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Rosa Ailabouni's avatar

Thank you for all of your sweet memories of Sinbad's and Mediterranean Food Imports! My parents, Sam and Jacky, started both places at a time when only few in Columbus knew what hummus was, and it was rare to find different options for olives, EVOO, or cheeses from Mediterranean countries.

Our customers were part of our family. We loved every ethicity, every culture and every language. We celebrated holidays, marriages, births, and we went through the hard times of mourning, firings, and heartache. Through healthy quality foods, my parents opened their kitchen and pantry to the Columbus community. To our former customers - We miss you and your families, and wish you all health and happiness.

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David Scarpetti's avatar

A typical shopping list at Mediterranean Food Imports:

French (puy) lentils

Bulgarian style feta

Olives

Spices

Turkish coffee (ground finely as cocoa powder). I bought an ibrik there and a customer explained how to make Turkish coffee.

Sesame seed candies

Kinder eggs (when my girl was little)

Israeli couscous

Lupini beans

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Bethia Woolf's avatar

What do you make with the lupini beans? I haven’t used them.

We were recently gifted an ibrik- I’m sure Andy would appreciate some guidance!

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David Scarpetti's avatar

Lupini beans are harshly bitter (from alkaloids). The bottled ones have been soaked exhaustively and packaged in a light brine. They’re served as an aperativo (pre-meal snack). They have an easy to remove outer “shell,” very soft, easy to squeeze off.

Turkish coffee: I don’t think I ever quite made it properly (it should have a crema) but the flavor is still wonderful. Tell Andy I’ll show Andy anytime.

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Liz Webb's avatar

I loved this piece -- I was just telling my coworkers about how much I love Mediterranean Food Imports! Some of my finds from this past Sunday made up my lunches this week.

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