BLOCK ISLAND, RI

SPRING HOUSE

MANISSES HOTEL

Vacation. After a busy conclusion to the school year, we decided on Block Island, RI for our respite. Having both visited Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard in the past, we investigated other areas of the New England coast to experience. Block Island was recommended by a friend and a great recommendation it was. Total relaxation, good restaurants, no TV in the room, vibrant bars, pristine beaches, no cell phones, limited web access, little to no traffic... in other words...quiet.

Block Island is accessible via ferry, small plane and private boat. Ferries run from various points in Rhode Island, New York and Connecticut. We used the high speed ferry from Pt. Judith, RI. and arrived in about thirty minutes. A limited amount of cars can be transported on the traditional ferry.

After consulting an acquaintance in NYC who owns property on the island, we made reservations at Hotel Manisses. A word on the Block Island hotels. All are seasonal and very old. Most are only opened spring through early fall. You won't find a chrome and glass convention hotel on the island with business centers or spas etc....thank goodness. The Manisses is a small inn with an outstanding restaurant: more on that later. Our room was on the third floor and decorated in 1920's decor with a ceiling fan (no AC- don't need it) and had a partial view of the ocean. The hotel has a great old style lobby and front porch that's perfect for reading or just sitting around talking. Breakfast is complimentary. When informed of the complimentary breakfast, I envisioned the standard coffee and sub-par bagel/muffin offering that has become the industry standard for "complimentary breakfast." No, this was a full buffet. Poached local striped bass, eggs, pancakes (good ones) breads and breakfast pastries etc. served on a deck over looking the ocean. This was a very nice start to the day.

Our day...Well, after breakfast, usually a walk then a mid-morning book / nap. About noon we would rally our energy and walk into town for lunch and maybe go down to the beach and ....well...do nothing. Then maybe a coffee and a stop at some of the shops. Possibly a nap or read more. Vacationing is exhausting. Then up the hill to Spring House for a late afternoon libation. Spring House (pictured above) is great old hotel that attracts a fun, well-heeled crowd in the afternoon for drinks on the lawn or deck with Gin and Tonics and Sea Breezes as far as the eye could see. In the evening a live band plays and the indoor bar fills. If you have ever seen the movie Dirty Dancing, filmed at Lake Lure, NC, than you can envision the scene at Spring House.

Food on the island is very good. For a traditional New England lobster roll, Finn's Seafood Restaurant is the place. Claw and knuckle meat bound with a perfect amount of well seasoned mayonnaise and served on a toasted buttery roll with lettuce makes for a great lunch. There are two dinner restaurants of note on the island, Manisses and Winfield's. We dined at Manisses twice and Winfield's once. Both are very good. The waitstaffs are knowledgeable and professional. For a seasonal vacation town, you surprisingly don't find the summer break college student type waiters at these two restaurants. The Manisses has the feel of the old Brigantine in Coronado, except the food is many levels above anything the Brig has ever done. If old dark wood, five deep at the bar, full dining room and a gregarious barkeep (Jerry) is your idea of a good night out, than The Manisses fits the bill. The crowd is NYC and Boston couples and small groups that are accustomed to the outstanding restaurant scenes in those cities. The bar has great energy of conversation and laughs where you won't find the cell phone / texting obsessives of southern California or young children coloring at the bar (an unfortunate phenomenon that seems to grow every year). Definitely an urban dining experience that just happens to be on a vacation island. The menu is full of comfort dishes and the execution is flawless. No foam, far flung ingredients or de-constructed plates, just local farm / sea-to-table products. The scallops were perfectly sauteed and tasted of the buttery richness that is only achieved with Maine / New England scallops. Grilled local long line sword fish served over lobster potato puree makes you sit back and pause over the luxurious combination of flavors. The often duplicated, rarely perfected lobster-potato puree is extraordinary. The classic puree is expertly seasoned and combined with copious amounts of butter and large chunks of lobster. It was a perfect accompaniment to the sword fish. We also enjoyed outstanding local oysters served on the half-shelf with a lime juice mignonette and a dish of striped bass and clams served with a complex tomato - saffron sauce that was outstanding. The wine list is very good and priced well. On our second night we ordered a 2007 Morgan Sauvignon Blanc (a consistent and well priced SB). After a few minutes our waiter returned with the news that the Morgan had not "made the boat" that morning and therefore was not available. You don't hear that very often. Without hesitating, she offered to substitute a 2008 Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc at the same price as the Morgan. Wow, the Cakebread is double the wine and the price. Wasn't expecting that. Winfield's was more of the same. Good crowd, well informed waitstaff and very good cooks on the line. We, of course, had to try the scallops in order to continue with our island hopping campaign of local shellfish and fish. They were outstanding as well: Great sear and plumb rich flavor. For a luxurious first course to compliment the scallops, we ordered the lobster macaroni and cheese. If ever in the New England area, it's a must try. Penne Rigate with knuckle and claw meat baked in a creamy mornay style sauce and topped with a slight amount of mild white cheddar. Kudos to the cooks. The dish, cooked to perfection, married all the ingredients without over powering the lobster. Working with lobster and cream is an open invitation to kitchen disaster. When attempted by shoemaker cooks, bland rubbery lobster drowned in pasty cream and limp pasta is a common unfortunate outcome. Not here though. Outstanding. There is something to be said for cooking with local ingredients for a demanding clientele. I doubt these restaurants would survive at this level, catering to dinners from the two major restaurant cities nearby, without the obvious skill on the line.

