Sabich

 

Vocabulary

district	customer	metropolitan
wait	patient (2)	their turn
turn	claim	universe
false	modest	know/knew/known
snack	all over	vegetarian
consist	aubergine	fry/fried
boil	plant	eggplant
tangy	parsley	hard-boiled egg
pickle	mango	pack (3)
pita	warm	probably
firm	solf	have to/has to
sponge	spongy	won’t be any good
every	single	ingredient
boss	meet (2)	standard
low	high	everyone
crisp	spice	long time
satisfy	different	bring/brought
always	same	sometimes
basic	never	usually
cool	of course	breakfast
lunch	dinner	one of the most
popular	pitch (3)	football
every	spoon	spoonful
sauce	goal (2)	how many
about	country (2)	equivalent
cost	shekel	no question about it
other	stiff (2)	competition
simple	simply	tasty/tastier/tastiest
since	put on (2)	run/ran/run
behind	in front of	stand/stood
count	counter	home game
bored	boring	for example
fan	overseas	for instance
game	greetings	all over the world
world	wonder	no wonder
whole	share (2)	opinion

 
 

Video

 
 

Transcript

Here in the Giva Yatam District of metropolitan Tel Aviv, customers are patiently waiting their turn. Ovdi Danyel claims he makes the best sabich in the universe.

There’s no false modesty here. And why should there be? His sabich is known all over Israel.

The vegetarian snack consists of fried aubergine, hard boiled egg, humus, parsley and amba (tangy, mango pickle) packed in pita bread.

Ovad explains, “the pita bread has to be warm and firm; if it’s spongy, the snack won’t be any good even if all the other ingredients are right.”

Every single one of the many ingredients has to satisfy the boss’s high standards. The aubergine must be hot and crisp. And the egg is boiled with spices for a long time.

“Jews from Iraq brought this snack to Israel,” says Ovad. They eat it on Shabat. Everyone makes it a bit differently, but the basic ingredients are always the same: in Hebrew the word ‘sabich’ stands for ‘s’ for salad, ‘e’ for egg, ‘n’ as in another, and ‘a’ for aubergine.

Of course, that’s just his story. “Sabich” probably comes from the Arabic word for breakfast. It’s become one of the most popular snacks in the country.

Ovad sees each of his customers as players on a football pitch. He explains the rules to newcomers.
“Every spoonful of sauce is a goal. How many points? Three. ”

A sandwich cost 20 shekles, the equivalent of about four euros.

“These are the best! No question about it. There are others: competition is stiff. But his eggplant is simply the tastiest. And he puts on a good show. ”

Ovad Danyel and his wife have run the snack bar since 1978. He stands behind the counter day and night. He has lots of fans because he never lets anyone get bored with his game.

“Bread sauce, that’s the Apuel Tel Aviv team. Amba, the yellow sauce, is Makavi Tel Aviv. If you come from overseas, then I’ll play a home game with you. Take Germany for instance. There we have the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich, Burusia Dortmund.”

His customer send him greetings from all over the world. No wonder, because they share his opinion: it’s the best sabich in the whole universe.

 

 Questions

1. What does Ovad claim? What is Ovid’s claim?

2. Only people in the neighborhood knows about Ovad’s sabich. Is this true or false?

3. What are the ingredients? What does sabich consist of?

4. According to Ovad, the eggplant (aubergine) is the critical or crucial ingridient. Is this correct or wrong?

5. Is the sabich originally from Israel? Is the sabich native to Israel?

6. How much is one sabich sandwich?

7. Only Ovad makes and sells sabich. Yes or no? Is it easy to succeed in the sabich snack bar business?

8. Does he work long hours?

9. What analogy does he make regarding his customers and making sabich?
 
 
A. I have tasted sabich. Yes or no?

B. What are some popular snacks or fast foods in your city?

C. Is the street food industry very large? Is the street food business profitable? Do street food vendors or hawkers make good money?

D. I would like to own and run a street food stall. What do you think?
 
 

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