Experience the Different Taste

In 1951 Fooad Haba did an Aliyah. That is to say, his father Sason packed up the family and moved them from their native Iraq to the holy land, Israel. A baker by trade, Sason brought his taboon and established the first Iraqi bakery near Mahane Yehudah Market (referred to as The Shuk) in Jerusalem. Sason also brought with him generations of experience as a baker. Which he would pass on to Fooad. The bakery specialized in the popular Iraqi bread, Laffa. 

Eventually Fooad's son, Sasi would settle in Canada. First in Montreal and eventually, Toronto. Having turned his back on his baking heritage Sasi worked many different jobs. In the fall of 2008, while working for a pool company, the jobs ran out. At the urging of his father, he decided to get into the bread business. He brought the taboon with him and his father would teach him the ropes. With his business partner, Yoram Gaby (a baker as well) they opened Dr. Laffa. Serving some of the most authentic Israeli food in the GTA. In fact some say the best anywhere outside Israel.

Dr. Laffa sits in an industrial area just inside Toronto’s northern boundry.
There’s a fairly small dining room and plenty of room for those there to get take away. The star of the show though is the taboon that's in the open kitchen. So let's get a look at what's cooking.

Laffa, for those who don't know about his unique and rare bread, is of Iraqi heritage and is cooked on a taboon. It's a fair bit larger than a regular pita, is quite light and fluffy on the A side and crisp and golden brown on the B side. It doesn't tear easily and is, if flattened, rather thin. It puffs or blisters, up quite a bit when baked and doesn't have much flavour. It really doesn't need much though, it's more or less a canvas on which other things shine. Seeing as how bread is my favourite food, I still love it.

Your greeted at the table with a selection of pickles. Cucumbers, carrots and cabbage. The slaw is fine as are the carrots. The pickles are quite nice though. They’re half sour and have some nice crunch.

Shakshuka is a dish that's North African in origin and very common for breakfast in the Middle East. It's name is derived from a common last name in Tunisia, Chakchouk. That said, Turkey and Yemen also lay claim. Given that it reminded me of the Merguese sausage dish I had at a Tunisian restaurant, I'll go with the former.
Basically, it's eggs poached in a mildly seasoned (with harrisa) tomato broth that's loaded with chilies (mild ones), onions and roasted garlic. Quite frankly, there's a ton going on in this dish.
The Shakshuka Special, which is what I had is the basic dish with the addition of Merges sausage. This Middle Eastern lamb sausage is highly seasoned and incredibly tasty. Pretty much every bite with this dish is different. A deep, rich tomato flavour permeates, sometimes a bit garlicky, other times rich from the egg yolk. A hint of spice once in a while or sweet from a different chili. Just an incredible dish that's comfort food at it's best. Mostly served in the winter months in Israel.

The Shawarma meat was something I've never seen. Instead of the usual chicken, Dr. Laffa was using turkey. The turkey was embedded with lamb fat as it's basting agent. The meat wasn't heavily seasoned but more left to stand on it's own merits. The sandwich was stuffed into a laffa with a nice mixture of sauces and vegetation. I think my bread of choice for shawarma is still pita but this was a nice change. All in all, this was a great sandwich. And big too. No, not big, HUGE!!

In the run up to, and during Chanukah, Jews will often eat things deep fried.
Commemorating the miracle of the temple oil. Sufganiyah (SOOF-gone-ee-AH) are traditional jelly filled donuts that fit this bill nicely. Dough balls are fried, filled with jelly and topped with powdered sugar. These specimens are good but I think could be better. For me, there wasn’t enough jelly in them. Outside of that, I really liked them. I found them a bit more savoury than most donuts and to a degree, a bit more like bread than donut. These are totally not like the light, airy Krispy Kreme Original Glaze donuts. They’re denser and savoury balanced out the powdered sugar nicely. I rather enjoyed the chewiness.

Baklava is a traditional dessert all over the Middle East. Chopped pistachios are sandwiched between layers of phyllo or, as in the case here, dressed up a bit more nicely. There’s plenty of sugar, usually in the form of honey to sweeten these up. While I really like baklava, I don’t love it. These specimens here are among the best I’ve had though.

Well there you have it folks, a little taste of Israel right here in TO.

You can find Dr. Laffa at 401 Magnetic Dr in Toronto.

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You can also find them on the web, facebook and Twitter.


Well that’s all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.

Davwud

Go Blue

In 1817 the governor and judges of the Michigan Territory established the Catholepistemiad or University of Michigania in Detroit. The university would move to Ann Arbor in 1837 after the town lost it’s bid to be the newly minted state’s capitol. The land earmarked for the capitol would be turned into the Universtiy of Michigan’s Central Campus. The first graduating class in Ann Arbor consisted of 11 students. It has grown to include one of the largest alumni groups in the nation at aproximately half a million.

It was on these campus grounds that President John F. Kennedy first proposed publicly the notion that a group of "young college graduates would find a full life in bringing technical advice and assistance to the underprivileged and backward Middle East.” In 1961 the President would unveil, the Peace Crops.

