The title of this post sounds like a nickname for a US military operation. What a nightmare. However, I am being literal. This past Wednesday (Jan 24), I ate one of the most delicious pita sandwiches of my whole life.
I was a bit early for a meeting on Ben Yehuda street and decided to look for a place to have lunch. A tiny shop on Tishernichovsky (טשרניחןבסקי) seemed popular. As I waited in line, the guy behind the counter made a sandwich with such care and attention to detail, that the customer was surely his best friend.
He peered inside the pocket as he smoothed around the tehina to ensure no spot was left uncovered. Then he added strips of grilled eggplant, finding a special place for each individual piece. Then a spoonful of salad, a squirt of pickled mango sauce, another of hot pepper sauce, a boiled egg broken into pieces on the spot, a little potato, then various leafy greens. Just when you thought it was over, he reached for a few more slices of eggplant and managed to find some room for them. Oh, and some more of those sauces so the top of the sandwich wasn't dry.
He repeated this EXACT routine for each and every customer. The store and the sandwich are both called Sapich (ספיח). My meal included a side of two grilled hot peppers with a little salt. In response to my question about the type of food, he said "Iraqi sandwich".
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4 comments:
That sounds WAY better than the pita sandwiches here!!
Wow, what a description, David! It almost felt like I was there in line, too, watching the guy make the pita and waiting for mine.
I LOVE sabih, and have a few "must visit" sabih-spots every time I'm in Israel.
You should try the ones in Ramat-Gan! They are even better!
It's 8am and I'm drooling over the sound of this sandwich - yum!
Sorry I'm a little late in reading the posts, but I bet this little piece of heaven called sabih could be called timeless.
I'm procrastinating at work and just catching up...and though it's only 11:30, that sounds so good that I'm starving now (and sadly don't know where to find such a treat).
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