with rice. Just some boiled potatoes and carrots and lots of mushrooms.

No brain salad for me or you, huh? :-)


Carmen, yes, I am wimpy as well. Glad to see I am not alone. :-)

I did wear the hat at times to fit in better especially when I was in mosques ... after leaving the mosques I didn't remove my hat usually. Thus I have lots of photos with that Dr. Seuss hat!


Thank you all for your comments! I enjoyed them! :-)