Omar S.
Yelp
My Palestinian dad and his brother came to America from Jerusalem in 1954. Later, other members of my family arrived, including my grandmother, who lived with us until she passed.
They all (except for "Teta") became US citizens, and my father wanted all-American kids, yet despite the family's embrace of American culture, I was exposed at home to an uncommon language and to a way of life that was different from our neighbors', and so, I grew up unafraid of immigrants, and interested in their difference.
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I was excited and intrigued when, in 2016, Yelp Buffalo's then-Community Manager, Alex L., agreed to meet me for lunch at the city's West Side Bazaar. [n.b. We dined at the Bazaar's old location, 25 Grant St., some years before the current site was opened]
Why "excited?"
I love the experience of eating. I enjoy the sensory gratification I get from new combinations of flavors and textures - the less predictable, the better - and I love food that comes with a historical or personal narrative. Being fed by an eclectic group of cooks promised all of that.
San Diego has a ton of Chinese and Thai food, so when we visited the Bazaar, I instead chose unfamiliar (and superb) dishes from Burmese and Ethiopian kitchens. Neither of those vendors still operate at the Bazaar; were I to return, I'd head straight for the Congolese and Malaysian stalls.
I was intrigued because, in my life, I've patronized businesses owned by people of myriad ethnicities, but until then, I'd never seen so many of them grouped in one place, at least not with a permanent roof over their heads.
These were going concerns, not tables at a fair, and I wondered, going in, whether I might be taken for a cultural tourist, indulging my curiosity at the expense of the vendors' dignity, despite my sincere interest in them and their offerings.
But the welcome I received from one place to the next allayed my concern.
Some vendors seemed flattered at my enthusiasm for their cuisine and my interest in their history and culture. Most didn't seem to care why I was there; I gathered that it was enough that I spent money, and that I not be evil, which I thought fair enough.
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Rather than heap praise on the Bazaar's founder, the Westminster Economic Development Initiative (WEDI), I encourage you to visit their website and read about their many good works. Buffalo, a place besieged by people who are antagonistic towards those WEDI benefits, is lucky to have the organization there, fighting the decent fight.
https://www.wedibuffalo.org/about