Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Coronado: Avenue Liquor's BLT...in Chaldean?

Talking food where they speak as Jesus spoke

Passing Avenue Liquor last night. Decided to stop in and get the BLT, right here on Coronado's main street, where the median's perfect fir trees are lit up for a mile like, well, Christmas trees.

But every time I pass by this place on 9th, (Avenue Liquor Wine & Sub Shoppe, 878 Orange Avenue, Coronado, 619-435-4663), I hanker for their BLT sub.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37156/

Nathan the owner with his biggest sub ever. If you have to ask how much...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37154/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37155/

Also, always liked the two brothers working here, Wassim and Wissam. What gets me is the language they speak. It’s Chaldean, which means basically Aramaic. Which is supposed to be the language Jesus spoke.

So Jesus may have said exactly these words the guys have taught me (This is how they sound, no official spelling here):

“Dichiwood?” (“How are you?”)

“Randa! Dichilébetha?” (“Good. How is your family?”)

“Randa! Bassima raba.” (“Good. Thank you so much.”)

“Abshéna.” (You’re welcome.”)

I mean, is that incredible or what? Carla doesn't think it's a big deal. For me, the words Wissam still uses zap you back to the exact time, place, people, 2,000 years ago. This is how Jesus, Joseph, all of them, actually spoke. The words they used. Not Greek, not Latin, for sure not English...and now the words you hear in a liquor store on Orange Avenue in 2012...

Okay, so I order up a BLT for Carla and me to share ($7.53, including tax). Wissam sets to, making my BLT. On wheat, with mayo, peppers, avo, tomato lettuce, a fine mess.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37157/

Wissam cuts the sub

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37158/

Lays the bacon

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37160/

Into the oven for 45 seconds

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37161/

Melted pepperjack covers the bacon

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37162/

onion, tomatoes...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37163/

Lettuce for my end only...Carla has a thing about lettuce

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37164/

...and plenty of mayo

Only thing is the bacon – he’s put tons of it in there – doesn’t have the same salty bite or thickness I remember. Could just be me. I’ll ask the lovely Carla when I give her her half. Just lacks the heft I remember. Maybe the bacon's cut too thin. Maybe I asked for too much other stuff. Jesus would probably say Quit your belly-aching. Be grateful you've got food at all. In Aramaic, of course.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37166/

Meanwhile, the lesson for today.

“Leila saïda,” says Wissam. “It means ‘Have a good night.’”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Live Five: Sitting On Stacy, Matte Blvck, Think X, Hendrix Celebration, Coriander

Alt-ska, dark electro-pop, tributes, and coastal rock in Solana Beach, Little Italy, Pacific Beach
Next Article

Syrian treat maker Hakmi Sweets makes Dubai chocolate bars

Look for the counter shop inside a Mediterranean grill in El Cajon

Passing Avenue Liquor last night. Decided to stop in and get the BLT, right here on Coronado's main street, where the median's perfect fir trees are lit up for a mile like, well, Christmas trees.

But every time I pass by this place on 9th, (Avenue Liquor Wine & Sub Shoppe, 878 Orange Avenue, Coronado, 619-435-4663), I hanker for their BLT sub.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37156/

Nathan the owner with his biggest sub ever. If you have to ask how much...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37154/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37155/

Also, always liked the two brothers working here, Wassim and Wissam. What gets me is the language they speak. It’s Chaldean, which means basically Aramaic. Which is supposed to be the language Jesus spoke.

So Jesus may have said exactly these words the guys have taught me (This is how they sound, no official spelling here):

“Dichiwood?” (“How are you?”)

“Randa! Dichilébetha?” (“Good. How is your family?”)

“Randa! Bassima raba.” (“Good. Thank you so much.”)

“Abshéna.” (You’re welcome.”)

I mean, is that incredible or what? Carla doesn't think it's a big deal. For me, the words Wissam still uses zap you back to the exact time, place, people, 2,000 years ago. This is how Jesus, Joseph, all of them, actually spoke. The words they used. Not Greek, not Latin, for sure not English...and now the words you hear in a liquor store on Orange Avenue in 2012...

Okay, so I order up a BLT for Carla and me to share ($7.53, including tax). Wissam sets to, making my BLT. On wheat, with mayo, peppers, avo, tomato lettuce, a fine mess.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37157/

Wissam cuts the sub

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37158/

Lays the bacon

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37160/

Into the oven for 45 seconds

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37161/

Melted pepperjack covers the bacon

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37162/

onion, tomatoes...

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37163/

Lettuce for my end only...Carla has a thing about lettuce

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37164/

...and plenty of mayo

Only thing is the bacon – he’s put tons of it in there – doesn’t have the same salty bite or thickness I remember. Could just be me. I’ll ask the lovely Carla when I give her her half. Just lacks the heft I remember. Maybe the bacon's cut too thin. Maybe I asked for too much other stuff. Jesus would probably say Quit your belly-aching. Be grateful you've got food at all. In Aramaic, of course.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2012/dec/18/37166/

Meanwhile, the lesson for today.

“Leila saïda,” says Wissam. “It means ‘Have a good night.’”

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

$5 Breakfast: Bud's Louisiana Cafe

Next Article

Brave: Why I'm Worried

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader