More Lunches

Lunch in Damascus, Syria. Every day for two weeks while I travelled through Jordan and Syria, I tried to scoff as much baba ganough and hummous as physically possible, breakfast lunch and dinner if available. The food was much better in Syria than it was in Jordan. In fact Syria is much more hip and organised than Jordan, which is surprising considering it's meant to be an axis of evil. They have a boycott of American goods but seem to be doing reasonably well, although I think it's funny that they only accept American dollars for all the American liquor they sell at the duty free... The difference between Jordan and Syria is immediate as you cross the border. What was desert nothingness in Jordan quickly changes to irrigated crops and nut trees in Syria. For my lunch you can see many slices of pita bread and a freshly squeezed orange juice with a nifty foil cap on top to keep the flies away, although they weren't generally a problem. The top of the dips are decorated with drizzled olive oil, sprinkles of paprika, and tomato and cucumber slices.

Lunch in Swellendam, my favourite town in South Africa. This restaurant is owned by a slightly crazy old lady with short nearly crew cut hair and a headband who prides herself on her menu, a single page which reads "take it or leave it". She gives you a little bit of everything and you ask for seconds of what you liked the best. On the plate is ox tongue with mustard sauce, sliced kudu steak, sauteed wild mushrooms which she had picked herself (hmm, maybe that explains her behaviour) and had passed around to the guests to inspect prior to cooking, sauteed potatoes, and stewed beef in the pot.

Salamanca ham at the Museo de Jamon, a popular chain restaurant specialising in cured hams in Madrid, Spain. The blue booklet is the menu. They put bread on the table even if you don't want it and you are charged for it no matter whether you eat it or not. This is a common trick in Spain and Italy, and since I never eat the rolls, nowadays I go out of my way to tear it to pieces so they can't recycle it on another customer.