Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Eating the Globe: Jordan

This is my 70th country!

I drove 40 miles to have lunch here today. One more exit, and I would have been on my way to Los Angeles.

What made this place uniquely Jordanian was their muagannats. They're little pies made with cheese or meat. Problem was, they're only served on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Dilemma. Do I just get a shawarma? What would make it stand out from any other anonymous Middle Eastern restaurant?

The waitress (and probably co-owner) was very accomodating and assured me every dish, even the hummus, was made the Jordanian way. So my friend and I both ordered the chicken shish.

We started with what I think was complimentary chickpea soup. It was smooth and creamy.


The falafels were overcooked and nothing to write home about.


The chicken shish, on the other hand, was fantastic. The chicken was juicy and tender. The spices-- paprika? sumac?-- were perfect.


And I love free shit. We got a cup of tea with cardamom at the end of the meal.


Countries tried so far:
Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa
Asia: Afghanistan, Armenia, Burma, Cambodia, China, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Yemen
Europe: Bosnia, Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden
North America: Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela
Oceania: Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga

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