LA Challah and Hummus Hunt - Part III

Okay. It's been two months since I last posted. There have been many delicious meals. A big decision (we're officially moving to LA); and I've even started cheating on myself by doing some additional blogging at the Manolo Food Blog. There have also been some additional articles, which as always you can check out on my website.

And naturally, there has been some challah and hummus tasting.

A recent Friday saw a record triple challah try-out -


First from Eilat Bakery, two little guys -- one egg challah with sesame seeds...



And one water challah without...


Now usually, I prefer egg challot to water because of my intense love for Zomick's egg challah and because they tend to be a little chewier and moister, an all around better platform for dipping into hummus. And when I purchased both of these loaves and gave them a squeeze, I fully anticipated that this predilection would be the case. The egg felt nice and squishy, while the water felt hard and too crusty.

Lo and behold, however, the egg challah was pretty bland and didn't have a nice tear, while the water challah had a good toothsome quality and a little more flavor. You live and learn. Neither, however, lived up to Schwartz's or to the challah against all others are judged. The beloved Zomicks.

The third challah of the day was a total wild card. From Got Kosher? Provisions.


No, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is a pretzel challah with Belgian chocolate chips.

Notice how my fingers are coated in chocolate? We had tried one of Got Kosher?'s plain pretzel challot a few weeks prior, which I had loved (especially with peanut butter) but which Daniel had found a little too malty in flavor. This chocolate version was pretty ridiculous. Quite rich and delicious, especially when warmed for a bit in the oven. I would not, however, recommend dipping it in this --



The week's hummus portion. Purchased from one of the Kosher groceries on Pico. Shipped from Israel, it was certainly good, but no better than Sabra and thus not worth all the extra carbon footprint miles (aren't I a good environmentalist?)

Overall, a decent outing, but the quest continues. And now that we're becoming official LA citizens, the mission takes on an even graver seriousness. We must succeed in finding our Los Angeles versions of Zomicks and Damascus because shipping rates are just cost prohibitive (yes, I've investigated this.)