Lebanese Restaurants – Page 4

Revisiting Alforon with Friends

November 29, 2010 mmm-yoso Lebanese Restaurants, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

When the folks in our monthly "eating club" were polled as to where our next meal should be…. it was unanimous, Alforon was the only choice. so on a recent weekend night, we arrived at Alforon, looking to take on the menu.

Since my first post, I've been here a couple of times, and have grown to enjoy the warm colors and textures of the small dining area.

We started with some Labni (comes with pickles and bread – $4.25):

The labni was very smooth, with a texture like a thick creme fraiche, with hints of lemon, this was very nice. And this time I didn't forget to take a photo of the pickles, which I think are the best in San Diego.

We were all fascinated with the green item in the pickles…. it had the texture of artichoke. George one of the owners told us it was Snake Cucumber, commonly known as Armenian Cucumber in the US. It is actually a melon with cucumber like characteristics. The pickles at Alforon have a wonderful fresh briney flavor to them, and were one of the favorites during this dinner.

I also requested a small bowl of garlic paste.

I've really taken to this creamy and light paste, with a decent, but not overbearing garlic flavor. It is closer to an aioli then a garlic paste, and recently I've been buying 8 ounce containers to go. It would probably make cardboard delicious. Even though George told us that we should only use the garlic paste for chicken, he appreciated our enthusiasm for it…… his son did tell us that he puts on everything, so I guess we were in good company. Samia and George, the owners have such an honest enthusiasm and concern for their customers that is quite refreshing. George even told us the ingredients for his garlic paste (which is nothing like my two recipes), of course he told us the secret is in how he prepares it, not the ingredients. And nope there is no potato or mayonnaise in the recipe. I won't share the ingredients with you…. I want you to try the garlic paste, and make your own mind up…. and ask George, he'll readily share the ingredients with you.

For the meal proper, we started with Zaatar Extra ($3.25):

It is the organic imported Zaatar (Wild Thyme), that is rightfully the star of this. I really didn't think we even needed the "extra" (tomato, olive, and mint), as there was more than enough flavor to go around.

The Spinach and Cheese Flat Bread ($3.75):

Really paled in flavor after having the Zaatar….. though the Missus loves the Spinach only flat bread.

The Soujouk ($5.75) was up next:

I mentioned this in my previous post, and it was indeed just as good this time around. We preferred this to the Lahm Bajeen with Spicy Peppers ($3.45):

A classic Lebanese minced meat flat bread, this wasn't very spicy, and while quite good, it really didn't have the depth of flavor of the Soujook.

The most suprising item of the night was the Chicken Tawook ($5.75):

Looking like a simple white meat chicken topped flat bread, the chicken had been simply marinated and was very tasty. Of course being topped with the wonderful pickles and garlic paste (we of course added even more), this was very good. And to be perfectly honest, this was lighter, more refined, and had better prepared ingredients than what is served at Mama's. About this time George came around and told us that he prepares four different kinds of dough. And that the meat flat breads used a lighter dough, creating a thinner crust than the non-meat flat breads.

About then our Falafel arrived (Six Falafel, Tahini, and Pickles – $6.75):

If you like light and almost creamy Falafel, you'll love this. For me, I like mine a bit more "gritty" and substantial. FOY Jenne thought these were heavenly topped with…… you guessed it; the garlic paste, which made George laugh and shake his head. Of course, right then the young man chimed in, "yes, that's exactly how I like it".

Right then George walked away and came back with some sesame bread that he wanted us to taste with some Zataar sprinkled on it.

Candice commented on how this tasted almost like Shao Bing….. George told us that this is the very traditional bread they make.

Also arriving was the Feta Cheese Pie ($3.25), but by this time we were pretty stuffed.

The four of us shared a Aaysh Essaraya ($3.95) which finished us off.

All in all a very reasonably priced meal at under $50 for four! And we had a really nice chat with George, who told us how the refractory oven is actually the second oven. The first was bought prefabricated, but had many flaws, so he sent it back ($4200 in shipping), and had the one he uses built on site.

