A breakfast spread to defeat them all

First full day in Jerusalem, so it will be important to get a healthy breakfast. Luckily, our hotel, the Dan Boutique, has a very nice looking spread set out, with some regional highlights.

My first plate had some strong Russian influences. At 12 o'clock was a boureka stuffed with salty cheese. Next to that was a brownie that was co-located with the hot savory dishes. Then, there were six different yogurts, sour creams, and cream cheeses, with the zaatar cream cheese and dill sour cream the most notable, second and third, respectively. There were also four smoked fishes of different varieties, including whole sardines. And, lastly, there were sautéed apples with caramel. The apples were delicious and would pair fantastically with a blintz. One of the smoked fishes, with a beige color, was the best, with the bony whole sardine pulling up in last place. And, as mentioned, the zaatar and dill sauces were the best of the bunch.

The second plate was more classical, with a mix of fruits and cheeses. On the cheese side, there was Bulgarian feta, provolone, light blue cheese, and a fresh unnamed cheese with ridges. The unknown cheese was superior, especially in the morning when blue cheese is a bit much. Of the fruit, there was mini pears, melon slices, grapefruit and orange segments, and cherry tomatoes. The melon here is amazing. It is so full of water, juicy, and also incredibly refreshing and flavorful.

And, to wrap it up, a nice instant cappuccino and a sesame seed roll, both adequate. Quite a spread and should provide fruitful (ha!) starts to the days to come.

Postscript: Breakfast buffets continued to be awesome, with some changes along the way. However, a dinner in the lounge was a highly mixed bag. Getting the worst of our collective scorn was an awful tuna burger. It appeared to be canned tuna (!) that was made into a patty and fried until it was nearly all carbon and nothing else. Boo.