Eats - Middle Eastern

Cities covered: Sunnyvale, San Francisco
Persian - Iranian - Lebanese - Turkish (I know Turkey is Asia, but I'm geographically challenged)

Ararat
4072 18th St.
San Francisco, CA 94114
415/252-9325
Rating: ***
A new restaurant around the corner from the Castro across the street from the Midnight Sun. This is on the second floor of a converted apartment building, and the interior is simple but very nicely done. We had a combination tapas, which I liked a lot (I'm sure this was influenced by not having eaten all day, but it was very nice). We also had adana kabab and a New York steak, both of which were perfectly prepared—juicy and nicely seasoned. We finished with two Turkish coffees, which I've decided aren't as good as Vietnamese coffees, but are a pleasant change regardless. Out the door with a generous tip for $57 for two. Good date restaurant. 7/2/2006

Update Sep 15, 2007: Returned for an early dinner. Had the Ararat sampler (vegetarian) which was just as good as before. The kibbe hot tapas could probably be skipped, but the adana kebab was very nice. The New York steak was not very good. $58.59 before tip.

Chelokababi (Iranian/Persian)
1236 Wolfe Road (at El Camino Real)
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
408/737-1222
www.chelokababi.com
Rating: ***
The odd thing about this restaurant is how much the food reminded me of Vietnamese food, where fresh herbs figure strongly and the drinks are tooth-tinglingly sweet. Sekanjebin, an iced drink made of sekanjebin syrup (sugar, vinegar, mint, and lettuce) and shredded cucumber will be my new choice on hot summer days.

We started out with Nan-O-Sabzi, a dry "salad" of home-grown basil, mint, watercress, green onions, and radishes with fresh walnuts and a feta-like cheese. Since we went on Monday, I opted for the daily special (these really do change daily, and I want to go back to try the other dishes). Fesenjun, a stewy mixture of chicken, walnuts, and pomegranate paste served with a large plate of basmati rice. As you can guess, the Fesenjun was quite sweet, so it probably wasn't the best choice to have with the Sekanjebin. My friend opted for the kebab, which was moist and delicately spiced. Dessert was rose-scented ice cream (a bit overpowering for me) and a syrupy plate of pastry—Zoolbia (round flat crunchy) and Bamieh (dumpling-like rounds), which are apparently traditionally served together. Service is fast and helpful, which is good because we didn't know how to pronounce or interpret some cryptic menu descriptions. The decor is surprisingly sophisticated given its location in a non-descript minimall; in fact, its really one of the most pleasant rooms in San Jose. 05/03

Dishdash
190 South Murphy St. (downtown Sunnyvale)
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
408/774-1889
www.dishdash.net
Rating: ****
A small, unassuming place down the street from Macy's, Dishdash is regularly filled to capacity even on weeknights. The food is labeled "mediterranean" but I think most people would consider it middle eastern. A bowl of pita arrive first.

The Mediterranean Maza appetizer sampler ($9.95) for two—hummus, babaghanoughe, tabouli, rihan, m'nazaleh, khyar b'laban, and grape leaves—were wonderful, and could easily make a light dinner. I had the Sabanech ($12.95) a braised lamb shank cooked with spinach, black-eye beans, and garlic, served with rice. It was a moderate portion, and actually a bit too much after the maza. My friend had the shish kebab, which was...well...shish kebab.

The high point of the meal was dessert. I had Kenafeh ($ 5.95), a disc of shredded filo with sweetened cheese in rose water with sprinkling of pistachios. It was utterly delicious, a crispy, delicate lattice encasing a sweet, creamy center—a portion enough for two really. The rose water syrup is lighter than at Indian restaurants. The menu says that this dish takes 10 minutes to cook, but I would order this the instant your entree arrives. A tiny cup of strong, boiled Turkish coffee with chicory rounded out the meal, although I wish they had strained out more of the grounds. Service is very friendly and accomodating. 02/03

Filfela
3284 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95051
408/260-0120
Rating: **
Another small, unassuming place, this one kitty-corner from the big Korean grocery store we were headed to today. Service can be slow, since they cook when everything you order, but the people who work there are very friendly. The prices may seem high for lunch ($8.29 for shwarma, fries, and a Coke), the portion is big, a whole pita stuffed with shaved meat with a little lettuce, tomato, and tzatziki. My friend liked his kofta kabob as well. There's a little Indian grocery around the corner and a liquor store next door if you need to kill some time. The mango juice is a small bottle from the UAE; I'd just order a soft drink. Total out the door for two: $16.54. There's a small TV playing international news in Arabic if you get bored. 12/27/04