Alforon is quickly becoming a fixture on our rotation…. and even on this night, I had to have a container of garlic paste (8oz – $3.95) to go. As always it was wonderful to spend time eating and chatting with Howie, Jenne, and Candice….. thanks for a great time!

Alforon
5965 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 9pm
Sunday 10am – 7pm
Closed on Monday

Alforon – A first look

November 14, 2010 mmm-yoso Lebanese Restaurants

I'm really blessed to have so many FOYs (Friends of Yoso). There are times when I don't hear from them for pretty long periods, but I always appreciate the recommendations folks like KenB and "SomTommy" provide. Receiving emails from them is like getting an early Christmas present. I hadn't heard from FOY ChristinaC in a while, perhaps not since one of her recommendations Chef Tony closed. So I was pleasantly surprised to find an email from her in my inbox two days ago! And even better, it was a recommendation; for a shop called Alforon. Christina's rec's are beyond refute, so even though the Missus was under the weather, we made sure to drop by this tiny shop on El Cajon Boulevard ASAP.

The interior of the shop is tiny, but full of warm colors, and there are wonderful fragrances coming from the oven made of refractory concrete in the back of the kitchen.

The menu is small, but like the very friendly, energetic, and warm Samia, one half of the husband and wife team that owns this shop says, "it is full of good food, everything except one thing, the baklava is made here." Samia makes time to talk to all her customers, and since we really stood out; everyone else seemed to be Lebanese or Armenian, she was curious as how we had found Alforon. I told her that a very "dependable source had emailed me and told me I had to try this place."

Since the various versions of the freshly made flat breads looked great I went with the version topped with Soujouk($5.75):

Looking like a wood-fired pizza, this was wonderful, nice texture (a decent bit of pull), topped with deliciously spiced sausage, and a light sprinkling of fresh white cheese. I really enjoyed this, and can't wait to try othe versions of this…… I have a feeling the basic Zaatar, made with imported organic wild thyme and other herbs and spices will be heavenly.

The Missus, craving Falafel went with the Falafel wrap ($4.95):

This was a nice combination of flavors and textures, but was overshadowed by the Soujouk. Still the Falafel was fried to order, and was nice a crisp.

We also ordered the Baba Ghannouj ($5.85), which was nice, not overly processed, and without too much tahini, hit the spot.

This is where I failed twice as a food blogger; engrossed in my meal, I forgot to take photos of the pita bread (ok) and the wonderfully briney house made pickles. I loved those pickles, which edged on the briney side, but was great with the baba ghannouj on a pita. The young man helping with the tables noticed how much I loved these and asked me if I wanted more! At that point, George, Samia's husband started dropping by each table to see how the customers were enjoying their meal. You can tell that George and Samia really care about what they're serving…..

And since Samia told us that we "just had to try some dessert", I walked up to the counter, and asked the young man what we should have. He pointed to a tray in the cold case, pointed, and said "you have to try that, it is the best." Since I just saw a gentleman polish off one of these, then get two orders to go, I didn't need much more prompting….. we had the Aaysh Essaraya ($3.95):

Starting with a bed of slightly sweet, thick, clotted cream, on which laid a bread-bread-crumb like layer, topped with crumbled pistachios and fragrant rosewater, this was indeed quite good. No wonder they call this "bread of the mansion." Even I, not much of a fan of desserts really enjoyed this.

Needless to say, we'll be back. The food is reasonably priced(everything under $7), but you'll be tempted to get something to go. We saw two tables of two gentleman end up buying $55+ of food….they ate a good amount, and got even more to go……we were tempted to do the same……. George and Samia are so warm and friendly, they make the meal an even more enjoyable experience.

Alforon
5965 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Thanks again for the wonderful recommendation Christina!

Garden Fresh Grill and Smoothie. Garlic for breakfast…

April 25, 2010 Cathy Lebanese Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!! the food blog written by Kirk and occasionally ed(from Yuma), VickyL, Cathy and a few others. Kirk is on vacation and today Cathy is writing.

