Pacific International Market is a specialty foods store that has all sorts of Persian, Indian, Asian, Arabian, and African products. They also prepare some hot made-to-order food items, like kebabs, shawarmas and gyros. I ordered a chicken shawarma and hummus, which were both "Tastie" - get it? Hummus is pureed chickpeas, which can read a little bland to me unless it's super punched up with garlic. This could've gone with 10 more cloves for my liking. I liked the shawarma, which was like grilled in this case. And I'm really weird about like warm lettuce, so I would have preferred if it was fresh and raw. And again, if it was drenched in garlic sauce.


Grade: B

Rawabi is a brand-new restaurant on High Street in Morgantown. It replaced Jasmine Grill. It serves up Mediterranean food, including falafel, gyro, kebab, shawarma and hummus - or those just tend to be my favorites.

My friend Sam and I went to check it out right when they opened. They weren't open at the time I thought they would be, so we killed some time and came back to see all the lights on and folks dining inside.

So, we walked in to the large space. Lots of images of food on the walls and decorations. There's a large cooler in front that displays fresh fruits and other prepared items.

The menu is a good size, so I spent some time looking through it.

Main entrees include shish tawook and shawarma. Traditional plates included lamb shank and roasted chicken.
 
Then, there are sandwiches like falafel wrap, gyros, kebabs, and more. Plus, they have a ton of coffee - including Turkish coffee, which Sam enjoyed.

It's pretty strong - but take a look at that beautiful serving ware!

But wait, there's more! Hummus, kibbeh, fries, tabbouleh, grape leaves, and then fatayer - which looked beautiful and I don't think I've ever had before. I ordered the veggie platter 1, which had hummus, falafel, grape leaves and tabbouli and tahini sauce. Plus the cheese fatayer.

The veggie platter was great - I especially looove the garlic sauce and the grape leaves were great.

The fatayer is kinda like a cheesy bread, but even more herby and tasty. Then, we were even treated to little bites of baklava! Can't get enough of all the goodies here.

Grade: B

Mamnoon Restaurant is known for being one of the best in Seattle, so I made reservations early.

The restaurant boasts a "Modern union of Middle Eastern Cuisines," so I was excited to try this out since my experience is limited with Middle Eastern cuisine.

Food is an essential part of all family and social interactions in the Middle East where people grow up with intense flavors, colorful, vibrant foods fresh from the marketplace, prepared simply and with a lot of passion. Aromatic herbs fill the streets and a spirit of warmth and generosity exudes welcome at any table. Here at mamnoon, we share these strengths brought with us from Lebanon and Syria to the new world of Seattle – where modern curiosity, compassion, progressive values and tolerance are paving the way for harmonious integration and celebration of cultures and flavors (People).

The space is large, intricate and impressive. Various areas are sectioned out, so the atmosphere still felt cozy. We initially walked by a modern bar area, then through a more open dining space and into a dining area with cozy and nontraditional seating.

For an appetizer, I ordered dolmeh, which had sweet and sour rice, grape leaves, barberries, yogurt and fried shallots. A little sour, but I enjoyed it.

For a cocktail, I went with the "ya amar," which had vodka, cherry liqueur, orange blossom, and moscato d'asti served in a flute. I can't help it that it sounded good - and it was good! A touch sweet, but not overly.

And, finally, my entree was the "shish taouk," which is the one thing our server said NOT to order since everybody orders it -- but if everyone orders it, it's probably because it's good, right?

So, it comes with halal chicken, garlic, charred lemon, marinated vegetables and herbs. While this was tasty, I think I was expecting a bit more. They are all simple ingredients and all done very well. I just think I had something built up more in my mind when folks raved about this place. It was good - and had nice balance - but something a touch more exciting would have been even better.



Grade: B

Another Middle Eastern restaurant opened on High Street: Salam. It is in the longtime Mediterranean Market space (turned Dos Bros turned Zaytun turned now Salam). It joins a few other Middle Eastern restaurants on High Street: Beity and Jasmine Grill.

I'm not well versed enough in Middle Eastern or Mediterranean cuisine to tell you the differences or who does what better. If you know, help a sister out.