Just Laziz
1880 W. San Carlos
San Jose, CA 95128
408/293.2766
Rating: **
We stumbled on this tiny bakery/cafe while hunting for shiny things at the junk stores on this block. They're still in business after almost a year, so they must be doing something right. I like to support these places because you never know when you might need a cheese pastry with shredded filo or some lovely large bread. There are better lunch choices (the Salvadorean place south of there), but it's a nice place to stop and have a cup of okay coffee and a microwaved pastry. February, 2006

Amazingly, the last time I checked this place was still open. We stopped and had some small desserts and coffee. Feb, 2007

Saffron Restaurant
1392 South Bascom Ave.
San Jose, CA 95128
(408) 998-0122
Rating: ****
We actually found this place by counting restaurants and eating at the seventh one we found. Our lucky night. This is an unassuming, tidy restaurant tucked away in the old Bascom Ave. shopping center with the Michael's and the Greek joint. The current owner took over four months ago, but service was first-rate and friendly, but never overwhelming.

As soon as we sat down, a nice plate of Nan-O-Sabzi arrived: raw white onion, basil, mint, green onion, and a feta-like cheese. A bowl of lavash and butter came on the side. I still don't understand this custom, which as far as I know is unique to Persian/Iranian restaurants, but the herbs come in handy later on in the meal.

For starters, we had hummus and koo koo sabzi, the latter being described as being like a quiche. It's actually mostly herbs bound with a light eggy batter, and it's utterly delicious. The hummus was a bit tangier than the Greek variety, a bit too tangy for my taste. For entrees, I had lamb kebab with rice. The lamb was delicious, moist, tender and accompanied by a grilled tomato and grilled onion slices. Fantastic. My friend Piet had a chicken kebab with "honey rice." The honey rice was normal long grain rice with the addition of almonds, pistachios, and lightly sweet orange peel (I want to try to find these, because they're delicious). The chicken kebab was a bit dry, but nicely grilled and lightly lemony. Piet finished maybe half of his dinner; the portion is huge.

We finished off with pistachio ice cream with rose water, baklava, and good coffee. The baklava was simpler than I've had: a phyllo crust wrapped around ground almonds with a touch of cardamon and clove (no cinnamon). I really like this variation.

Service is worth a mention. Our waitress was attentive and tried to answer Piet's many, many, many question. The owner came over near the end of the meal and asked how everything was and answered Piet's many, many, many questions as she packed up the remainder of his dinner in a to-go box. And she was impossibly sexy (keep in mind this is coming from a gay man).

FYI: There's a middle-eastern grocery right next door with an amazing selection of Middle Eastern items. I took home some lavash and delicate Arabic cookies. 09/18/04

Turkish Cuisine & Bakery
5605 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60660
773/878-8930
http://www.turkishcuisine.net/
I spotted this place while stumbling from one bar to another in what we thought was the gay district of Chicago (Boy's Town) but turned out to be Andersonville, which is more my kind of neighborhood—a little bit of everything and everyone. We returned the next day for an early dinner, and were disappointed (sort of) to find we were the only customers. We started with an appetizer sampler, karisik soguk meze, which could easily have been an entire meal. There were various dips and some dolmas, and it was perfect for a fairly muggy hot day. There wasn't any air conditioning that day inside.

My boyfriend decided on what amounted to a very large calzone with meat and vegetables and a tangy sauce, the Turkish name for which is kusbasi pide, I think. The texture of the bread served with the meal is noteworthy; it's light but has the texture of pound cake without the sweetness. Delicious. I had kofte which were fine. I'd go with the items from the oven. We followed up with coffee and the waitor brought us some baklava on the house. Dinner for two before tip: $58.00 May 29, 2007

Yaas Restaurant
146 E. 3rd St.
San Mateo, CA 94402
650/348-3775
www.yaasrestaurant.com
Rating: **
A small place I've wanted to try for awhile. The bright, cozy room is decorated in an odd Italian style with columns, bric-a-brac, and faux marble, but it isn't overwhelming. I went with a group of 20 gay men with the San Mateo Dinner Group, but service was still excellent and helpful. Bread and raw onion (?) were provided as a starter. Our appetizers were good—meerza ghasemi, a subtle eggplant/tomato dip, a run of the mill falafel, and some very nice dolmeh (perhaps the best I've ever had). My entree was zereshk polo, steamed chicken with a huge serving of really beautiful long-grained rice sprinkled with sour/tart barberries. The barberries were a bit too much for me, but the chicken and rice were quite good. Coffee rounded out the meal. Since it was a group meal, it's hard to say what the price was, but I would guess a three-course dinner for two would be about $50. 11/03