Editor’s note: This is the 100th restaurant review posted on EatAroundOKC.com. I thought it appropriate that review 100 would feature a Shady Restaurant of the Month, as Andrew’s shady series has so captured the heart of our city and brought fame to OKC’s culinary underbelly. Thank you, Andrew, for tirelessly braving Oklahoma City’s shady spots to bring us new adventures in dining. And thanks to all our writers and our readers for supporting us. Here’s to the next 100!

For this month’s Shady Restaurant selection, I wanted to stay away from the southwest side of town.  As shady and edible as the southwest is, I feel that other areas of Oklahoma City are being neglected.  This month, I am choosing a place on on a particularly shady stretch at the southern end of N. May Avenue.  This part of town is home to one of my favorite sports, pawn shopping.  Yes, it is a sport.  It is also home to a handful of delicious eateries.  Today, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you one of my personal favorites, Shish Kabab!

Shish Kabab Restaurant is just south of 36th, nestled between a Dunkin Donuts and a Blockbuster.  I know, pretty benign, but go another block south and you can get your supply of drug paraphernalia, stolen car stereos, and even that dirty Santa outfit you were wanting to sport at the company Christmas party.  If that’s not shady enough for you, come hang out at Shish Kabab on a Friday or Saturday night and smoke some hookah while you enjoy the belly dancing.

Ok, wait. I really don’t mean to imply that hookah pipes and belly dancing are, in and of themselves, shady activities. The truth is, they are both beautiful cultural art forms. But the point of my shady restaurant series is to introduce the average Oklahoma City resident to dining experiences they would normally be too scared to try. And trust me, hookah smoke and belly dancing scare plenty of people. But that’s too bad, because these irrational fears of shadiness only cause us to miss out on so many hidden treasures in our city. No more, I say! No more!

Ok, back to the review …

The food here is served buffet-style or menu-style.  I like the lunch buffet.  It is incredibly fresh plus they will bring you warm bread and fresh-out-of-the-pot kababs straight to your table as they are ready. Terrific!

The shish kabobs here are not what backyard BBQ Joe makes skewering a tough piece of sirloin and some veggies and cooking them just past well done. No, these are more like grilled meatloaf than steak.  At least the beef kababs are.  They are particularly good when you get a plate of fresh ones brought to your table with some warm pieces of flat bread on the side.

Apparently, you can also enjoy the buffet for dinner, I just haven’t been around here that late.  The hookah room is open in the evenings for you as well in case you like to chase your kebabs with a little flavored tobacco.

On the buffet, there are a variety of fantastic choices.  Honestly, I don’t know what they all are. I just know they are tasty.  There are several lentil dishes, rice dishes and chicken dishes.  There is usually a palao-type dish, which is the Middle East’s version of a meat combo rice (like America’s chicken and rice or Asia’s fried rice varieties).  Picture something like this.  There is also plenty of basmati rice, and several soupy dishes with a variety of different meats to spoon over it.  They also have a very tasty spaghetti that is always on the line.  I think it’s funny to eat spaghetti off a Middle Eastern buffet.  Food here is very Middle Eastern, by the way.  More Afghan and Persian than Turkish and Mediterranean.  To me, that means these dishes look more like Indian foods than the foods you would get at Zorbas or even ZamZam for that matter.

Aside from the food, there is lots of fun to be had at Shish Kabob. In the evenings, you can get your hookah fix here.  I still haven’t tried the hookah.  My Bangali friend, Rana, swears it is a tasty treat and I plan to join him one day and report back. Don’t feel like eating or smoking but still want to spend some money?  You are in luck!  They sell DirectTV packages with all your favorite Middle Eastern programing.  And, of course, there is always belly dancing, and from what I can tell, you are more than welcome to join in and show off your mad belly skills.

If you’re into shady people watching, you might be disappointed here. While most of our shady reviews feature a handful of interesting, shady characters, they are conspicuously absent at Shish Kabob. There’s not enough gravy here to attract Mustache Man or some of the shady guys who frequent Sydney’s. The waitresses here don’t stop to smoke between taking your drink order and bringing you your main course. So, in this respect, Shish Kabob is lacking in shadiness, but I think it makes up for it in other ways.