Needless to say, our time on Block Island was exactly what we craved, quiet time away with nothing to do other than what we wanted to do. If you not opposed to "Nantucket Reds" being de rigueur, little to no technology, good food and wine, plenty of reading time, lazy days and long walks, then Block Island is for you.

JERUSALEM

WESTERN WALL - KOTEL


ARAB QUARTER- OLD CITY

VIEW FROM MOUNT OF OLIVES

YAD VASHEM

The reason for our recent excursion to Israel was to attend a two week seminar at The International School for Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem. Our school entered into a partnership with Yad Vashem to develop a K - 12 curriculum that will provide an academically rigorous yet age appropriate program for teaching the Holocaust. This was an outstanding opportunity for the working group to come together on the Yad Vashem campus and begin our project.

Yad Vashem was established in 1953 as the world center of documentation, research, education and commemoration of the Holocaust. The campus sits on a sprawling forested area about a twenty minute drive from central Jerusalem. Although most tour groups and visitors to Jerusalem are familiar with the impressive museum, Yad Vashem is much more. The archive is a world renowned depository of material addressing the Perpetrators, Victims, By-Standers and Rightest Amongst the Nations of the Shoah. Original documents from Nazi and Jewish sources, photographs, films, artifacts and survivor testimony make up the archive. A virtual who's who of Holocaust scholars are, or have been, associated with Yad Vashem: Friedlander, Bauer, Browning, Lipstadt, Bankier, Gilbert, the list is endless.

Our seminar group consisted of forty-six educators from California, Florida, NY, Australia, Sweden and Israel. Throughout the two week period we received a mix of subject matter (history, literature etc.) and pedagogical lectures and workshops from Yad Vashem staff and visiting scholars. We also toured the museum and had access to the visual center.

The museum is impressive. The architecture and displays were planned to stimulate your senses and mind. This is not a walk though large rooms with pictures and artifacts hanging on the wall. By the end of a tour, you are physically tired and mentally drained. The group enters the building and views a kaleidoscope of archived still and film images of pre-Holocaust Jewish life on a large triangular wall. As you turn to move to the next section, the floor is actually built on a slight down slope. You, the visitor, are now moving down in to the story. The rise of Nazism is eerily displayed with the actual large red banners with swastikas that hung on many buildings in Europe during the war and an original copy of Mein Kampf amongst many other documents and pictures. The era of tactics of legality and social isolation of the German Jewish population is laid out with historical clarity. Jumping ahead to the museum section presenting the 1939 time frame, with the invasion of Poland, the displays are placed closer together and more visually intimidating. Ghettoization is displayed: The museum is now cramped. The downward slope of the floor is more apparent with the Operation Barbarossa (German invasion of the USSR) display. The lighting is darker. Horrendous pictures of Einsatzgruppen operations are displayed. The sense of speed and confusion is imparted as the walls of the museum displays are placed at odd spots that obstruct your ability to walk though in a straight line. Some of our seminar-mates spoke of a sense of claustrophobia at this point in the tour. The Goring Memorandum explanation, Wansee Conference, pictures and short biographies of the perpetrators are on the walls... the proverbial door is closed, the area seems darker now, Operation Reinhard, it's crowded, something catches my eye and I look up: it's a very modern, stainless steel art piece of a spiders web, turn the corner and an enormous deportation list blocks the way, we all knew what was coming, something felt different under my feet, I'm standing on a railroad track, around the corner from the deportation list....a box car, to the left the infamous sign from Auschwitz-I: Arbeit Macht Frei, a huge picture of the gate to Auschwitz II-Birkenau, quiet.....sobs.....liberation displays, the floor is on an up-slope now, WW-II ends, Nuremberg Trials, up more, finally out of the museum to a deck over looking a beautiful view of the Jerusalem Forest... bright sun. It is possibly the most psychologically constructed museum I have ever visited. In my opinion: it's brilliant.

