Archives

May062013

Restaurant Review: Arabesque (Boulder, CO)

It was a Friday afternoon, we had both gotten off work around 12:30pm and we were ready to eat! It was beautiful out, unlike the few random snowy May days we’ve had. On these kind of days, we want to have a nice slow meal, and enjoy ourselves off somebody else’s food. We went through our options and decided on Arabesque,  a highly-rated place on Yelp with one $. We’ve always wanted to try it. Its customers boast that it has the best chicken shawarma in Boulder. We had to compare it to our favorite place, Mediterranean Market.

photo 1 (3)

When we arrived, it was packed. And it wasn’t exactly what we expected. We expected it to be small and family-owned, yes, but there were lots of rich, well-dressed people (and we come directly from work in our YMCA gear) and just had a chalk-written menu. We looked over the (short) menu and decided what we wanted and then took a table outside (the inside–which is tiny–was packed, and it was beautiful out!). This place supposedly also had the best Chai in town, so I ordered that along with water.

Delicious hot chai

Delicious hot chai

Now this chai was delicious. It came in a big mug and was piping hot. But I still love my Tibet Kitchen homemade chai too. The water came out in a tall pitcher with thin glasses–very elegant. And it was flavored with something I couldn’t place…lavender and honey, or something similar. Very refreshing. Chris ordered the chicken shawarma plate and I ordered the hummus wrap. 

photo 4 (1)

Chris’ shawarma plate

Our waitress, I think, was near the end of her shift and didn’t take our order down correctly. I ended up receiving a chicken wrap instead of just hummus, but I told the kitchen, and spoke to who happened to be the owner and he was very apologetic and delivered a fresh hummus wrap as quickly as he could. Chris wasn’t pleased with that service, but the wife of the owner (who also was the cook) bustles out to clear off a table next to us and Chris asks if he can have their scraps (yes, we don’t like to waste food). She says, “Of course!” and he says, “Never want to waste food,” and she goes, “Yes, I know! Stupid!” She has an accent…not sure where from. She shoulders me with good humor and says, “You’ve got eat chicken in my place!” Her good humor and friendliness got us back on track.

Wrong chicken wrap (still looks delicious)

Wrong chicken wrap (still looks delicious)

My hummus wrap

My hummus wrap

I ate it up quickly as did Chris. Chris said it was the best chicken shawarma he’s had. And you can tell–he cleared the plate completely. Buuuut, the portion was way too small for him. Not even just for him, I agree that there wasn’t that much chicken and pita. Probably because we’re used to Mediterranean Market’s huge portions. And just because we were enjoying ourselves and–more so–because we can’t turn down baklava, we ordered a big baklava. We, of course, devoured it completely. It was one of the best baklava I’ve had. Perfect texture and structural integrity, filled with goodness–can’t really describe the perfection.

BAKLAVA

BAKLAVA

If you’re in Boulder, stop by this place. It’s good food, but small portions, so don’t go too hungry. And don’t you DARE skip out on the baklava–it’s just too good. I wish I still had my chai with the baklava, it would have been perfect together. The owners really made our experience that much better, we would come back again. Cheers!

BONUS KITTY PIC

Hi, my name's Sajah and I'm a firefox

Hi, my name’s Sajah and I’m a firefox

spacer
Mar052013

Restaurant Rave: Mediterranean Market

This place is one of our most favorite places to go. It’s cheap, it’s filling, it’s delicious. Chris frequents it constantly during the work week and we usually hit it up every weekend or every other weekend. It’s just too good for just too cheap! And the guy who runs it is great. He knows us by now because we’re in there all the time. We’re still trying to figure out his nationality, we think Syrian. It is as its title suggests: a Mediterranean Market. It has everything you would need from out East, from Turkish Delights to Baklava to Pita to Middle Eastern Flour, they’ve got it all. Seriously, it ALL. And with the market comes a delicious eatery.

falafel sammy

It has a great relaxed atmosphere. You enter in with the market in front of you, four aisles or so of different Mediterranean goodies (I’ve wanted to buy this huge cheap thing of dates for a long time). Some regulars come in and get their groceries here. Others come for a special ingredient or treat. We usually always end up watching college basketball, because that’s what’s almost always on his television. There’s a pinball machine that captures the quarters of kids and enough treats, frozen dinners, and fresh ingredients to make anyone’s mouth water. All the money I spend there is absolutely worth it. 

I typically get the #4 for $7 which includes…a platter of baba ghanoush, hummus, pita, and a wonderful salad with olives, tomatoes, feta, cucumbers, and a delicious dressing. Oh and those are just the sides, the main dish is a huge falafel sandwich, stuffed to the brim with hot, fresh falafel, lettuce, tomato, hummus, and onions. Oops, I’m drooling (and we literally went there for dinner tonight, couldn’t resist). At least it’s healthy and full of great protein!

IMG_3221

Chris gets the same #4 for $7 but instead of baba ghanoush, he gets dolmas (and otherwise the same sides). And instead of a falafel sandwich, he gets a gyro sandwich. This sandwich, too, is stuffed to the brim with meat. And you can always sop anything up in the huge serving of hummus he gives us. We usually get a Xing tea to accompany our meals. And don’t forget dessert! We don’t always get it, but when we do, we either get baklava or kadaifi (or both). So delicious.

IMG_3223

It’s truly authentic, and we enjoy it thoroughly. For us, it really feels comfort food. I’m not sure why, we’re weird like that. We always have huge smiles on our faces and full bellies when we’re done. it’s truly a place to relax and enjoy the food. And it’s healthy! It’s always on the list of choices of where we want to eat a certain night of the week.

If you’re in Boulder, you have to hit up the Mediterranean Market, you will not regret it! It’s a wonderful meal that will fill you up without emptying your wallet. Truly excellent food.

spacer