Sofra & Summer Reading

I first visited Sofra for lunch last summer. A traditional Mediterranean bakery and café located in West Cambridge just a short distance from Harvard Square, I raved about the Turkish and Lebanese inspired Sharbat drinks, Meze bar offerings and food in general. What I didn't rave about was the dessert because I was too "full" to sample some. What a shame that was. This time around when my sister and I stopped in to grab some meze spreads to take home on Friday evening, I made sure not to omit the sweet course. But first, the appetizer spreads, which we paired with sesame crackers and a fresh loaf of bread. The Muhammarra is a fantastic combination of red pepper, walnut and molasses. The bright pink spread would be a heavenly Beat Tztatzki. Both alone are worth a visit to Sofra. They cost $4.25 each.For dessert, a crispy, flaky, buttery baklava. But not just any baklava, one loaded with rich dark chocolate and crunchy toasted hazelnuts. I was on the train ride home from my sisters apartment and couldn't resist digging in.I highly recommend the Chocolate Hazelnut Baklava if you ever find yourself faced with the tough choice of which confection to order at Sofra's bakery counter. And I'll say it again same as I did in my last review: I wish this place was located down the street from me, even in all my Italian pastry and cannoli filled glory!

On a completely unrelated note, the other day while running errands Downtown I popped into Borders remembering I had a gift certificate. Given to me as a birthday present back in February, I happily put it towards the purchase of summer reading.The only questions remains - which one to read first?The book that is all the buzz because it was recently made in to a major motion picture starting Reese Witherspoon and Edward Pattinson? Water for Elephants is a movie I really want to see, but I think I'd rather read the book first. Or the book everyone already read last summer or the summer before that? I figure I might as well see what all the fuss over The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is about. Or the one that caught my eye at the last second, a memoir by Piper Kerman who spent a year in prison after she was busted delivering a suitcase full of drug money? Orange Is the New Black should prove an eye opening read. Have you read any of these books? Which one should I read first?