ALL THE MARKET’S A WORLD
By Patricia Brooks
The New York Times
February 25, 2007 Sunday
Late Edition – Final
Browsing through Tangiers International, you may feel like you are
in a bazaar somewhere east of Suez, rather than in West Hartford.
Virtually anything edible you might fancy from North Africa, the
Mediterranean or the Middle East can be found in this enormous emporium
at the corner of Prospect and Farmington Avenues. There are tubes of
harissa (the spicy condiment North Africans use to jazz up couscous
and other dishes); olives and olive oils from Greece, Lebanon, Spain,
Turkey and Italy; jars of Bulgarian eggplant and spiced whole tomatoes;
delicious Syrian and Lebanese berry syrups and preserves; Israeli s’ug
(hot pepper sauce) and frozen papadum-like malawach; falafel mixes
from Egypt; Armenian open-faced meat pies (lahm ajune); Turkish jams,
teas and pepper paste. Certain countries may not be on speaking terms
with each other, but their products sit comfortably side by side.
A refrigerated case is packed with baklava and other honey-accented
pastries and sweets; a freezer contains specialties like the
green-leafed Egyptian vegetable mulukhiyya and foul medammas (a
bean dip). A case displays Armenian and Turkish cheeses, along with
those from France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Syria,
not to mention a feta made with buffalo milk from Egypt. And shelves
hold herbs, spices and myriad grains and legumes.
Not everything at Tangiers is imported. Stuffed grape leaves, baba
ghanouj, kibbe, tabbouleh, spanakopita (Greek spinach pie), baklava
and many soups (the vegetarian vegetable bean is a favorite) are made
on the premises. You can take out these and other daily specials
(like falafel or the lamb gyro) or nosh on them at a rear counter
where patrons stop for coffee and conversation all day long.
Tangiers International, 668 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford, (860)
233-8168. Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday,
10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
