Gourmet Grocer

Many of you have been asking, "What are you eating? What can't you get there??" So far we have been eating quite the typical Middle Eastern fare with lots of chicken shwarmas, shish kababs, falafel (actually called temiyah here because it's made with eggs in it!) babaganoush & hummus. Greek Salads are our specialty! For anyone who remembers good 'ole JP, when he moved out he left behind a brand-new bottle of Pasta Spice, which tastes perfect on bread when mixed with olive oil, as you can see! So, maybe we did get something positive out of that roommate situation!

But there are times when you want something OTHER than that. Basically, several "specialty markets" have opened recently to cater to the international community with very demanding taste buds. You can get almost anything, if you're willing to pay the price.

While there is an abundance of Feta Cheese, anything other than that will cost you an arm and a leg. Check out this brick of Kraft Cheddar Cheese....only 45 pounds ($22.50). You've really got to be jonesin' for some cheddar to buy that! Cereal is also extremely expensive about $10/box and usually stale we're told. As far as sticker shock goes, I was amazed to actually find dog food here! But you've really got to love Fido--each bag is a whopping 250 pounds ($125!!).
Of course, cough, you can't get the things banned from entering the country: pork and alcohol being the big items we miss. Quite honestly, I'm psyched that you can't get lettuce here. Instead, everything is made with ARUGULA! And it's cheap! Otherwise, most of the typical fruits and vegetables are here. (No berries, though.) Some have a little different flavor, including the green peppers which are sweet but a little bit spicy.

Some really cheap eats: a bag of 5-6 baguettes ($0.50), a bag of pasta ($1), a falafel sandwich ($0.75).