Much like any college town Ann Arbor has a thriving food scene. As you know I’ve visited Zingermann’s Deli and Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger (among others) in the past. Mrs. Sippi also has a friend that works at the University. So with that and our love of food we have occasion to visit periodically. This particular trip saw a stop at Maize and Blue Delicatessen. A venue I recently saw featured on Man vs. Food.

A favourite of UM students and fans Maize and Blue has been around for almost 25 years. Opened by the Jordanian/American Sukkar family they’re serving up tall sandwiches and other deli favourites to Wolverine nation and anyone else who just likes great food. Started as a take out only sandwich shop they now seat 20 or so patrons in what was once the waiting area. Much like most deli’s these days they do not cure their own meats but do source them locally from respected vendors. They do however cook what they can in the tiny kitchen. 

 From the outside it’s little more than a store front on University Ave. On the inside is rather sparsely decorated. One thing that stands out though, the signature board. A large tribute to UM on one wall has filled up with signatures of guests and alumni alike. Among them are a multiple gold medal winner, a hall of fame coach and a 3 time Superbowl champion.

Both sandwiches came with a half pickle that’s as good as I’ve had. Sour and crunchy and excellent.

 

Mrs. Sippi tried to recreate her favourite sandwich from her days at Ole Miss and the Rebel Deli in Oxford, Ms. While she failed terribly in her attempt the result was one great sandwich. Smoked turkey and gouda on sourdough rye. It was fantastic. The cheese was a perfect match for the meat and deli mustard rounded it out nicely. 

My Triple Play Rueben was simply awesome. I’m more of a pastrami than corned beef guy but having both together between some great bread is the best of both worlds. Top that off with both Jarlsberg and Swiss cheeses and top that off with kraut and house made Russian dressing. How can you go wrong??

The chocolate chip cookie was a winner too. A Toll House style cookie with plenty of chocolate chips to keep those owing to the Dark Master happy.

The brownie was phenomenal. Chocolate with caramel icing, milk chocolate drizzle, dark chocolate shavings and pecans. Decadent.

Well there you have it folks. A little taste of the college experience from Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan.

You can find Maize and Blue at 1329 S. University Ave. in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
 
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You can also find them on the web or facebook.
 

See ya next time in the food court.

DAVWUD

A Prescription for Hunger Pangs

At one time it was a pharmacy dispensing medicine for various ailments. Today, it has the cure for that empty feeling in your stomach.

In business for 8 years now, little Paul's is a BBQ joint right across the street for the massive Huntsville hospital. Part of the BBQ aristocracy, Paul Sanford, great grandson of legendary Big Bob Gibson, attended the prestigious Culinary Institute of America. He set out to make his own name in the restaurant industry but he had pork fat in his veins and smoke in his soul. It called him back to Dixie with his wife Danielle and together they run one of the best BBQ joints I've been to.

It's location across from the emergency room of HH is as convenient as it is good. Full of patrons in their scrubs it seems that while an apple a day may keep the doctor away, pig fat and smoke lures them in.

Paul's has a nice sized menu and pretty much true to it's roots, BBQ. There are healthy options like salads but pretty much everything has some meat and most of that meat has spent time in the pit.
There is also Brunswick Stew. A hearty meat and vegetable stew popular in parts of Georgia and Virginia. Made with their BBQ it is often my choice for lunch.
They bake their own pies as well. The two I've had were very good.

First and foremost, let me tell you that Paul does the BBQ (or pulled pork if you like) right. He doesn't sauce it. He lets you do it at the table. To me, that's BBQ 101. If the meat is good enough, it won't need sauce. I do like a bit but not swimming in it like the way some places serve. It's also tender, juicy and smokey.
Mrs. Sippi's BBQ sandwich was ordered with slaw on top and proclaimed to be "Right" with that hand gesture she makes that tells you she loved it.

I had the 3 meat combo. It comes with two sides which were beans and vinegar slaw. There is also a vinegar based hot BBQ sauce and white sauce.

The slaw was really nice. It was very simple which is never a bad thing. It tasted of cabbage with a vinegar dressing. Nothing wrong with that.

The beans are fine. Not my favourite but a good solid side. Made with some of the delicious BBQ they aren't as sweet as some of the beans I've had. They don't seem to use as much molasses so they aren't nearly as thick as some either.

The meats were all good. Brisket, ribs and turkey.

The ribs are back ribs and as such, can't be my favourite. I much prefer side ribs for BBQ so they start behind the 8 ball in my books. They're still good and I love the fact that they finish them on the grill with their BBQ sauce. I love that sticky sweetness.

I'm not a huge brisket fan but I do like it. I would like to see more smokiness to it but it was very tender and juicy. I'll take juicy and not smokey over smokey and dry any day. They serve it chopped.

Absolutely the best thing on my plate was the turkey. What was selected as a "what the heck, I'll try it" option turned out to be a major surprise. They do only the breast, seasoned with the house rub and smoked. It was smokey, moist, had great turkey taste and the rub added a nice layer of flavour. I almost went back up and ordered more.

You can find Little Paul's at 815 Madison St. in Huntsville, Al. Across the street on the east side of the hospital.


'til next time.


Davwud