“Ouzeri” is a type of Greek tavern that serves small plates, mezedes, and ouzo, an anise-flavored Greek liquor.
Omega Ouzeri on Capitol Hill, is for sure, providing both.
The decor was a subtle Greek pride with white walls and plenty blue accents.
Their bar, particularly was beautiful.
Created by Greek restaurateur Thomas Soukakos, who also owned El Greco and Vios, Omega Ouzeri is the newest addition.
Egypt has one of the most ancient civilization on earth.
We were really glad we visited Egypt, and was able to see the inside and outside of the pyramid, the sphinx, and went to the Great Sand Sea before the current unrest in the Middle East.
One thing I did regret from that trip was food.
Granted, in this rare occasion that my trip was not about food, we were being placed in hotels that were very far away from town, and made it difficult to walk to anywhere for food.
I did recall having the best shawerma with the softest wrap and most delicious, tender, and well-flavored meat; and I also fell in love with ful, a fava bean stew.
When my Egyptian friend told me about King Tut in Lynnwood serving authentic Egyptian food, I was delighted!
Dear friend gave me a list of must try food, one of them being stuffed pigeon.
I did recall seeing pigeons in restaurant display in Egypt, we had to try it.
The stuffed pigeon is not on King Tut’s menu, and I was told to call ahead for them.
The ethnically diverse food scene is always a draw for me to take the three plus-hour road trip down to Portland.
This time, I wanted to try out this highly rated Lebanese and Syrian restaurant called Karam.
Top L: gyro salad — Top R: kafta
We went with a very big group, and were the only people at the restaurant — that got me worried a bit.
Slowly people trickled in, and next thing we knew, by the midst of our dinner, the restaurant was packed.
It was also a very good sign that most patrons were of arabic decent, we definitely went to the right place.
There were many interesting dishes that I wanted to try.
Appetizers such as Fataya, a pastry dough wrapped beef, tomatoes and onions; Kibbee balls, bulgar wheat with roast beef and pine nuts, and entrée such as goat casserole; Kibbee Saneeyeh, a layer of bulgar wheat, ground beef and spices, similar to the one at Sunset Gyro; and Molohkie, rice and bread with lamb, molohkie plant (jute family) and spinach.
Of course, two other Middle Eastern staples that I always like to try different restaurants’ interpretations: ful mudamas, cooked fava beans with garlic and spices; and kafta, ground beef with onions and spices, and shaped like sausages.
Just as most Mediterranean restaurants, Karam’s portions were amazingly generous.
Something about the spices and garlic flavors in gyro or shawarma meat that was very addictive to me.
Whenever we had the craving, we default to Aladdin in University District.
A trip to IKEA brought us to Sunset Gyro in Renton, and we found surprises in this out-of-the-way store.
Sunset Gyro can be found right on the busy Sunset Boulevard; with simple white and blue decoration in the store, and a few menu items, this place speaks no-frill.
DH longed for chicken shawarma and I had to try their special Kounbbeh.
Our entrée came with a side fresh green lettuce salad that was adorned with meaty and plump olives, spicy pepperocini, red onion, tomatoes and feta cheese, simple and tasty.
As many Mediterranean food places, our entrée was huge with creamy and delectable hummus (made super delicious with some unidentifiable spices) and toasty warm pita bread wedges.
DH chicken shawarma was very lean, baldly flavored with garlic, parsley and exotic spices. Continue reading →
Afghanistan — we hear about this land-lock country often in the past 10 years due to the war.
Founded in 1747, with current population roughly 31 million people, Afghanistan is steeped in culture and history with many kingdoms and powers changing hands.
Afghan food is mostly seen as a fusion of foods of its neighboring countries, with heavy influence from India distilling into curry dishes such as korma and breads like naans.
Most popular dishes are rice dish called pulao with meat or stew.
My first experience with Afghan food was from Seattle’s Kabul; I remembered it being a delicious meal albeit salty.
Since then, I had come across Bolani from Costco and absolutely fell in love with this simple, healthy and filling food.
When I heard about Ariana in Kirkland, I know I must make my way there.
Occupying an old steak house, Ariana is on the main business street near the lovely water front Marina Park.
Our party sat at the booth, remanent from the steak house and started studying the menu.