"Mrs. Halabi says her restaurant is the first outpost of Druse cooking in New York, and I have no evidence to contradict her." (Thanks D.)
Druse cooking from the new Middle East of ethnic states.
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- Rami Zurayk
- Beirut, Lebanon, Lebanon
- Opinions on this blog are expressed personally and do not necessarily represent the opinions of any institution I may be affiliated with.
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2 comments:
"The differences are in the details, like that Druse pita — called sagg pita, after the griddle it is cooked on — which Mrs. Halabi makes daily. It’s thinner than a crepe, as wide as a small pizza and pliable like lavash...."
What do we know--maybe the "Druze pita called sagg pita" is really different from -say shiaa sage pita, or christian orthodox sage and so on..the differences indeed are in the details--just add a small dash of religion and we have a whole new meal to feed the ignorant masses..
Ms. Halabi's presentation of her khubz, oh sorry pita, as distinctively "Druse" is in line with (and probably a result of) the Israeli establishment's long-sustained efforts at sectarian segmentation of their Arab community. Hence the country has different school systems and curricula for Druze, Muslims, and Christians. Of course, they also have entirely separate school systems for secular Jews, moderately observant Jews, Orthodox Jews, and the ultra-orthodox Jews, too. It is a very bizarre system! (Or rather, a system of segmented systems.)
In the case of Druze Israelis, many of them do serve in the military and make other decisions in which they seem to be trying to differentiate themselves from their more proudly Palestinian-Israeli neighbors.
I guess for Ms. Halabi, it might well also be a marketing/branding mechanism in the New York restaurant market. However, if you read the description of the food she serves, it is completely Mashreqi... Oh-- but served, as the photo caption says, with "Spices from Israel."
Also, I believe that many, many Lebanese restaurants in the US are run by Druze. Not least, the fine old Bacchus in Washington DC, which used to be the very best Lebanese restaurant in town. RIP.
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