Hummus Point

Stopped for a bite, stayed for a drink.

The sign for Israeli bourekas coaxed me in the door. That, and a frigid late afternoon wind, and the empty spot in my stomach after discovering that a nearby grill had shuttered permanently before I could pay a call. My potato boureka (below, $4) was perfectly nice; I'll want to try it again, some morning, when its freshly baked coil hasn't been flattened under the sandwich press.

It was a fellow customer who suggested a drink. I didn't catch the name at first; seeing my befuddlement, the proprietor offered a taste. Sachlav (small, $3) is a hot beverage thickened with corn starch and, in this instance, dressed with cinnamon and grated coconut. Later I learned that "sachlav" is but one name of many for the Middle Eastern drink I'd met first as "sahlep."

This is the season to seek it out. When else could you try a shakshuka-and-sachlav combo meal?

Hummus Point
1010 Ave. L (East 10th St.-Coney Island Ave.), Midwood, Brooklyn
718-252-2297
www.HummusPoint.com
Closed Friday afternoon and Saturday till sunset

Comments

[nath]

Those aren't really different names, they're just different transliterations into English characters of the same word.

[Dave Cook]

Thanks for commenting, Nath. Can you point me to any Israel cafes that use the spelling sahlep or sahleb, or any Turkish ones that use sachlav?