feature article comments

Forgot to pick up a copy of the Washington Post Magazine. The Food Section, however, is online and available!

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Article One: Tasting Tel Aviv, Israel's Culinary Capital

Subject: The food industry in Tel Aviv is fairly new; despite its youth, it's burgeoning with new and interesting developments.

My Thoughts: A good article on the food culture of Tel Aviv. Not perfect- the faults I will point out below - but it introduces the idea nicely, and uses much imagery, and many many taste-sensory 'images'. On the other hand, the article could have covered the idea a great deal more: it mentions many things briefly, but goes into detail on none of them. I could have stood to hear more about the cooking methods of the populus, or the spices that are in current use, or details on that makes kosher food "inventive". Instead the author, as stated before, mentions a great many ideas briefly, and does not examine them in any great depth.

Some of the phrasing is awkward. One quote exemplifies this: "Twenty-four seven, you can have a bite." Perhaps it accurately shows the cadence of Tel Avivan English, but it sounds a bit odd to the American ear. (I would have picked another quote.) Possibly the most awkward line is the ending: "Who knew that the land anciently advertised as flowing with milk and honey would take this long to develop its gastro tourism?" This, while getting its point across, is almost painful to read - it ought to be broken up and rephrased, or at least strongly reconsidered.

On the positive side, the article is chock-full of food descriptions, and in a food feature, I cannot commend that highly enough. The author accurately conveys the sheer variety of foods by, over and over, mentioning what people are eating, what can be bought where, what she is having, what her friends offer. She dwells lovingly on color and flavor, and reaffirms her theme of variety and taste by mentioning so many things.

Overall: A good article for basics, but could have gone deeper into detail. On the other hand, commendable focus on food and the variety thereof.

Link: Tasting Tel Aviv, Israel's Culinary Capital