The other day, I was on College Avenue at El Cajon Boulevard and drove into the Vons parking lot. I remembered a bagel place that used to be here, years ago and saw this instead.

Curious as I am about food, I walked up, asked some questions, grabbed a paper menu saw they serve breakfast, lunch, dinner, smoothies and fruit bowls. They serve halal meat, no alcohol. The families who own and run this very clean establishment are Lebanese.

The Mister and I first went on a Saturday afternoon. Three people were waiting for "To Go" orders, Two tables were filled with people eating, there was one couple in front of us. We ordered, paid and sat down.

We decided to try a cheese & zaatar pie ($2.99). Dough is made in house then baked in the wood fired oven (to the right, behind the pastry case above) the fresh bread dough is topped with a blend of 'premium cheeses', sesame seed and zaatar (oregano, sesame seed, olive oil and herbs) A nice blend of seasonings and quite a bit of cheese on this small (8 inch) pie. You can get a Zaatar pie for $1.99 if you don't want cheese.

The Mister ordered a beef gyros salad ($8.99) (the menu has chicken gyros as an option). The Mediterranean salad – lettuce, tomato, cucumber, pickled onion, parsley and mint topped with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil (house) dressing. Topped with sliced grilled beef gyros (moist/slightly greasy in a good way). This was a large, plentiful, fresh and tasty salad.

I ordered the "Combo 3"($8.99)- an assortment of house made hummus, tabouli, falafel and spanakopita. House made everything.: The falafel was made of fresh chickpeas (not the powdered mix) and were light, airy, tender and just crispy on the outside. The spanakopita was crispy (not soggy on the bottom) and filled with Feta cheese as well as spinach and onions. The tabouli was very fresh parsley and bulghur, feta, onions and lemon juice. The hummus was excellent. All were done quite well. The Mister and I shared a cup of Turkish coffee ($1.99).

We went back for breakfast.

First, we ordered a small bowl of fresh fruit ($4.49), cut up just for us (which is the same as when a smoothie or fruit juice is ordered-fresh fruit that is available, not frozen fruit). Banana, apple, pineapple, cantaloupe, papaya and strawberries. Very fresh, flavorful fruit.

This was made on the other side of the cash register, where most people were walking in to get their morning smoothies.

The Mister tried the scrambled eggs with chicken schawarma ($6.99). There was more meat than egg. Simple, flavorful, moist. We figured two eggs were used.

We got a plate of pickles.

Along with four pieces of fresh baked, hot bread. These are small, maybe 4 inches, but thick and fluffy and soft. I believe it is the same bread used for the zaatar pie, above, just not as flattened/thin.

The pickles and bread accompanied my most wonderful hot breakfast of Foul Mudammas ($5.99) A 30 year old family recipe of warm, cooked fava beans, mashed then mixed with fresh garlic and lemon juice, topped with olive oil.

All cultures have some sort of warm breakfast, usually a grain like oats or bulghur or rice that is a usually made into a sort of porridge. Items have to be added in for flavor- salt, butter, brown sugar or fruit. The fava beans and garlic with lemon juice is by far my most favorite. Garlic for breakfast. Nothing needs to be added to this bowl of goodness. Yay!

Coffee is free with any breakfast order. It is a good dark roast of coffee. The food here is wonderfully fresh. Everyone has been very nice to us every time we have had a meal here, answering questions and asking how we like the food. I plan on stopping by whenever I am in this part of town.

Garden Fresh Grill and Smoothie. 6165 El Cajon Boulevard, Suite F San Diego 92115 (619) 287-2373 Website Open 7 days, 8 a.m.- 9 p.m.

Fairouz Restaurant & Gallery

November 26, 2006 mmm-yoso Buffets, Lebanese Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants, Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants

Okay, I know it…I got some nerve doing a post on a Buffet right after Thanksgiving! Guilty as charged. And admittedly, I’m not quite the expert on Buffets and Brunches as Jim the Brunchmaster, who should probably write a "Brunches and Buffets for Dummies" book. But I’ve had photos of Fairouz just taking up space on my hard drive, so…….