For a while, it was only open at night because of Ramadan. I actually think that's super cool. But now that it's opened back up for lunch, I went with Tony and Mike.

They spent some time to make this space quite lovely. It's a large space, so I can imagine it's pricy to outfit it. There's even a bar that offers three types of beverages: flavored water, a lemonade and an orange drink.

The menu features hummus, baba ganoush, tzatziki, stuffed grape leaves, falafel, tabbouleh, fattoush, kabobs, shish tawook, gyro, shawarma, a burger and chicken tenders. I went for the Chicken Shawarma sandwich: slow roasted, marinated chicken wrapped in pita bread with lettuce, tomato, onion, parsley, pickles and choice of sauce. I asked what the Salam Special Sauce is, but they didn't have any, so I went with garlic.

This was pretty good! I have really developed a love for shawarma. It's so simple, but that garlic sauce is heavenly. And all the ingredients are fresh, so it's just like a perfect, light, mostly healthy lunch that is satisfying.

Tony also ordered some hummus, which was fine. The pita was thin and hard to dip. I also wish it were warm. The hummus was good, but I would go for about 15,000x more garlic. That's just me. Pretty solid addition.

Grade: B

I did a quick culinary tour of Parkersburg with BFF Veronica to check off a bunch of places on the 101 Most Unique Places to Dine list, and our first stop was Cham's Lebanese Cuisine.


Cham's Lebanese Cuisine is a family-owned restaurant that serves up classic Lebanese dishes: shawarma, falafel, kabob, hummus, etc. I went for the shawarma, while Veronica opted for the falafel wrap.

After a short wait, our dishes came out - and with a smile. Everyone here was very kind and friendly. My dish was not bad, but it wasn't the best shawarma I've ever had, either. A bit more wrap than meat, and a good sauce would've helped bring it together. But good quality meat and a big portion.

V wasn't super keen on her falafel (but I haven't had a falafel I've been super keen on, either). I had a bite, and it wasn't bad. It was tough to bypass the dessert ... but we did have another dinner to get to, so none for this visit.

Overall thoughts: Good, especially for the Parkersburg area. Great? I've had some in recent memory that are hard to top.


Grade: B

Affectionately known as "street meat," sidewalk vendors and foodtrucks are all over New York City. One of the most sought-after is The Halal Guys, found at 53rd and 6th (and other locations now).

This food cart had quite a long line - especially compared to other vendors nearby. The line moved quickly, though, and once we were at the front, we chose our meal:






Chicken, beef gyro, falafel, or a combo (over rice or as a sandwich). I went for a combo over rice.

I think this is one of my favorite meals in NYC. A huge portion of well-seasoned, delicious food (and the white sauce they give you is PERFECT all over it!) outside, watching as the world whips by. I think my expectations were also super low, and I was slightly terrified food poisoning wasn't out of the picture.

But the flavors of the meat, the fresh veggies and that delicious creamy sauce brought all of this together. I see why there's a line day in and day out now.


Grade: A

I visited Kassar Food and Gifts a while ago but never had a chance to eat there. Vicki and I returned recently to try their take on Middle Eastern food and for girl talk, of course.

I mentioned previously about how Kassar's is a shop with produce, trinkets and more - but it also has a small restaurant.


I ordered the lamb kabob, which comes with two sides - I went for the hummus and stuffed grape leaves. You order at the cash register and proceed to the right and back, where there is The Shai House - a place to eat your meal. We headed back that way while we waited for our food to arrive.

The interior was cool - a little shabby, but comforting at the same time. Linens draped the ceiling, and lots of gold and red hues decorated the room. A few tables were floor-level, and along the right wall is a long bench with tables.

At the tables are some spices and condiments. It took a little bit for our food to arrive. Vicki ordered a gyro and a salad plate, which she liked, but it wasn't her favorite.

My kabob was OK. A little chewy - but decent flavoring. The rice was a little on the cooler side, and the grape leaves were solid. The hummus, though, was really quite good. Great flavor and spice - not bland, like many I try. It was tasty.

If I want Middle Eastern food, I'll probably stick to Ali Baba's, but this was a nice change of pace.

Grade: B