THE GREASY FOODIE: December 2014

The Greasy Foodie

The story begins blustry day Friday after Thanksgiving in 2008 in a cramped booth at a fake NYC deli in Nashville called Noshville. In between my wife, Rachel, and my brother, Michael, I sat across from my "cooler than me" cousins Mark and Sarah, and Sarah's just as cool husband, Danny. Mark, who lives the awesome life being a lawyer living in San Francisco working for Facebook, with his only downfall being his SEVERE lactardation..which has never been medically or scientifically proven to exist in Mark.. Sarah and Danny are foodies from NYC who have tried every dive "chicken finger" hut and "curry on a stick" in the big city. Danny and Sarah had discussed that they were trying to go to as many places from Bobby Flay's 'Throwdown' show as they could, and that there was one in Nashville we had to try.....a place that I had never heard of in my 13 years of living there..I will get to that adventure later.

I got an idea from my cool cousins idea. An idea became a hobby. And the hobby became an obsession. And thus produced the list.....a world-famous spreadsheet...of every restaurant that has ever been featured on Food Network and Travel Channel....every restaurant from the famous shows like "Throwdown", "Man V. Food", "Man v. Food Nation", "Food Feuds", "Food Wars", "Best Thing I Ever Ate", "Food Paradise" and "Diners Drive-Ins and Dives" to the obscure "Best Food Ever", "Meat and Potatoes", and "101 Best Places to Chowdown", plus my additions of the restaurants of famous chefs, favorite catergories (burgers, wings, pizza, bbq, and sandwiches) and local places of legend. Names, cities, food they are famous for, and addresses. It was and still is an obsession. As of 11:31am on November 27, 2018, THE LIST HAS 4,660 RESTAURANTS ON IT...WITH A FEW OVERLAPS HERE AND THERE. And then over Pastrami Eggs Benedict at Nate N' Al's Deli in Beverly Hills, Hannah and Andrew, our good friends, gave me the idea of the blog. Document every place I went. And thus, "The Greasy Foodie" was born. I will log the places, the shows they are from, and what I had. So far, every place I have been has been amazing, except two, one being mediocre, and another being down right awful.

If there is a city you have been to, or are going to, or are from and want to know what from my list is in the city, send me a email at agmarks@gmail.com

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

MY FAVORITE RESTAURANT OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES

HUMMUS BEN SIRA
3 Ben Sira, Jerusalem, Israel

There is not a more welcome sight in all the world to my heart, my soul, and my belly than the blue awning of Ben Sira. It means home, it means, love, it means the best hummus in the world and definitely my favorite meal outside the USA. It is so simple yet so perfect. You sit down on picnic tables, order at the counter, and the magic begins. You order at a bar, where three people are crammed behind preparing the culinary masterpiece. You grab drinks from the cooler and await the feast. Pickles, onions, felafel, tomatoes come as your salatim (appetizer), but one would be wise to save them for the hummus. Hummus is the national food of Israel and the middle east, beloved by all, but argued about by all. Everyone has their favorite place. Every town claims to have the best. Every city, every country. Ben Sira is my vote. What makes Ben Sira unique is that it is served warm! You dip the warm pita into the warm hummus and top it with the salatim I told you to save. I prefer hummus basar which has perfectly season ground beef in it or hummus petriot which has mushrooms in it.

Ben Sira is a must stop for any traveler looking for an incredible home cooked meal. Home cooked because dining there is like dining with family. You can feel the love and care put into this place.