Middle East Delicacies

Arsham’s Delicatessen in Hollywood is packed with interesting foods, including luscious dried and candied fruits from the Middle East. A charming hexagonal wooden box from Lebanon contains rows of candied apricots, pears, tiny apples and dark fruits that at first glance appear to be dates but are actually candied walnuts. (By the way, the word “tazah” on the wrapper means fresh in Arabic.) Arsham’s also carries unusual dried sour plums and very sweet dried figs, both from Izmir, Turkey.

Box of candied fruit, $7; dried Turkish figs, $3 a pound, dried sour plums, $4.99 a pound at Arsham’s Delicatessen, 5051-3 Hollywood Blvd., corner Mariposa Avenue, Los Angeles; (323) 660-7508.