Day Four: Sanaa's 8th Street Gourmet and Home with my Grandparents and "Fires in the Mirror"

Last night I went home and caught up on Grandparent time, laundry, and home cooking :) My grandparents are 2 of my favorite people...I think ol' Gramps is subtly hilarious and one of the sweetest men in the world, and Gramma is an ambitious sprite and loves to keep busy. Every weekend I have a lengthy list of the tasks I need to accomplish over the weekend, but it rarely occurs while I'm home because I get so caught up in talking to Gramps&Gramma or helping my uncle with farm chores. It's a good life, and somehow I manage to eventually get around to my schoolwork.
I invited Gramma to join me for my outing to Sanaa's Mediterranean Buffet. She was thrilled to have a good excuse to go into town and eat at a restaurant (with the recent blizzards she hasn't ventured very far from the farm in awhile). Gramps slyly chose to stay home because, "No cooking could ever compete with Dorthea's cooking." See what I mean about sweet?
So Gramma and I had a date for the first time in too long, and it was really fun. (Normally I do not enjoy restaurant outings, so this is kind of a big deal that I enjoyed it; kudos to Sanaa). We walked inside her restaurant which is in the old Railroad Station and I instantly loved the colors. The walls are yellow and the ceiling is a light blue with these silky, fabricky, scarf-things hanging from it. The walls are home to many paintings, all kind of having a Middle Eastern theme. The floor tiling is a few shades of brownish tans, and the whole restaurant has a nice homey feel to it.
Sanaa seems like a pretty cool gal. She has a sincere smile that is really welcoming, and her hair is awesomely curly and black. Gramma and I arrived a little after 11:00 and there were a few other customers; by the time we left it was so busy there was a family waiting for our table the second we stood up to leave.
Gramma had eaten there once before she so had an idea of how it works, which was good because I wouldn't have (as a side note: I've always wondered if we could make double contractions like wouldn't've...we say them, so why not write them?) known where to even begin. So first we went up to the counter and told Sanaa we wanted to eat from the buffet, and then it began.
The plates are very large and the first item in line was bread. I love bread. I mean I really love bread, so excitedly filled my plate with Feta Cheese Bread and Mixed Herb Bread (after going up a second time, I wound up eating a total of 10 small pieces of bread...Mmmm). Then we got to these exotic looking rice dishes. One was neon yellow (I can't remember the name) and the other was Bulgur Pilaf with some cool little beans mixed in it.
Next was the meats; there was chicken and beef. The chicken was in some kind of orange-colored marinade, and the beef was kind of meatball style soaking in tomato-looking stuff. Both tasted really good, and I told Gramma that if all chicken was prepared that way I'd probably appreciate poultry a little more.
Being a picky eater, I avoided a few dishes such as cauliflower something or another and a pan that had eggplant. I did try a broccoli salad and braved up to try a bean, vegetable, and bread soup...all quite tasty :)
We noticed that all the customers seemed very confident and knew exactly how the restaurant operated, implying that they are frequent diners. We also noted that people heap their plates and appear to highly enjoy the Mediterranean food. Atleast 2 couples even had young children along, and they also seemed to be accustomed to the restaurant.
The kitchen is open and connected right to the part where we pick up our food, and it's kind of fun to see the cooks preparing the meals so close. As we ate, a small-framed man came by and cheerfully took our plates. It was just so busy I joked that it was like going to a fair, and there were several different cultures represented in the restaurant.
This was definitely an interesting experience. I have been to an Indian restaurant in Cincinatti and a Mongolian grill in Boston, and so I really enjoyed comparing the Mediterranean atmosphere with the others.
Something amazing happened today: I read an entire book. When I was younger I loved reading and could read for a couple hours at a time, but AP Lit in high school pretty much wrecked that for me, so I was concerned when Kim told me to read a book this weekend. It wasn't that impressive because it is a play script so it read very fast, but I'm basically in shock that I read a whole book in a day. Fires in the Mirror by Anna Deavere Smith is a unique reaction to a tragedy that happened in 1991 in NYC. A young Black boy was run over and killed by a Jewish motorcade and the Black community reacted by stabbing an innocent Jewish man later that night. The hatred and passion escalated into riots that were absolutely insane.
Smith had an interesting response to the event. She interviewed people of the community, both Blacks and Jews, and then compiled the characters into a performance in which she portrayed all the interviewees herself. Each member of the community had their own reaction towards the tragedy, and Smith skillfully depicts each with his/her own individualities.
While reading I noticed how the members of each race (Jewish and Black, ranging from African to Jamaican and Caribbean) felt that their race had been singled out and subjugated by all other races of the world. The Blacks aimed their fury at the Jews, and the Jews felt that the Blacks had oppressed them just the same.
That made it a bit frustrating to read, because I thought if people would just realize that everyone pretty much wants to live a peaceful life with their family and that most people don't wish harm on others, perhaps the riots after the accidental vehicular homicide wouldn't've taken place.
It really was interesting to read though; even though each interviewee had distinct differences, they all had a similar feeling. Most people around the riots were scared and disgusted at what had happened, and tension rose as everyone became defensive.
The book has some pictures of Smith in her different characters, and it was really fascinating to see how different she portrayed herself...barely recognizable as the same person in some cases.
Today was definitely an enlightening day, and I'm glad I got to be home and eat Mediterranean food and read Fires in the Mirror.