The Learning Center is a must see if ever on the Yad Vashem campus. It is a very modern circular room with computer stations throughout. Seventeen poignant and difficult questions appear on the screens and the walls of the room. The student, seated at individual computer stations, can click on one of these questions and a page opens with video statements from some of the best minds on Holocaust studies discussing the questions. For example, the question of how a human being from a modern European country became a killer during the Holocaust is discussed by Drs. Browning and Bankier. Each with slightly different theses. "Why didn't the allies bomb Auschwitz? Drs. Bauer, Lipstadt and Bankier provide their theses on this emotional topic. The theological question of: Where was God during the Shoah? is addressed by rabbis and theological scholars. Possibility one of the most intellectually stimulating opportunities of my stay. After leaving the learning center, the discussions (some heated) amongst the class lasted well in to the evening.

A very good experience for all the participants. Having opportunity to study and attend lectures in an academic environment is always a pleasure. We all look forward to sinking our teeth into the Holocaust curriculum project and making it the benchmark for secondary education in the US.

HOTEL ROOM TURKISH COFFEE, PASTRY

Hotel Room Turkish Coffee Set-up

Chocolate and Fromage Blanc Pastries - Jerusalem

Two very interesting aspects of traveling in Israel are the Turkish coffee and pastries. Of course the coffee is a regional staple, but at first the pastry baffled me; more on that later.

Turkish coffee, when ordered in a coffee shop, bar or in the Arab Quarter in The Old City - Jerusalem, is unique in its aroma and preparation. It is vastly different than American drip, European press or espresso style coffee. Turkish coffee prepared the proper way requires a small open pot with a longish handle called an Ibrik, coffee beans ground to the consistency of flour, sugar and water. The water and sugar are put in the pot and placed on a stove burner. When the liquid boils, it is removed from the heat and the ground coffee is put in the pot. Returned to the heat. When the liquid boils and foam appears on the top, the pot is removed from the heat. After the liquid settles slightly, it's returned to the heat for a final boil. When the foam appears remove from the heat and pour into a cup. Wait a few minutes until the grounds settle and the coffee cools. Enjoy. I am sure there are many variations, however this is the method I saw used most often in Israel. Turkish coffee has full bodied flavor and an aromatic nose. There must be foam on the surface of the coffee similar to the crema on espresso or you have a dud. It comes in four levels of sweetness. I prefer Ahwa Ariha or light sweet.

Traveling for business might not always allow for ample time every morning to jaunt out for a well made cup of Turkish coffee, as was my schedule on this last trip. For these unfortunate circumstances, the Hotel Room Turkish Coffee technique must suffice. In most every room I have stayed in Israel, from four star accommodations to bare bones Kibbutz rooms, there are always packets of ground coffee, sugar and a water pot. A word on these magnificent water pots available in Israel. I doubt they would ever be legal for sale in the USA. The body is made of plastic and on the inside there is an exposed heating coil similar to ones found on electric stoves all over America. The heating ability needs to be experienced to be believed. Place the water in the carafe and flip the switch "ON." As you walk to the window of the hotel room to check the view, you will hear a rumbling. At first you may be under the impression the housekeeping staff is rolling their carts down the hallway or a hotel guest is dragging their luggage to the elevator, but you would be wrong. It's the water boiling. I swear. It's impressive.

