WTF?

Earlier this month, good-friends-of ES Vi and Jerry Sizzler visited me in Brooklyn, and of course the weekend was focused on food-related activities, including a visit to Sahadi’s. This 60-year-old mostly Middle Eastern market is Brooklyn’s answer to Zabar’s – a sprawling complex of meats, cheeses, breads, and unique food items from around the world.

The bulk section is the most intense – a crazy array of nuts, beans, dried fruit and snacks. You can’t serve yourself, but instead have to take a number and wait in line, which assures plenty of pre-purchasing salivating time.

Clearly, Vi and I had to sample the weirdest-looking thing we could find, which turned out to be the “half-citron,” the sweet and slightly tangy dried fruit pictured above that looks like it came out of Ghostbusters. It was quite the moment, the servers said “Really? You want the half-citron?” and other customers applauded our bravery, demanding to know what we were going to do with this mysterious fruit.

Clearly, I have no idea what to do with it. It can be easily sliced with a knife or shaved off with a potato peeler, and is pretty tasty, but I’m not about to eat that whole giant thing plain. Any insight/advice would be greatly appreciated.