So, give Shish Kabob a try. To play it safe, swing by at lunch.  I think you will really like the buffet.  If you’re more adventuresome, check it out on a Friday night and you might catch me belly dancing after my first hookah experience.  Ok, probably not, but you’ll at least have a good time. And please, somebody … anybody … do some belly-dancing and then tell us all about it in the comments.  This has to happen.

As someone who lives in Moore, but works in the Nichols Hills area, I have the opportunity to sample fare from all across the metro. Historically, for the most part, if I ever wanted anything for dinner other than chain food I had to make the trek back up north or to Norman. The food landscape has changed recently and as a lifelong Moore / SW OKC girl, that makes me very happy.

The Mediterranean Grill represents a great example of this. It’s located in a traditional strip mall just south of I-240. I noticed their sign advertising gyros and kabobs and wanted to give it a try. The eatery has become a favorite of my mother and my niece, and the three of us visited for dinner last week.

As I mentioned, the restaurant is located in a strip mall. Therefore, the outside isn’t really anything special. On the inside, the owners have decorated the eatery with earthy tones of oranges and yellows. Classy drop pendant lighting hangs from the ceiling, taking away the traditional fluorescent lights you might normally see in a strip mall restaurant. The owners of Mediterranean Grill keep the place spotless and obviously take great pride in their little gem.

My mom and niece both chose gyros ($5.75) which come on pita bread with lettuce, onion, tomato and tzadziki sauce. They ordered the gyros accompanied with small Greek salads, but could have had French fries, Persian salad, tabouli or rice. The gyro meat was about the most tender I have ever eaten. Usually I’m not crazy about gyro meat because it can be a little tough but this was melt-in-your-mouth tender and very flavorful. On the way home, my niece said the pita bread was so soft and fresh that “if it were a pillow I could take a nap on it.” She also complimented the full flavor of the feta cheese on her Greek salad.

My favorite part about Greek-inspired menus is the appetizers. I just love good spanakopitas (spinach pies), hummus (chickpea dip) and falafel (split pea fritters). Throw in some tzadziki dressing with plenty of cucumber and dill and I’m a happy girl! I decided to order the combo platter ($10.50) from the appetizer menu. The Combo Platter comes with 2 dolmeh (stuffed grape leaves), 3 falafel, 2 sambosa (Greek spring rolls filled with spicy meat), 2 spanokopita, 2 tyropita (fried cheese pies), spicy yogurt sauce and pita wedges. I also requested some tzadziki sauce. I was most impressed by the spanakopitas and tyropitas. Both had just enough tasty filling on the inside with flaky crusts on the outside. The falafel were also very good and looked like little miniature breakfast sausage patties. The spicy yogurt dip had a little kick to it and really complimented the falafel. The tzadziki sauce is about the best I’ve tasted. Sometimes restaurants try to pass off what tastes like ranch dressing with a few little pieces of cucumber and some salt as tzadziki sauce. Not at the Mediterranean Grill. The cucumbers and dill blend together with the yogurt base and go perfectly with just about anything on the menu.

My mom, niece and I didn’t really care for the dolmeh or sambosa. We found the sambosa to be too sweet for our liking and the dolmeh was nothing special. Of course, you might like them better than we did, so give them a try for yourself sometime.

I’m quite impressed with The Mediterranean Grill and their menu. In addition to the gyros and appetizers, they have several kabobs from which to choose. On my first visit a few months ago I ordered a chicken kabob sandwich with tabouli. The chicken was well seasoned with hints of citrus. They also have several dinner platters and even tilapia and calamari. Of course, they also have baklava that my niece and mom really liked.

If you’re looking for a fairly inexpensive but very flavorful meal, I highly recommend you give The Mediterranean Grill a try. Let us know what you think in the comments.

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.

Sometimes I get in the mood for a taste of “old” Oklahoma City. You know, someplace that’s been around forever that has maintained a loyal, local clientèle. For this past birthday, we decided we would try Jamil’s Steakhouse since it originated in the same decade I was born – the 60s. I have heard of it all of my life, but had never made the trip cross-town to try it. So my husband and I loaded up the car with my mom and his parents and set out for the trip to Lincoln Blvd, just north of the capital district.

