Behind the Glass

Beet and goat cheese sandwich

Place: Talbiye Patisserie, Jerusalem

When: Tuesday, late morning

Environment: The café is located on the upper level of the Jerusalem Theater. While it has windows looking over the theater plaza, the café itself has no outside area. Therefore, the place can seem a bit stuffy – especially taking into account the stucco ceiling and dense red carpet. But on a rainy March day, it was the perfect option. At least half of the patrons were sitting alone on their laptops at small tables spread through the large space, with a few other tables hosting intimate groups of friends. Ordering is done at the counter, and then it’s self-service to your table. The vitrine boasts a very impressive array of pastries of all types, making a repeat visit inevitable before you even sit down. Speakers play easy-listening Oldies and soul music, including Ray Charles and Elvis Presley. The overall tone is hushed; after all, it is a theater.

My Order: Beet and cheese ciabatta sandwich (NIS 43); tiramisu (NIS 39); cappuccino (NIS 14)

The low-down: The hearty ciabatta was crusty but not hard, with a chewy inside. The contents of the beet sandwich were highlighted (or is it lowlighted?) by a soft, creamy goat cheese and an almost-pickled flavor from the artichoke spread. Cucumbers and red onion provided a fresh crunch. The coffee came in a little white cup, and was not particularly hot. The foam was thin-to-nearly-nonexistent, and the coffee very mild. Certainly not the most exciting cup of coffee out there. But it came with a little butter cookie, which was a nice touch. Meanwhile, the tiramisu wasn’t the typical layers-in-a-jar number prevalent around these parts, but rather, an individual mousse cake with pretty teardrops of cream on top, all dusted with a layer of cocoa. Tucked beneath the teardrops were coffee-soaked lady fingers that really added to the creamy mousse. The entire confection sat atop a crunchy chocolate biscuit. I had debated hard what sweet to get (see the aforementioned comment about the vitrine), so I asked for help from the cashier. She said the lemon tart was most popular, but when I told her I wasn’t feeling it and was between a few options, including tiramisu, she pounced and said definitely the tiramisu, no question. I don’t know if she was right, since I didn’t try the other options. But it was pretty fabulous.

Who else was there: An older gentleman with a full head of white hair, tortoiseshell glasses, burgundy pants and a black fleece – and stocking feet (his running shoes were cast off on the floor under him) – was sitting alone on the banquette. He moved slowly, and with effort. The man had brought a newspaper – and his own food. One by one, he pulled bread and cream cheese out of his backpack, composing a sandwich, followed by hard-boiled eggs. A whole, peeled carrot featured as dessert. He took advantage of the establishment’s water cooler and salt and pepper shakers.

It's not like the man was homeless or anything. He took care that morning to pack provisions for the day. Despite the wet weather, he was not going to spend his day at his apartment. It was too hard and too empty to be there, now that his life partner had passed. When he was home, he found himself just staring at the walls. He and his partner had been together for decades. In the past few years, since retirement, they became accustomed to leisurely breakfasts at home together, sometimes chatting, sometimes silently reading across from each other. But in the past year, the partner became ill, eventually passing away about four months ago. Everyone told the man he had to pick himself up and keep living his life. He didn’t really see the point. No one interested him. But he also didn’t really see an alternative. So on nice days, he took his sandwich and eggs to the park and read the paper there. And on wet days like this one, he parked himself somewhere indoors, decorum be damned.

Tiramisu