City famous for getting the work done proves it can also mix a drink
[Haifa] – Arab cuisine is well known around the world with a rich tradition of flavors and inspired themes– everything from spiced shawarma and warm pita breads to the syrup-soaked goat-cheese delight, kunafa.
What you may not expect to find on an Arabic menu, however, are specialty cocktails.
In Haifa, Israel’s northern capital, each weekend in December is taken over by the annual Festival of Festivals, a celebration of Muslim, Christian and Jewish winter traditions woven together into an entirely original local festivity.
This year, the party has been enriched by a festival-within-a-festival, the Festival Al-Sham, a food phantasmagoria that aims at preserving fast-disappearing Levantine dishes.
Israel’s Tourism Ministry describes it as a celebration of “the world of Arab cuisine, showcasing dishes which are fast disappearing from the local culinary landscape.”
Twenty-five chefs from across Israel teamed up with about 30 regional restaurants to produce a variety of Arab specialties from traditional meats to holiday cookies.
But one local bar owner took the vibe in another direction altogether.
Michael Nudel, an accountant by trade who now runs two bars in Haifa, laid out his three newest cocktails for The Media Line to sample. (A journalist’s work is never done.)
First on the list was the Masada, a sharp, herbaceous aniseed-infused cocktail made from arak, egg whites, coriander, celery bitters, lemon juice, and yansoon syrup. The drink, named for Israel’s iconic landmark, had a soft green color and was best suited to those who enjoy the more piercing flavors of life.
[1]The Masada (Photo: Dudi Saad/The Media Line)
Both the arak and the yansoon imbue the cocktail with a distinctly Arabic character. “Why the arak? It’s really common in Arab culture. It’s like the basic drink, like Russians have vodka,” Nudel said, adding that beer, too, is an invention of the Arab world.
Next up was the Malabi, inspired by the local creamy Arab dessert of the same name. The cocktail contained rum, heavy cream, a layer of hibiscus syrup at the bottom and rose water, an evocative ingredient in Arab cuisine. The Malabi, in fact, had gone down well with customers at the Vesper Cocktail Bar. “It’s until now the most popular one by far,” Nudel said, explaining that, “It’s more of a local taste because they have this dessert in every Arabic restaurant.”
[2]The Malabi (Photo: Dudi Saad/The Media Line)
Finally the Ma’amul, the sweetest drink of the evening, arrived. Inspired by Arabic ma’amul cookies, little crumbly semolina rounds stuffed with nuts and dates, the cocktail was made from rum, amaretto, pineapple and lemon juice, egg whites, Angostura bitters, amarena cherries and was rounded off with a sprinkling of mahleb, the pits of wild cherries. Its definitely one for those with a sweet tooth.
[5]The Ma’amul (Photo: Noga Tarnopolsky/The Media Line)
Many of the ideas for the cocktails’ flavors came from one of the Festival Al-Sham’s organizers, celebrity chef Nof Atamna-Ismaeel. “We did something together with my knowledge of cocktails and her knowledge in Arabic cooking,” Nudel explained.
Alcoholic drinks are not usually associated with Arab culture in the Middle East but this assumption ignores the fact Nudel highlighted, that many Arabs are not Muslims but Christian or Druze, or are from other sectors of society that choose to drink. And, of course, there are plenty of secular Muslims. Nudel estimates that around 30% of his customers are Arab.
The fact that Nudel’s clientele come from all sections of Haifa’s mixed citizenry seemed to fit with the spirit of the Festival Al-Sham and hardly surprising to those who have entered his second bar, Dovrin 7.
Emblazoned on the door read the unambiguous words:
“IF YOU ARE RACIST, SEXIST, HOMOPHOBIC, OR AN ASSHOLE… DON’T COME IN.”