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Walking Tour Offers Chance to Learn More About Arab Community
A walking tour of Warren Avenue offers the community a chance to explore the Arab community, as well as get a taste for some of the flavorful foods of the culture.
Offered by the Arab Merican National Museum, the Yalla Eat! Culinary Walking Tour is an immersive cultural activity that takes the museum experience into the community.
Tour guide Isra El-beshir, Curator of Education & Public Programming, said it would be impossible to create such an enriching experience for guests inside the walls of the museum.
The tour, schedule for about two-and-a-half hours, takes participants to six stops along Warren Avenue in east Dearborn.
The tour runs rain or shine, so guests need to be prepared for any type of weather.
The first stop is at Super Greenland, a market that offers many imported goods and spices, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and a deli.
The next stop featured Hashems nut and coffee gallery. The store offers fresh ground coffee and spices, as well as a large variety of nuts. The staff will assist customers in finding just the right blend for their needs.
A little farther down Warren Avenue is a stop at Lebon Sweets. The store specializes in breakfast treats like kanafeh, a pastry with melted cheese and syrup.
A fourth stop is a break from the food products and a glimpse inside the “homes” of Arab Americans. The Gift Warehouse Co. is full of decor and dishes for any home. It has chandeliers, dishes, vases and stands, as well as tea and coffee sets and pots large enough to feed an army. The wide variety of goods runs the gamut from simple to ornate.
Next up was a stop at the well-known Shatila Bakery. The store offers many pastries to please any palate. It also offers its own brand of ice cream.
After visiting Shatila, the group headed to New Yasmeen Bakery, and were treated to samples of cheese bread while exploring the many foods available like shawarma, hummus, grape leaves and more.
The final stop on the tour was a visit to Al-Ameer Restaurant. The eatery is well-known in Dearborn and is a favorite among locals. Tour participants were expecting to sample some of the restaurant’s fresh juice, but instead were treated to a “dinner” of pita and shawarma, while they rested and chatted about all they learned during the day. Participants were awed by the hospitality and friendliness of the staff.
The tour offered a chance to not just look at elements of the Arab and Muslim culture, but to experience it first hand, and those who signed up said they were not disappointed.
Sandy Grzych signed up for the tour because she loves the food and wanted to get some insight into the ways the food is cooked, processed and spiced.
“Besides getting some of that, I also learned many details about the culture. When we got to sit down and eat, it was a great learning experience,” Grzych said.
Cecilia Trudeau enjoyed the tour, as well.
“I particularly enjoyed Hashems, the wonderful spice shop where we were welcomed so warmly,” she said. “ The sights and smells were most beautiful and it was clear that the proprietor was knowledgeable and proud of his delicious products, I intend to return.”
The Yalla Eat tour started as a pilot program last summer and was very well received. So it was brought back. There are four dates left for this round. The tours are offered Tuesdays and Saturdays. Tickets are $20 for the general public, and $15 for museum members.
For more about the tour, visit www.arabamericanmuseum.org/yallaeat or call 1-313-582-2266. Tours are limited to groups of 16 or less and fill quickly, so act now if you want to participate. As long as the tours stay popular, the program is expected to continue.
Jodi Rempala
Press & Guide