I knew it was going to be good the minute we stepped from the car and were met with a big waft of smoke from the smokehouse in the back parking lot. What a great effect for an appetizer. All of the walls inside are filled with hand-painted portraits of famous Oklahomans. It was great fun to try and guess all of them after we had placed our order, although we didn’t have much time because the minute your menu is taken away, the vast array of Lebanese appetizers begins to arrive.

It begins with individual bowls of tabbouleh, which tasted great. It could have had just a touch more lemon juice for my taste, but was still very good as it was not oily. Next is the hummus and pita bread (you pay for the bread), then a basket of smoked barbecue bologna. Now I have to say I think I swore off of bologna around the age of six, but since we were trying new things that night, I decided to indulge in a piece, and it was mighty tasty. I appreciated the fact they used Head Country barbecue sauce, which is made right here in our own state in Ponca City. Next were the cabbage rolls. The tasting of these was left to Mom and me, as my husband has sworn an oath to maintain at least a six-foot perimeter from all veggies. The cabbage rolls were about the only thing with which we were not impressed. I don’t know – a little bland or something, but we passed after the first couple of bites. The relish tray which also came helped to kick things back up a bit.

Our main dishes arrived soon, and my husband, the meat connoisseur, said his steak was one of the best he had ever tasted. His dad had one of the state foods – chicken fried steak – and said it was delicious and not the least bit greasy for a fried piece of food. The same with my jumbo fried shrimp – crunchy and tasty. And the cocktail sauce had a nice twist – it leaned toward the sweet side, rather than hot with horseradish. Probably the only thing we were disappointed with was the grilled lemon pepper chicken, only because Mom had them hold the lemon pepper (can’t stand anything hot or spicy). That made it rather bland, but only because we asked them to make it that way.

If you dine before 7pm for dinner, the early bird specials are available for $17.99, which include all of the appetizers and a baked potato. The early bird entrees are the fried shrimp, the KC petite sirloin, and the lemon pepper chicken.

The service was impeccable, as we had at least three people attending us. If you go, ask for Kenyatta’s table. He has worked there over three years and says the thing he likes best is meeting all the people and talking to them throughout dinner. Probably the thing I liked best were the old, wooden creaky floors and chairs. In my opinion, nothing adds more ambiance than creaky, wooden things. And, as in most restaurants these days, you’ll need a lighted magnifying glass to be able to read the menu if you’re over 40. I have found the greatest invention called The Owl – it’s a credit card-sized piece of magnifying plastic that also lights up. It stores handily in a wallet or billfold.

Since I am the oldest member of the contributors to this site, I will probably be the only one reviewing the old restaurants. But that’s fine by me. Quality definitely does come with age.

I am deeply indebted to my friends over at the OKCTalk.com Food Court forums (see the CousCous Cafe thread). That’s where I first heard about the CousCous Cafe, a new Moroccan restaurant on North May. I finally got over to try it and I have to say, I haven’t been this excited about finding a new place in a while. I highly recommend you check it out, and I’d love to hear your impressions in the comments.

The CousCous Cafe is a pretty new place and just getting up and going. I like the fact that they are bringing a specific and unique cuisine to the Oklahoma City metro and that they exhibit an obvious passion for what they do. Owner / Manager Rachid Ayare greets you, takes care of you, serves you as your waiter, and helps with the food preparation. Rachid told us he hails from Casablanca and therefore the food served here can be described as Mediterranean, but more specifically, Moroccan. Rachid is very hospitable and very willing and able to explain the intricacies of the menu to you.

The restaurant is located in a strip mall just between Golden Corral and Denny’s on the west side of May. I’m giving you all of this detail because if you don’t know where it is, it can be pretty tough to find. They don’t have a sign up yet, just a small paper poster on the door. So, look hard on the north end of the strip mall, just to the south of Denny’s, and you’ll find it.