Fairouz has a regular menu, but we’ve mostly stuck to the buffet, which is $8.99 for lunch and $12.99 for dinner. And in the realm of the Hometown Buffets and various Chinese Buffets, I think that Fairouz is a nice change of pace. Though the sign says "Greek Buffet", I’d say that there are almost as many, or more Lebanese and Mediterranean buffet items.

On this visit to Fairouz, I noticed that the interior had been painted, and some additional lighting added, giving Fairouz a brighter cleaner looking interior. It had obviously been a while since my last visit.

If you think the interior slightly resembles an Art Gallery, you wouldn’t be too far from the truth. The Owner of Fairouz, Ibrahim Al Nashashibi, is quite an artist, and his acrylics and water colors adorn the walls of Fairouz.

As for the buffet, there is a nice variety of items, with slight changes everyday. One thing I always notice are the description cards for the buffet items are not always placed correctly…for instance, on this day the Moussaka was labeled as Okra. For some reason I always find humor in this.

And though there are several meat items, like the Kofta Meatballs and Roasted Chicken pictured above, I usually end up enjoying the various starches and vegetable dishes more than the protein items. As you head for the buffet warm toasted pita magically appears on your table.

Okay, two types of potato, and saffron rice…do you think I got enough starch? I should practice what I preach, the Gyros meat was the only item that I really didn’t care for. I enjoyed the Fava and Garbanzo beans, the Okra, and the Eggplant dishes.

Though my favorite dishes at Fairouz are the cold Garlic Potatoes, a vinegary, salty, and slightly garlicky "salad", and the various pickled cabbages.

I also enjoy the Rice Pudding with Rosewater as a refreshing end to my meal.

What’s that red thingy? It had a sweet, fruity flavor, with a touch of rose water flavoring. I had to ask….it’s Fruit Punch Jello! The yellow version is licorice flavored jello……

As buffets go, I think Fairouz is pretty good, and Al Nashashibi is a very mellow and nice Guy. So if you have a group of people, with vegetarians in tow, Fairouz may not be a bad option.

Fairouz Restaurant & Gallery
3166 Midway Dr
San Diego, CA 92110

(619) 225-0308

Chef Tony

May 24, 2006 mmm-yoso Greek Food, Lebanese Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants

*** Update – thanks to StR, who commented below, Chef Tony is currently closed, and will reopen in a months in a different location. A brief update can be found here, at the bottom of the post.

Way back in August of last year I received an email from Christina recommending Chef Tony Mediterranean and Lebanese Cuisine, so I added Chef Tony to my "list". But for one reason or another we just never quite made it to Chef Tony. Then last week "Keith" left a comment also recommending Chef Tony, so this time I really had to make sure to pay the restaurant a visit. An opportunity arose this past Tuesday. We were headed out to Viejas for a concert, and thought a nice detour to the College area, and a visit to Chef Tony was in order.

Chef Tony is located next to an AM/PM, and fronting a mostly unoccupied strip mall on El Cajon Boulevard. It seems that Chef Tony had been perhaps a pizza joint in a previous life. We were greeted by the dignified, though perhaps vertically challenged fellow at the door. Chef Tony, perhaps?

We arrived at about 530pm, and the restaurant was empty except for a family finishing up dinner.

After a brief wait we placed our order.

The Missus ordered the Lamb Kabob Plate($10.95):

Two skewers of Lamb,on a bed of nondescript rice, some nicely flavored hummus, and a fresh Greek salad with the typical vinaigrette dressing. Nothing really outstanding, except the lamb. The lamb was not just fork tender, but "plastic fork" tender:

And though the lamb was just mildly marinated and seasoned, it was grilled to perfection, with just the right amount of charring. We could have done with a bit more "muttony" flavor, but still, the texture and tenderness was right on.

I opted for the Shawarma Combo Plate($9.95):

Strips of marinated and nicely charbroiled beef and chicken, we both thought the beef had more flavor then the chicken. Though I enjoyed the hummus, and everything else that came with the plate, it’s the "white stuff" that made the dish. That "white stuff" is delici-yoso garlic paste, very garlicky, and yet without the bitter bite of garlic. It’s as if the "soul" of garlic had been captured. You do understand that I love garlic, right?

