matzoh mania

We went to Asheville this past weekend to see the dynamic Jew duo of Ester & Ben for Passover. I’m just beginning to come out of the matzoh haze…matzoh for Passover dinner, matzoh for breakfast, matzoh for lunch, matzoh for Passover dinner #2. Okay, we skipped out on matzoh for lunch because we went to the Laughing Seed (complete with laughable service), but you get the idea. I’m still seeing matzoh balls in my sleep.

Ben’s mother lives in the historic neighborhood of Montford, which is a 5 minute walk from downtown Asheville. We took advantage of the proximity and spent both afternoons strolling past the storefronts, gawking at the sheer number of bookstores. If you’re ever in downtown Asheville and you need a caffeine fix, stop by Izzy’s Coffee Den on Lexington Ave.

Sitting through not one, but two, Seders was interesting. Being out of touch with any sort of religious influence, I find all of the rules hard to understand (you mean I can’t bring my chocolate chip cookie into the house?), but everyone was happy to explain the different aspects of the service for the resident heathen. So I dipped my bitter herb (cucumber, not parsley) into the Jewish tears, read aloud from the Haggadah (desperately hoping I wouldn’t get the paragraph with all of the rabbi names), sat through countless songs, and did my part by eating several servings of kugel.

The dynamic duo came back to Atlanta with us for a whirlwind tour of the drrty drrty. Sadly we couldn’t subject them to some of our favorite restaurants because of the Passover eating restrictions, but I think we still managed to pack in some unleavened enjoyment. Here are a few of the photo highlights:

Rag-o-Rama:

The local comic book/music store:

Piedmont park (that dog started out white):

Jo & Dave’s house (home of the goggles):

I'm still adding pictures to my flickr, so check it out for more premium Jewish times. Now, where's my cheese and matzoh snack...