I think they’ve done a nice job with the interior of the restaurant. I saw this space when it was “The Pizza Box” for a very brief period, and CousCous has definitely made some improvements. There are about half a dozen tables in a dining area wrapped on two sides by curved, floor to ceiling windows. It’s pretty nice for a strip mall. Little touches like small colorful pottery pieces on each table give you the sense that they care about their environment, which I appreciate. It’s simple, but pleasant.

We started out with the authentic Moroccan tea, which is served hot in a teapot and poured into small glasses. The tea is brewed with the leaves and spices loose in the liquid. It is rich and sweet and very, very good. We moved on to an appetizer of hummus served with a crisp flat bread. The hummus was artfully presented and was delightfully creamy and flavorful.

I was fortunate to visit the restaurant with my wife, my two kids, my parents and my sister, so we had enough people to really try a variety of items from the menu. My wife selected one of the vegetarian combos ($6), which comes with a combination of three types of salads or specialties. She chose the couscous salad, zaalook (an eggplant salad), and falafel. I have to say that the couscous salad was one of the most delightful things I’ve tasted. It’s fresh, zippy, and the texture is wonderful with couscous, a mixture of vegetables and garbanzo beans in a very light olive oil dressing. That one was the winning salad in my opinion.

My parents each had one of the kabob platters ($7.50 – $11, depending on which meats, and how many), which comes with your choice of grilled meat, rice, Moroccan salad and grape leaf wraps. We got to sample the chicken and the kefta (beef) kabobs, both of which were very flavorful. My six year old son even enjoyed the meat quite a bit, and he is a very picky eater.

I branched out and tried one of the burritos ($5 – $6 depending on the meat). That’s right, a burrito. Actually, though, this was quite an interesting fusion dish with grilled chicken, a spread of hummus, Moroccan salad, brown rice and tahini sauce wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. I got it because I wanted to get something different than everyone else, and I have to say, it was really, really good and a clever take as well.

My sister found the real gem of this place. She got the special of the day, which was a lamb shank with prunes, slow cooked in a tagine with an amazing blend of spices. The whole thing was presented beautifully with a single almond placed atop each prune surrounding the centerpiece of meat. I had one of the prunes and a bite of the meat and I have to say, it was amazing. Tender, sweet, spicy, exotic and everything you would really hope for from a place like this. It is this type of cooking that is going to set the CousCous Cafe apart in Oklahoma City. Next time I go, I am getting whatever delightful recipe Rachid is cooking up in the tagine that day.

Lest I come off sounding too enthralled, I’ll admit the place has some rough edges. For example, you shouldn’t go if you’re in a hurry because patience is required as you wait for your food to be prepared. When we arrived, we were the only customers, and things were still moving in a bit of slow motion (we were there early and by the time we left, I was glad to see that several other customers had arrived). Of course, I attribute this to the newness of the place and the fact that they are having to do as much with as little as possible right now. I am very hopeful that our city will be able to support them so they can grow and mature. I believe they have a lot to offer us and I would love to see them come into their own.

Bottom line, you need to give this place a try. This is what eating local is all about and I’m thrilled that Oklahoma City is getting this type of diverse culinary exposure. CousCous Cafe delivers a unique, flavorful and exciting cuisine, simple yet artful presentations, and a very enjoyable experience all around. Check it out and let me know what you think.

It seems we’ve been reviewing several Mediterranean places here lately (see recent articles on Athens and Zorba’s), so when a friend from work recommended I try one I’d never been to, I was all for it. I asked him what it was called and he said “I think it’s just called ‘Mediterranean Deli.’” He was right. Well, sort of, because it’s actually called “Mediterranean Imports and Deli.” I asked him where it was and he told me but for the life of me I couldn’t place it in my mind. However, when we drove up to it, I realized I’d driven by it probably a million times and never taken notice. I guess that’s because the simple signage doesn’t give the impression that it’s a restaurant, and the use of “imports” in the title makes me think maybe it’s more like a small grocery store.