Two large warm pitas were also provided for sandwiching our meats and slathering with garlic paste.

We also ordered a half dozen Falafel($3.75):

These were only garbanzo bean falafel, with no fava beans. You can tell by the color, and flavor. Made fresh and brought sizzling to the table. I thought these falafel were fair, since they were small in size, I thought there was too much "crust", and the interior wasn’t quite as smooth as I enjoy. The falafel were also a bit on the oily side, and when we finished there was a small pool of oil at the bottom of the bowl.

In a nutshell, if you enjoy the gritty crust of the falafel, you’ll enjoy these. Personally, I enjoy the balance the crunchy exterior, along with sufficient amount of slightly creamy "filling". Still not bad for the price, and you know these haven’t been lying around or put into some drawer stored for later.

We enjoyed Chef Tony, and I think we’ll be in whenever we’re in the neighborhood. As we were leaving, the place started to fill up, and the smell of Shawarma(and garlic) filled the air.

Notes on Chef Tony: This is a small Family operation, so one thing it’s not, is "fast food". Think of it as very casual, leisurely dining if you eat in. The menu consists of a good variety from appetizers like Dolma($3.95) and Falafel (1/2 dozen $3.75-1 dozen $6.75), to salads (small greek salad $2.95-large$4.95), reasonable priced sandwiches from $3.75(Lebni) to $4.95 (Beef Shawarma), to various entrees ($6.50 – $10.95). Oh, and you can buy a "large" order of Garlic Paste(Toum) for $3.50.

Thanks for the recommendation Christina and Keith!

Chef Tony
6311 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Here’s where I show my "age". Guess what concert we went to? I’m allowed one "old-fogey" concert a year and this year it was Blondie(good – Debra Harry’s voice sounded really good), and The "New" Cars(bleh, except for Elliot Easton). As great a musician and songwriter Todd Rundgren is, he’s no replacement for Ric Ocasek. And though Kasim Sultan and Prairie Prince sound like a great rhythm section, they sounded a bit out of synch…..I kept waiting for a "train wreck" especially on Shake It Up, where the tempo would constantly speed up, and Elliot Easton would have to "reign it in".

Of course we kept singing "One way, or another, I’m going to get you, I’m going to get you, get you, get you…." All the way home.

Rannoosh

May 11, 2006 mmm-yoso Lebanese Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants

*** Rannoosh has closed

It's seems like the Hillcrest area restaurant scene has gone through quite a flurry of changes recently, with everything from plate lunches(an L&L opened recently) to Vietnamese eateries opening in the area. Even the long standing Jimmy Wong's Golden Dragon is now Golden Dragon Asian Bistro, featuring Asian influenced dishes. Rannoosh is one of those recently opened restaurants featuring Lebanese and Mediterranean cuisine.

The interior of Rannoosh has been done up with rich looking fabrics and drapes adorning the plush but dark interior. If you look carefully you can see the Hookah Pipes on the counter.

You get a little bowl of what I was told were pickled beets and olives delivered to your table. As JS clarified in the comments these are actually turnips, with beets added for color. I'd seen these at North Park Produce sold in jars, and the label said they were turnips, but the Young Lady insisted that they were beets. The pickles were on the bitter and sour end of the flavor spectrum:

There are a few olives hidden under those pickles.

On a recent lunchtime visit the Missus ordered the Lamb Kabob Sandwich($8.95):

The sandwich comes with your choice of green or potato salad. Here's a better look at the sandwich.

There were only four small cubes of lamb in the sandwich, along with a mild garlic spread, pickles, lettuce, and tomatoes. The lamb was very mild in flavor, and was completely obscured by everything else. The green salad had a simple vinaigrette, dotted with sumac and other herbs. The pita is unremarkable, seemed to be store-bought.

