Worth Deserting
Toasted truffle sandwich, gluten-free brownie, iced coffee
Place: Hadabeshet, Beersheba
When: Tuesday, early afternoon
Environment: This food truck-on-steroids is located next to an interesting war memorial (read about the Monument to the Negev Brigade and its innovative concrete construction). From the parking lot, there isn’t much to see. There is a metal gate with the camel logo on it (a “dabeshet” is a camel’s hump). Once through the gate, you are greeted with what looks like a beach bar, except instead of water: sand. On some sides are relatively open desert vistas; on others, the view is less inviting and dotted with litter and infrastructure. There are a fair number of umbrellas to keep the sun off, a covered seating area, and some shady trees. At least on my visit, a nice, constant breeze offset the summer heat. Upbeat music pumped out of the speakers. The place was not particularly busy, with just a few tables of people. Most of the seating was around picnic tables, with a bar and some stools at edge of the hill. A few glider swings offered intimate seating, and a handful more tables were flanked by chairs. There were two friendly (and patient) young women manning the coffee cart. As with many informal places these days, it’s self service: You place your order at the counter and they hand you a beeper thing that goes off to tell you when the food is ready and you should come pick it up. There was a designated area to which you clear your place, as well.
My Order: Toasted truffle sandwich (NIS 46); iced coffee (NIS 19); gluten-free brownie (NIS 38?).
The low-down: My dining partner’s Americano coffee (NIS 16) was not bad – certainly better than expected. But my cold coffee was diluted by a generous amount of ice, to the point that neither the coffee nor milk stood out much. But hey, at least it was cold on a hot day. The toasted sandwich, filled with cream cheese, truffle pecorino, mozzarella, mushrooms, and green onions, was served with fresh-tasting pesto that had an almost pickled undertone. I expected the sandwich to be greasier, like a grilled cheese, but it was not, which was great. Despite nothing fatty on the outside, the bread still maintained a nicely toasted and crunchy texture. The inside was almost pizza-like, due to the cheesy mozzarella filling, with a little truffle flavor. It worked well as a nice, light summer lunch. While I have no aversion to gluten, the glutenless brownie sitting in the display case just looked too good not to taste. It came dotted with plentiful walnuts and chocolate chips. The brownie had a crisp outside and a gooey inside, but was surprisingly not dense. It would have benefited from better quality cocoa, but it was still quite nice.
Who else was there: Two female soldiers sat together at a table. One had a slicked-back, dark, long ponytail. The other wore her brown hair in a messy bun. Both were in army-green uniform, but just one carried a rifle. While one of the young women was busy with her earbuds and a cigarette, the other remained engrossed in her phone.
The two were out on leave for the day, but they were too far from home to make it worth to drive there and back. Their base is in the desert, so the best they could do was travel to the nearest big city – Beer Sheva – to blow off some steam. The soldiers didn’t know each other before they were stationed at the same base. They weren’t even in the same unit, since one was combat and one was more administrative. But they met at the base and bonded as they commiserated about their distance from seaside dance clubs, of which both were fans. Though one of the young ladies was from the Tel Aviv region and one from the Haifa region, they both used to spend their Friday nights partying at open clubs, with salt in the air and sand creeping in everywhere. Now all they get on Friday nights is the sand part. They take it in stride, knowing that their army service is temporary. But when they get a chance to leave the base and head home, they’re right back at their respective clubs. And when they can’t get that far, they search out places where they can at least feel a similar relaxed vibe, though their army boots separate their toes from the sand.
