April 22, 2010 Sheesh Mediterranean Cuisine

The last restaurant before you get to before you get to Huron Street and the beginning of what people think is the "real" downtown. Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food is not really our favorite so we went in with a little reluctance, if fact we had put off going for a week or so.

We were there on a Thursday evening and were seated in one of the booths in the front. The restaurant is long and narrow with a couple of booths in the front with the counter and the remaining seats are along one wall of the long, almost corridor like, room that runs to the back of the building. The place was hopping, as we sat there more and more people came in and by the time we left the place was almost completely full.

Dinner starts with bread and some salsa like sauce that was excellent, both the bread and the sauce, the bread especially was excellent, kind of a roll with a firm outside and a soft, moist inside. Another restaurant that does not have a liquor license so we had tea and coffee. The coffee was excellent as well.

We ordered the Dinner for Two which included soup or salad, lamb and chicken kabobs, hummus, baba ghanouj, and tabouli.
Joyce had the salad, very simple, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers but it was very fresh and the dressing was very good. The soup was a lamb chili that had a wonderful taste, but had some unrecognizable spices.

The dinner came with chicken and beef kabobs that included about 6 pieces of meat on each and a couple of onions and green peppers, the marinade was good and the stick had been removed for easy eating. The hummus, baba ganouj. and tabulli came in small bowls. The hummus disappeared very quickly, the baba ganouj was pungent and smokey and I liked it more than other dishes I have had. Tabouli, not my thing.

The sheesh kafta is a kind of a lamb sausage that was very interesting and really good. Even though it said it was for two we found there was plenty of food and probably could have had another person join us. We made sure we took home the meat, the rice (which was also part of the meal), and the wonderful bread.

The waitress was very pleasant and attentive. With beverage, tax and tip we got out of there for just over $30. It's very popular both for eating in and for take-out. There is a good chance we'll be back.

April 7, 2010 Sbor Latino

Sbor Latino has been touted as a breath of fresh Latino air in a town that is noticeably lacking in good Mexican Food. We didn't necessarily find that this was true.

When we arrived we found we were the only ones in the place except for the wife of the manager and her son getting ready to leave. While we were there not an additional soul came in. It was a Wednesday night but it was sort of surprising that no-one else came in. The place is set up with a lower level when you come in and a separate room, up a stair to the right. Plenty of tables.

We started with the empanadas which were the best thing that we had. They do not have a liquor license yet (although they say there will be one coming) so we had sodas. For our main course I had a chicken burrito which I thought was very bland, lots of lettuce and sauce and not that much chicken. Joyce had the three taco combo with Pork, Chorizo and Shrimp. The weak link was the shrimp that was supposed to be grilled but seemed more like it was steamed and they were the very small shrimp. The chorizo was OK but the Pork was the winner.

It was not very expensive but even so we will probably not be back even if they get their liquor license.