I ordered the Chicken Shawarma Sandwich($6.95):

There was a large portion of moist and tender dark meat chicken, though somewhat mild in flavor, was still quite good. I swear I tasted fenulgreek, but can't be sure. This was a very nice and satisfying sandwich, though one couldn't help but compare it to the Garlic Chicken sandwich at Mama's. If I were to do a comparison, I'd say the flavors(especially the Garlic Paste) at Mama's are much stronger, but I'd rather have the Chicken at Rannoosh. I wish something along the line of the bread at Mama's(made to order on the Sajj) were used at Rannoosh. If you order a sandwich for lunch I'd say that the creamy and tasty potato salad is the way to go.

Needing to get out of the office on a recent lunch hour I walked over to Rannoosh for lunch. This time around I ordered The Basterma (cured, air dried beef) Sandwich($6.95):

The First time I ordered this, the Young Lady wanted to make sure that I knew that the beef is not cooked, just air dried. The slices of cured beef; think between pastrami and beef jerky, is placed in a pita, with tomatoes, lettuce, and cucumber. I've had the Armenian version of Basterma, which seemed to be cut alot thinner. This version was cut maybe a bit too thick. On each bite you risked pulling the entire slice of beef out of the sandwich.

If you enjoy the salty, more intense flavor of cured meat you may enjoy this, though the meat can be tough. I asked what the beef was cured with and was told, mainly salt and paprika, and a few other seasonings. You can even see the "cure-ring" on the slices of meat:

Last but not least an appetizer portion of Falafel($5.95). Because these are formed and made to order, they always arrive after my sandwich, but let me tell you, they are worth it:

Having had Falafel ranging from teeth cracking hard, to so gritty and dry it felt like you were eating a handful of sand, let me just say these were Delici-yoso!!! The exterior were a perfect crunchy, and the interior of the Falafel were, dare I say, almost creamy with just a touch of "grit". The Falafel had a perfect amount of "zing", though the tahini based dip was very weak. Who cares, I didn't need it anyway. I could eat these often. In fact the Lady working noticed how much I was enjoying these and told me to try the "Stuffed" (with onions and pine nuts) Falafel next time around.

I'll be back to Rannoosh, maybe for dinner, definitely for falafel. Entrees range from $9.95 to 25.95. Rannoosh seems to do more dinner business then lunch, and the turn around for lunch may be on the long side, so plan accordingly.

Rannoosh
3890 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Garden Grill

February 15, 2006 mmm-yoso Greek Food, Lebanese Restaurants, Mediterranean Restaurants

*** Garden Grill is no more.

On our visit to Saffron we noticed that "Falafel King" was gone and replaced by Garden Grill.

One look at the menu and we knew that we’d have to make an effort to return.

The menu is quite extensive, and I took these photos especially for RONW at Hotel Waikiki, I know he has a "thing" for menus. So here ya’ go, these are for you RONW! So we returned and found some primo street parking on India Street – not an easy thing by any means.

We both "eyed" out what we wanted and went to order. My plans were scuttled when the Missus ordered the Mixed Grill($8.99), which was what I had in mind:

Man it was good! The Chicken Kabob was moist and tender, the flavors of the herbs used to marinate the chicken came through very clearly. So delici-yoso!!! The Kufta Kabob was also tasty, the meat for the kabob was more coarsely chopped than finely ground which gave the meat an excellent texture. The Greek Salad was a bit short on Feta, but the Romain was very fresh and crisp, the simple dressing also followed the light and crisp theme. The Hummus was routine, and short on garlic, but the tabbouleh balanced out the hummus by being very garlicky. The plate also came with a whole pita that was nothing special, but perfect for scooping up the tabbouleh and hummus. We both thought the rice was kind of mushy for basmati, but we’ll be having the Mixed Grill again.

I ordered a simple Lamb Kabob($7.99):

The Lamb Kabob plate came with the same accoutrements as the Mixed Grill. The Lamb was so tender with a lemon and herb flavor, but not quite as gamey as I enjoy.

On a recent visit, we weren’t feeling very hungry, and so stuck with a salad and appetizer. Here’s the Greek Salad($6.45):

The Romain lettuce was so fresh and crisp, the dressing very light! Still not enough feta, though.

