Lumus or Humas (No not the disease)

I'm finally blogging again, as I've had an actual vote of confidence in my blog (really this wasn't just another figment of my imagination or a far-fetched fantasy...this actually happened with witnesses and all). I officially have a one precious reader (hi Jishai!)

So I shall try not to disappoint...

Humus Ful Abu Moch חומוס פול אבו מוך

We decided to order from this local joint called Humus Ful Abu Muchta (Ran says Abu Moch is funny enough in and of itself...but I am more partial to the Abu Muchta). I decided to be a renegade and try this place because I had already ordered from Humus Sayid in the past (which I forgot to take pics of - so I no official blog post) - and it was way oily *albeit very good* - so, I figured I'd give this place a whirl.

The ORDER: Kebab Lunch Deal with Two Sides (I took Humus [err, duh] + Rice) עסקית קבבונים על האש עם שתי תוספות
The PRICE: 28 NIS
EXTRAS: 1 Egg (2 NIS), 1 Serving of Falafel [5-6] - (5 NIS)

The DELIVERABLE: While I was ready to get extra excited about the order as it was packaged brilliantly - a phenomenon which has cost Bisim it's place at the top of my list of favorite places to order from...after one too many mistakes with mass-packaging - alas alack, nothing gold can stay apparently. Or it looks better on the hanger or insert any other cliche to the effect of - don't judge a book by it's cover (THERE YOU GO!) (And yes, I am fully aware that the first cliche doesn't actually mean that...but hey, there's a limit to what I can actually remember from the 6th grade).



After opening up my nicely packaged and labeled meal - they had replaced my rice with french fries. Really? If I intentionally ordered rice instead of the obviously better tasting french fries, perhaps there was a rationale to this strange predilection...and mayhap you could have deigned to ask if I had wanted a more healthy alternative. Sheesh (not kebab - no pun intended). On the up side - there was the unexpected pleasant surprise of a pita, pickles and olives, and some freebie salads on side that at least partially made up for the annoying side dish replacement. I should also mention that for 5 NIS the falafel was a nice portion.




The VERDICT: Good food + good price - but CARDINAL SIN of side dish replacement. Eh.


Lucas לוקאס (Again...)

I had been waiting for a Lucas Chef's Special for a couple of months now, at least (is that a little too obsessive? I had literally been checking every day - since I once saw somebody order the dish - and I had missed the boat), lo and behold the fine morning of December the 13th was the moment I had been waiting for.

The ORDER: Chef's Special - Beef Bourguignon - Beef Stew in Red Wine with Root Vegetables, Served with a Leafy Salad, Bread, and Olives and Pickles הצעת שף - ביף בורגיניון - צלי בקר ביין אדום עם ירקות שורש מוגש עם סלט עלים לחם וחמוצים
The PRICE: 29 NIS

Boy had I been waiting for this one - I excitedly tear open the wrapping like a child on the first day of Hanukkah - and no bread. Wah Wah Wah. Game over. How can you eat beef stew with no bread?! I ended up having to eat my meal with a spare laffa (a large flat semi-burned bread) - certainly not the crackly bread I was envisioning. And it wasn't even that good - a disappointment to say the least...not quite worth the wait. It lacked salt - and even tasted quite a bit watery.



The VERDICT: In this case, it was not better to have loved and lost...LAME.

Blogged Brain

I don't deserve you're readership...we're nearly at the end of November - and I have blogged nothing this month, there's been so much food/activity - I don't even know where to begin.

So I had quite a bit of River Noodles Bar this month (and yes - despite the fact that I always get the same dish - the Seven Wonders שבעת הפלאים) - I must say I can't get enough of this place. (The spouse ordered a different dish - Grilled Entrecote Slices on Fried Rice המנה של נוריקו סן- so I actally got to expand my River horizons). They make every dish well - and they give hefty portions. WE LOVE YOU RIVER!



Other than that - hosted a small Thanksgiving shindig (yes I know it's not quite Thanksgiving yet - but had extenuating circumstances that obliged the moving of theve event up a week).

Things I learned from this event:
1) Guitar Hero is seriously addictive.
2) Turkey is seriously addictive.
3) People will go into your bedroom - so don't dump the whole house in there expecting the door to remain closed. IT WON'T.



A new favorite dish discovered:

Lucas - Spaghetti and Meatballs (hold the cheese)
Not meatballs made with cumin and paprika intended for another dish - and added to this dish as an afterthought. Actual Italian-style spaghetti and meatballs. Good yum all around. (Note the beautiful basil sprinkled above.)



And to finish off a small 10Bis anecdote. So I made the annoying discovery that not every restaurant you can order from through the 10Bis website actually accepts 10Bis in the restaurant. What a pain. Just for reference, pretty much all of the Tel Aviv area 10Bis'ers DO NOT accept 10Bis to sit down - this after trying three different places (Bar Giyora, River Noodles Bar - I KNOW!, and Ze Sushi).

Spirits battered and broken, we decided to attempt ordering from our cell phones.

AND HERE IN PUBLIC IS MY ADMISSION - YOUR PHONE IS OFFICIALLY BETTER THAN MINE. I promised I'd admit it, so here it is. Are we even?

We actually managed to order from Ze Sushi (while standing outside the establishment) from the spouse's BlackBerry (my HTC Tytn II failed us). It's pretty funny because we actually got the "deal" עסקית option - which was the meal + an appetizer - instead of just the meal. SUCKERS.