A trip to the Jerusalem Market in Greensboro, North Carolina was like stepping off a plane into the streets of any city in the Middle East. The aroma of spices and freshly prepared foods was intoxicating. Jerusalem Market is just that - a market with a fresh deli counter in the back. When we walked into the store Beth and I were amazed at the plethora of foods and goods from all over the Middle East and Europe that were on display for purchase. The article in Our State magazine mentioned the variety, but seeing was believing. The aisles were spilling over with items I had only seen in Italy, Greece, or Turkey.
The deli in the rear of the market was beckoning, so to the back we went! Fresh meats, salads, pies, and sweets filled the cases. Mr. Hanhan, the owner and chef, was working on a to-go order so we grabbed a menu and tried to focus on lunch. I ordered the Armenian Wrap that was recommended in the magazine, and Beth requested the combination plate which featured spinach pie, hummos, tabouleh, and toasted pita bread. As we watched our food being prepared, we struck up a conversation with Mr. Hanhan about his market and the magazine article.
Saliba Hanhan was a chemist by trade before he opened the Jerusalem Market twenty years ago. The massive variety on the shelves of his store is an answer to the requests of his loyal customers. The deli menu features sandwiches such as Falafel (falafel patties with hummos and tahini sauce), The Turk (spicy dried beef sausage with provolone, baba ghanouj and yogurt cucumber sauce), and The Armenian (spiced, dried beef filet, provolone, spinach, onion, baba ghanouj, and yogurt cucumber sauce). Salads include hummos, tabouleh, feta dip, and dolmathes (hand rolled grape leaves stufffed with rice, pine nuts, tomatoes, onion, and parsley). There are also wonderful spinach, cheese, and meat pies to choose from on the menu. Desserts can be purchased by the piece or by the pound and feature homemade baklawa, cashew lady fingers, and kourabiethes (Greek wedding cookies).
Lunch was eaten outside and was truly better than anything I have ever eaten in Greece or Turkey. The Armenian was fresh and moist and wonderfully flavorful. Beth's combination plate was the perfect taste test of items that we wound up ordering separately and taking home with us to share with our families. The food was great, our visit with Mr. Hanhan was wonderful, and Jerusalem Market is now on our map of places to visit again and again! The directions on Mapquest were correct (http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Greensboro&state=NC&address=5002+High+Point+Rd+Ste+H&zipcode=27407-6200&country=US&latitude=36.024961&longitude=-79.875813&geocode=ADDRESS)
The website of the Jerusalem Market is http://www.jerusalemarket.com and the phone number is 336-547-0220. The market is situated on South High Point Road in a small shopping center on the right, coming from Greensboro. They are open from Monday - Saturday, 10 to 8, and on Sundays from 1 to 6.
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