Horsing Around
Pistachio pastry
Place: SusCafé, Moshav Sde Hemed
When: Tuesday afternoon
Environment: I like horses (who doesn’t? and if the answer is you – get out!), so I got a kick out of this place and the concept. Located adjacent to and within a riding stable, the food truck café has a bit of a rustic charm. The décor is wood, iron, and aluminum, with castoff chairs and cable spools that can be used as tables, with a few metal and glass tables thrown in to confuse things. It’s actually a very large space, with an outdoor area right alongside a horse paddock, and another outdoor area among some trees, and another area under an aluminum roof, with a large indoor area as well. Vines adorned with purple flowers trailed all over the place, providing some beauty and shade, and they were accompanied by some cloth shades. Large electric fans were set up to move the air, though a breeze came through as well. It was pretty quiet during my visit, though not empty. It seemed the people visiting were all regulars. And in addition to the horses in the paddock by the seating area, more were around back, where the actual riding was taking place.
My Order: Large cappuccino (NIS 15); pistachio pastry (NIS 17).
The low-down: I asked for my coffee strong; when the barista handed it to me, she said if I want her to strengthen it, she would. I took a sip of my hot milk and went back to ask for her to add some more coffee to it. The color changed somewhat, but not enough to make any significant difference in the taste. It just was not a great cup of coffee. The pastry intrigued me, mainly because of its figure eight shape and green crumbs on top. It actually wasn’t too bad. The pistachio flavor was there, and it was a bit gooey, though not too gooey to be overly sweet, like many almond pastries. It was heated for me, which probably made it a bit soggy; it should been flakier than it was. The menu included some salads, sandwiches, and pizzas too, but this isn’t a place to go for culinary sophistication (unless I just showed up on a bad day, which is always possible). It’s a change of pace, though. And sometimes that’s good enough.
Who else was there: A man in his early 40s sat alone, absorbed in his phone. He wore a mauve t-shirt, blue shorts, sports sandals, and a sporty watch, and he had a shaved head. A handgun peeked out of a holster in the back of his shorts. He looked strong and rugged. He polished off a tall can of Coke Zero, followed by a pre-packaged ice cream cone.
He was there on dad duty. His daughter was at her riding lesson, and rather than drop her off and pick her back up shortly after, he chose to park himself in a corner and catch up on news, messages, and emails. He had to duck out of work in order to take her to her lesson, but he could be spared for a few hours. He actually works on a nearby moshav, and he’s in charge of machinery acquisitions – including golf carts, tractors, and even the milking machines in the dairy barn. He’s an assertive guy, and he’s been in the agricultural world his whole life, so it comes pretty easily to him. And though his sport of choice has always been windsurfing, when his daughter decided she preferred land-based activity, he humored her. As long as she dedicates herself to something and works hard, he’s ok with it. And she’s been riding and advancing over the past few years; so he shows up, takes her to class, and is there when it ends. The golf carts can wait a little longer.