Well, the truth is, it is a small grocery store where you can get all types of Mediterranean goods for your own cooking at home. And, it’s also true deli, with lots of prepared salads and other goodies you can purchase to take home as well. But, there are also a few tables inside and a counter where you can order a few Mediterranean delights, making it a very quaint and interesting little place to grab a lunch and expand your palette.

The thing I like most about it is that it’s different from most other Mediterranean or Greek places in Oklahoma City. Mediterranean Deli goes well beyond the standard “gyro and fries.” The menu is small, but it offers a chance to sample a great number of simple Mediterranean specialties.

When you try it, you should get one of the platters. I ordered the “combination platter.” A bunch of my friends ordered the “Mediterranean platter” but I asked the guy behind the counter whether the “combination” or the “Mediterranean” was better, and he didn’t even hesitate when he said “the combination platter is better.” So, that’s what I went with and I have to say he was right. Getting either one of these platters is definitely the way to go, especially on your first trip to the Mediterranean Deli. They also have deli sandwiches and the like on the menu, but when you get one of the platters, you get a chance to really sample what the place is all about. And at $6.50, they are both a pretty good deal.

The combination platter comes with a Greek salad, spinach pie, gyro meat (chopped), falafel, pita bread, and dipping sauce (the same type of sauce typically found on an gyro sandwich). The Mediterranean platter had a different kind of salad and a different type of meat, neither one of which looked as good. However, I will say that the Mediterranean platter did come with a type of appetizer with a meat filling wrapped in grapevine leaves which did look very good. That is the one thing from the Mediterranean platter I wish that I had, but in all other ways, I was much happier with the combination platter.

What is nice about both of these platters is that you get a small portion of a lot of different tastes. And, these are unique tastes that you just don’t usually find at standard Greek restaurants. Or, at least if they do have them other places, they don’t feature them on a platter like this so you are not as likely to try them. Don’t get me wrong, I like a nice gyro every now and then, but that’s a singular taste that I’m guessing doesn’t really represent the entirety of Mediterranean cuisine. I enjoyed the Mediterranean Deli for giving me a broader view in a decent sized portion and for a good price.

On the negative side, this place is pretty small and it does seem to get crowded at lunch. It took a little longer than I expected for our food to come out to our table. So, I guess it’s not the best place if you are in a big hurry. At the same time, it’s not a terribly long wait, it’s just a little longer than you might expect for a limited service restaurant but my impression is that the wait time is very dependent on how many other people happen to be there when you go.

All in all, I highly recommend you try this place if you haven’t already. It definitely offers something unique to the Oklahoma City restaurant landscape and for that, I am very grateful. I’d also like to go back when I have time to peruse the grocery shelves and see what types of interesting specialties are available as well.

Zorba’s has recently made a big splash on the Northwest side of town by opening a new, very large location on North May. I tried out this new location and discovered that their recent move has resulted in a severe case of schizophrenia. Zorba’s can’t decide if it wants to retain the small, fast food, rough-around-the-edges feel of its roots, or morph into a modern, full service restaurant. The problem is that this indecision results in a sub-par experience all around.

Let’s start our diagnosis with their new building. The exterior is much like a square, but with a few Greek adornments. It’s almost interesting, but when you take a closer look, it’s really just a big box. I don’t get it. It lacks commitment and direction. It can’t decide what it wants to be.

Then, there’s the interior. It’s sort of modern, with relaxed neutrals, polished floors, and recessed lighting. But then there are these old-looking murals on the walls, like what you would have seen at the old location. And it’s sort of half-finished. One side of the room is quite interesting with angles in the walls and fixtures to really break things up. Then you travel to the other end of the room where it’s just a box with chairs and tables.

I went at lunch, where Zorba’s still does limited service, taking your order at the counter and bringing the food to your table after you serve your own drinks. But there’s a host stand at the front and a large waiting area, so I asked them about it and they said at night they do full service. So, at lunch, you walk past the empty waiting room, the empty host stand and the empty bar and stand in line for the counters. I can imagine that it’s equally as awkward at night as the full-service elements are in use but there are a bunch of walk-up counters that are empty. This may not seem like a big deal, but I think it does make a difference to the experience. Is it fast food, or is it a sit-down dinner? It’s really tough to be both, and this schizophrenic struggle comes through in the facility, just as it shows up in the average quality of the food.