To prepare Hotel Room Turkish Coffee: place the contents of one packet of ground coffee in a cup, add sugar. When the water is boiling, pour a small amount in the cup and stir, add more water to the desired level (this should be about 3 - 4 oz of water). Stir again and allow the coffee to rest. When the grounds have settled and cooled: enjoy. By stirring the coffee twice you can accomplish the development of a small amount of foam and thus producing a coffee similar to, but not, authentic Turkish Coffee.

Pastry. In the ancient land of Israel, I never expected to find a multitude of pastry shops and stalls in the open air markets that sell extremly well made classic pastry. French and Italian preparations with lots of puff pastry, chocolate paste and batons (the traditional chocolate sticks used in croissants), vanilla pastry cream and even a dough similar to Pate a Choux. Light and airy croissants with the requisite sheen and crisp exterior filled with chocolate, fruit or fromage blanc are readily available. The most interesting aspect of these shops is the method of purchase. The individual pastries are not sold by the piece but rather by weight. So, as a customer enters the shop or stall, one merely picks up a small bag and with the tongs available, place as many of each pastry desired in the bag. The bag is then placed on a scale and the price is calculated. The picture above cost about 3 shekels (approx. .90 cents US). Don't know how they do it, but for pastry lovers, what a deal.

After your next 18+ hour travel day from the west coast of the US to Israel, stop by a pastry shop en route to the hotel and pick up a bag of sweets . When you wake at 3:00am due to the time zone change, brew a Hotel Turkish Coffee and enjoy a pastry. You'll be thankful you did.

ISRAEL-THE IMPORTANT STUFF



A Moshiko Falafel- Ben Yahuda Street, Jerusalem

AHH! The important stuff: Falafel and beer. Hey, it's hot during the summer months in Israel! Lazy afternoons at an outdoor falafel stand enjoying a cold Goldstar beer and a falafel pita is a perfect way to enjoy a good round of people watching while enjoying the national dish.

I know many would argue that Shwarma (spit roasted chicken or lamb on a pita) is a more sophisticated culinary endeavor, however I favor the simplicity of the falafel. It's a concept pounded into my head by the French chefs I once toiled under: if you can't repetitively execute basic culinary skills that result in a balanced, seasoned and enjoyable dish then you are a fraud or in French kitchen parlance, a shoemaker. Anyone can bury perfectly good meat, fish and vegetables with ridiculous amounts of numerous conflicting flavoring agents to impress their guests, but a real cook wishes to respect the natural essence of a product, marry them with supporting texture and flavor and thus create a dish that stimulates the senses and brings joy to the diner. A cook, therefore, can't hide when preparing falafel. The chickpea mixture must be seasoned and flavored to the exact point that offers interest yet blends well with traditional condiments. The classic two-step frying technique (blanching in oil until partially cooked and frying again later at a higher temperature when the order is placed) is a must in order to maximize external crunch while eliminating sogginess. The pita must be fresh, as they all are in Israel. The condiments vary by individual taste but include cucumbers, tomato, hummus, various cabbage preparations that southerners would call slaw, pickles and an optional hot sauce. The slaw comes in a few variates: sweet, acidic and made with purple or white cabbage. I favor the purple sweeter version and use the pickles as the acidic component.

Moshiko is an outstanding Falafel / Shwarma stand located on Ben Yahuda street in Jerusalem. The guys working there are fun and highly skilled. Most want to use their English when a non-Hebrew speaker (Me) approach the counter. Although one cashier there refused to speak English to me one night, which was fine, until he accidentally short changed me and was so embarrassed he broke out in perfect English with a slight NYC accent. Everyone smiled and laughed and from then on, all my visits to Moshiko were greeted with a variation of "do you want the usual?"

ARRIVAL IN ISRAEL

ISRAEL FROM 5000 FEET

It was a balmy 97degree day when we arrived in Israel. After an
uneventful passport control, we jumped in a cab (no AC) with eight new travel friends (read “total strangers”) and made our way to Jerusalem. The cab driver zigzagged his way around the city dropping off his passengers at Yeshivas, hotels and apartments. We definitely saw the non-tourist side of the city… you know where real people live and work. After a nice dinner on Ben Yehuda Street, jet lag won and the next thing I knew, the sun was beaming into the hotel room. Time for hotel room Turkish coffee!