Leftovers #83

This week I’ve eaten a near-perfect toasted ham sandwich, oozing with gruyère on a crunchy sourdough bun (it lost points for not having more than one layer of ham) from 52A, one of De Beauvoir’s lesser known coffee shops but a real favourite of mine thanks to its proximity to my flat and the fact it gets the sun all day; three chicken selects and a small portion of fries from the Kings Cross McDonald’s with three of my favourite people before returning the The Standard for ‘one more drink’; my routinely made crispy rice and chilli oil fried eggs doused in soy sauce and sesame oil, eaten sat on the floor watching Friends at 10pm; silky, rich chicken liver parfait spread on crackers at Highbury’s new neighbourhood spot, Saltine, discussing the fate of Hollywood and how to actually make it as a writer; one slice of World Famous Gordo’s pepperoni pizza, razzle-dazzled with everything bagel bits as a pre-cursor to a spontaneous bite at Campania, where Meg (one of my very favourite dining companions) and I indulged in a glass of Vermentino, a plate of cloudy, fluffy ricotta and sage gnudi and a crispy portion of pollo Milanese.

I’ve felt a little out of sorts this week: unsettled, stagnant, unconfident, a little on edge. Food helps. Things of comfort I’m craving: biryani and chaat made by my friend Mehlaqa, the chicken and rice wrapped in a lotus leaf at Wan Chai Corner, a bowl of chicken soup at Golden Diner in New York, anything cooked by my mother, and a masala dosa (with chai) specifically from Super Batham in Varkala.

This week’s Leftovers includes a mini gift guide, a few favourite pieces I’ve read and, as I will continue to do until the end of the year, a shortlist of resources about the continued violent occupation of Palestine. I’m trying to be more succinct so there’s a little less than usual – let me know what you think in the comments.

Thinking 🇵🇸

– This investigative piece titled A Mass Assassination Factory: Inside Israel’s Calculated Bombing Of Gaza, for +972 magazine, which is a left-wing publication run by a group of Palestinian and Israeli journalists. I found it via this TikTok which I think does a good job of discussing the details found in the article.

– A video that gives a great summary of the many books we can read to help educate us on Palestine, its rich history, the conflict and why we should care.

– Stark statistics that show how Israel is committing urbicide (the premeditated and deliberate destruction of cities) from Mona Chalabi:

monachalabi

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