The food is just that — average. I really don’t understand what is special about it. The gyro meat was dry. The Greek salad was little more than some iceberg lettuce with some cheese and olives on top and in an italian-type dressing (why italian?). They have all the standard Mediterranean fare, but it all just seems to be “ok,” not great. I was dining with a group of friends who all had the same impression. It’s not that it’s bad. In fact, we all really wanted it to be better than it was, but when you get honest about it, there’s nothing that really grabs you.

On balance, I will say that we tried a hummus dip that was pretty good. It was probably the most intriguing item I experienced with a smooth, creamy texture and a nice, earthy flavor. Also, if you are looking for a salad, the Persian salad outperforms the Greek. It’s a non-lettuce salad with chopped cucumbers, tomatoes and some other veggies — fresh and zippy and unique enough to hold my attention. Those were the bright spots of the food for me.

Couple the average food with the awkward atmosphere and you get this experience that really just leaves you confused. Especially confused because the place is so crowded at lunch. They obviously have a lot of fans, so hey, I can’t knock them for that. To each their own, but Zorba’s to me is just not worth the trip. There are several other Mediterranean places that offer a better experience and better food (see our recent review on Athens for one example).

Honestly, I really wish I had better things to say about Zorba’s, but I just don’t. Restaurant schizophrenia is a sad and devastating disease that leaves me a bit confused and wishing for a better experience.

Please leave your comments about Zorba’s below.

There’s just something about seeing Mr. Salehi and his family preparing tasty Greek food behind the counter at Athens. It’s like going home for lunch. You know the people preparing your food, and it’s comfortable while you wait. The TV is always on, and today we even had Christmas music playing over the TV, which was even better. Many times there are two or three squad cars full of Bethany police officers eating in too. Plus all the other regulars. In fact, some days at peak lunchtime, you might have to wait for a table. But if you combine two tables for a large group, be sure you put everything back like you found it. They like that. Yep, Athens is one of the few great restaurant finds in the Bethany area.

The Salehis arrived in the U.S. 30 years ago from Iran, or ancient Persia. They have been serving up their own recipes for 11 years now, and I think they have the absolute best gyro meat in town. Remember as a kid when you went to Long John Silver’s and the best thing about the meal was the crunchy tidbits of batter in the bottom of the basket? Well, Athens has the same type of thing, only the crunchy tidbits in the bottoms of their baskets are tasty bits of gyro meat. This is why I think their meat is the best – somehow or another, Mr. Salehi knows how to get his gryo meat crunchy, and it’s fabulous.

These crunchy little tidbits come on the Greek platter, which is my favorite dish. It’s a combination of shaved gyro meat, pita bread, lettuce, tomatoes, onion and their own homemade meat dip, which is a kind of yogurt dip with yummy seasonings. And in fact, they have recently improved on this – today it was very creamy with extra seasonings. I recommend the Greek platter because you can make mini-gyros with it instead of the great big huge regular-sized gyro that, in my opinion, is hard to eat. My husband, on the other hand, likes the big, huge gyro, as it is more of a big, meaty, manly man sandwich. I order a side of their homemade tabouli to top off my platter, which is just right. But if you order the regular-sized gyro, you can get the lunch combo that comes with fries and a drink.

If you’re not into gyro meat (my Mom can’t stand the thought of eating “a sweet little innocent lamb”), Athens also serves great grilled chicken, other types of sandwiches and even great tasting old-fashioned grilled hamburgers and big, thick fries. In fact, sometimes we just go for the burgers. If you’re not a meat person, they also have a good three-salad combo which is made up of the Persian salad, Greek salad and tabouli. And there’s always a tray of freshly made baklava on the counter for dessert.

This is a great place. One of the guys I work with eats lunch here almost every day, and one of my best friends and I use Athens to talk about work strategies. It’s where we go when we really need to talk and solve all of our workplace problems. One tip before you go, don’t park on the west side of the building. The silly loan place next door has posted rude signs that they’ll have you towed if you do. Only park east.