I got the Baba Ganouj/Hummus appetizer($4.99):

At first glance it was hard to tell the difference between the Baba Ganouj and the Hummus, other then some visible seeds in the Baba Ganouj. I really enjoyed the Baba Ganouj, which was filled with garlic flavor, and a bit on the chunky side. The Hummus was routine, but very nice with my pita.

The indoor seating is quite cafeteria like, but we rather sit outside. Parking on India Street can be a challenge, the parking meters are also on the expensive side. I always crack up at the "time allowance" of 4.48 minutes per 10 cents!! While we were leaving, an obviously rented mini van parked in an open space. As the Gentleman walked up to the meter His eyes opened up wide, His Wife walked up and simply said "Wow"! He quickly turned to his kids and said "Hurry, we’re going to have to eat fast, I’ve only got fifty cents, that’s 24 minutes!"

Garden Grill is also a favorite of Kady of Gourmetish. Who knows, maybe you might run into one of us there!

Garden Grill Restaurant
3715 India St
San Diego, CA 92103

Mama’s Bakery & Lebanese Deli

August 21, 2005 mmm-yoso Lebanese Restaurants

Right off of El Cajon Boulevard, on Alabama Street lies Mama’s.

Mama’s serves up some very tasty food from this very humble store front. As you enter and stare up at the menu, you’ll find the area very cramped, only two to three individuals can stand in this area at a time. So you place your order and wait either in the “dining area” or outside. The glass case that is the front counter displays the various pastries available, like baklava and other goodies. The dining area is one of a kind. You’ve heard of “white-wash”, well this is “green wash”. Looks like a bunch of friends got together and had a (more than a) few beers and went crazy with the paint brushes. It’s basically a patio with dividers and canvas tarps attached to create “walls”.

The main reason that Mama’s holds a position on our “rotation” is the Garlic Chicken Wrap($4.99). The flatbread of the wrap is made fresh. When you order the dough is rolled and flattened to order, and placed on the “sajj” which is the bullet shaped oven-grill thing-a-majig, which cooks the bread and adds some nice crusty pieces. Then a generous amount of chicken breast, lettuce, pickles, parsley, and most importantly fresh garlic paste is added. Delici-yoso!!!! Here’s a look inside. You can order an extra side of garlic paste for 50 cents.

We also ordered the Falafel Plate ($7.49). These falafel are made from both chickpeas and fava beans, and have a nice bit of spice. They are crunchy on the outside, somewhat grainy and gritty on the inside, with a nice nutty, savory flavor. If you like texture, you’ll love a good, non-greasy falafel like this one.

The plate comes with 6 good size falafel, hummus, a green salad, pita bread and tahini. The dressing for the salad is nice and tangy with lot’s herbs and very refreshing. Pita and hummus are done well. We usually don’t use the tahini, though creamy, is very weak. Here’s what my “perfect bite” of falafel looks like:

The falafel is nice and crunchy, slightly spicy, the hummus adds the nutty creamy flavor, and the pita, is well, starch, and everyone knows the bite ain’t complete without starch.

On this trip we also ordered the Manakeesh Ultimate($3.99), which is a flatbread with a sumac, thyme, oregano, and olive oil spread, sesame seeds, tomatoes, olives, mint, and lebni, which I was told is like a yogurt-cream cheese:

This was a bit too sour, with too much going on. I’ll stay with the Manakeesh Plus ($3.25) next time. Which is the sandwich minus the lebni; it has much more of a balanced taste.

If you’re thinking this was alot of food, you’re right, it was, though the Missus has been known to “knock-off” two Garlic Chicken Wraps in a single meal. We had enough food for dinner.

Some notes; only street parking is available, with limited seating and space. The service has always been efficient and nice. If you like people watching, this is an interesting place. On any given day you’ll see Native Lebanese along with all the alternative lifestyles represented among the clientel. Hey Mama is an equal opportunity restaurant! And it’s darn good!

Mama’s Bakery & Lebanese Deli
4237 Alabama St.
San Diego, CA 92104