Oklahoma City Restaurants

ZamZam is located at 3913 North MacArthur Blvd in Oklahoma City (map).

I’m not sure if its my lack of previous awareness, or if suddenly there really are a bunch of Middle Eastern / East Mediterranean influenced restaurants popping up in the area. ZamZam has been open for a few months now in Warr Acres bringing a whole new level of diversity to the Oklahoma City food scene.

I had noticed the ZamZam sign and never understood what it was. It has a weird looking white shape on a sign with a blank marquee saying “drive through open.” I thought to myself, “great, another weird frozen custard joint.” Boy was I wrong. When you drive up from the other direction, you can see that it was simply that they only have one side on their sign. The strange white object was lit up at night, and the marquee was filled with a nice ZamZam logo. On the side of the building was written, “Mediterranean Grill and Hookah.” Sounded good to me so the family and I popped in. If you have time read more about the ZamZam well near Mecca, it’s fascinating. I assume this is their namesake.

I was a little confused at the sign on the door stating that you had to be 18 to buy tobacco products. I’m no expert in Oklahoma Law, but I’m pretty sure you can’t smoke in restaurants. Once we saw the menu, traditional east Mediterranean food on the left, flavored tobacco on the right, I began to look around nervously. That’s when I noticed outside on the patio, in sub freezing temperatures, the throngs of middle eastern men puffing away on hoses coming out of these elaborate “bongs” (that I soon learned to be Hookahs).

I’ll admit it caught me off guard and I nearly panicked. My one year old nearly pulling one of these Hookah pipes off the wall didn’t ease my concern either. I’ve attached a picture of one of these Hookahs so you can begin to understand my concern. I consulted my local Bangladesh friend, and expert in Middle Eastern culture, to explain this Hookah business. He said it started in India and spread west through Persia and into western Asia and Eastern Europe through the centuries. I asked about potential “funny business” going on with it and he said, of course, people slip things into the Hookah besides tobacco on occasion, and that the older generation (his Grandma) used to like to put opium in these things to really take the “edge off” after a long day. But I digress, on to the food.

The menu consists of what you would expect from your typical Middle Eastern / Mediterranean place. Speaking of which, these guys are from Pakistan. How is that considered Mediterranean? I guess since many of these cooking techniques moved into Turkey and Greece, and because if it were advertised as Middle Eastern gringos like me wouldn’t know what it is. I’m not sure, but I do know I like the food! Appetizers include falafel (I like to call these Arabic hush-puppies), grape leaves, hummus, tabouli, baba-ganouj (a mashed eggplant salad), and yummy meat and spinach pies. My kids liked the yogurt salad which was full of bits of fruit. They were also big fans of the little meat pies. There were a couple things on this menu I have never seen before. Once I try them, I will post my experience.

For a main course you can have a sandwich, which is basically a thin pita filled with your choice of meat and rolled up like a burrito and stuffed with pickled beet strips, a garlic mayonnaise like substance, lettuce, and marinated onions. Or, you can order a full-on dinner plate with basmati rice, salad, hummus … etc. Of course, every meal comes with homemade pita bread. There are a variety of Kabob’s to choose from. I have tried most of them. I really like the chicken Kabob, which is grilled to perfection with just the right amount of spice. These guys use lots of saffron in their food, which I am a big fan of. The Shish Kabob’s are nice big pieces of marinated steak with a great flavor as well. The kefta kabob is perhaps the most interesting and inconsistent. It is a ground beef kabob mixed with different spices and then pressed around a skewer and grilled. You know this is handmade because each time I have been it has varied in appearance, flavor and consistency. It’s never been bad, and I admit it’s not my favorite, but each time it has been just a little different. Of course, for dessert there are a couple yogurt dishes, and baklava. I’m not sure if its homemade or not. I don’t think anyone makes it fresh. I’m pretty sure its frozen at every Mediterranean place in town. I figure if that bold blanket assumption is wrong then someone will correct me and we will all know where to go for our Baklava from now on. You’re welcome.

ZamZam is unique and provides great food, great atmosphere, and dynamic culture. I had the opportunity to wait on a to go order the other day while a table of Arabic speaking gentlemen channel surfed on the flat panel tuned to an Arabic satellite package. It was fascinating. Arabic comedy, music videos, and news. A lot of my stereotypes of that region were shattered when I saw a few of their music videos. The restaurant is decorated with Arabic paintings, rugs, and hookah’s adorn every nook and cranny. Maybe one day when it’s warm I will try a little Hookah. I figure if the stuff is so good that you would toke on it in sub freezing temperatures, I owe it to the people of Oklahoma City to test this stuff out. Well….maybe.

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This article was posted by Andrew Littleton on Wednesday, February 6th, 2008. It is filed in Mediterranean, Warr Acres. Please leave your comments below (we'd love to hear from you), or trackback from your own site.

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