Adam & Eats: The Casbah

 

Editor’s note: Adam Brandt is a graduate from the Cobra Kai School of Culinary Callousness, where he received their highest award, the Red Apron of Merciless Eating. Aside from eating and talking about eating, he makes pots, paintings, prints, books, photographs, and generally, a big mess. He has been the studio assistant at Mudpuppy Pottery for 10 years and is attending a local university in a desperate attempt to earn a biology degree.

For months now, I’ve been dying to try the Casbah simply for my chance to say something about “rocking the Casbah.” And for months now, they have kept me waiting with the elusive “Opening Soon” sign out front. Bollocks.

Fortunately, I recently received a call from a friend informing me they were finally open for business and I rushed back into town to try them out.

Located on the corner of the 10th Street and Garrison Avenue, in what was once Leoncia’s, is the new home of the Casbah: Mediterranean Grill. Dimly lit, tastefully decorated, and filled with the pleasant sound of music from far more balmier climes, the place has got a really great feel to it.

The nice thing about the environment is that they manage to let you know that you are about to eat ethnic Mediterranean food without beating you over the head with it. There are no silly costumes. There are no gimmicky decorations. Just a classy representation of a northern Middle Eastern restaurant. Well played Momo, well played.

The waitstaff (Olivia is awesome) is also pretty spectacular. Friendly, efficient, quick, and helpful service is a very pleasant surprise after our Sultan dining experience a few months back.

My gripes with the Casbah are few and far between. Bigger drinking glasses are definitely called for. You’ve got your poor server running around constantly refilling glasses with little time to say, take you entrée order. Or maybe just leave a pitcher on the table. I wouldn’t have normally said anything about this because it is such a minor thing, but when our server makes a comment about the inconvenience of having to constantly be filling up glasses on a slow night, I think it deserves a little attention.

Also, you can’t order sandwiches at dinner. What the crap?! They are only available for lunch or carry out orders. Personally, there is no time restriction on when I want to eat a gyro, so people should be able to order one whenever they want.

Now that we’re talking about food, why stop at a nibble? Let’s dig right in. If you are in the mood for an appetizer, and who is not, really, the hummus is a must. It is excellent here. Also, the falafel is wonderful. Both of these dishes are made with ground chick peas (garbanzo beans). The hummus is what we southerners would call “bean dip”. A paste made from the chick peas is mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, tahini (a sesame seed paste), garlic, and various other secret ingredients and eaten with fresh pita chip and dip style.

The falafel is the same ground chick peas mixed with coriander, cumin, onion, mint, and various other ingredients, then deep fried in light oil by the spoonful. What you get are these delicious little bean cakes. Drizzle a little tahini over them and stuff a pita with a couple of those suckers, add a handful of fresh veggies and you’re sure to be a happy camper. It is so yummy, that I don’t really want to move onto the next dish. I just want to stay in Falafelville for a while.

The babaganoush is good, but it, as a dish, has never and probably never will be one of my favorite dishes.

On to main courses.

The gyro plate is excellent as well, but is not nearly as fun as its (fistful of delicious mess) namesake. A deconstructed gyro is what you get with this one. A pile of sliced lamb and beef (both seasoned and cooked wonderfully), long grain rice, tahini, a few veggies, and pita. The pita are cut into smaller pieces, so a build your own taste adventure is out of the question. I guess this way they limit the number of diners wearing their meal on the front of their outfit. Still, less fun.

Also, the roasted chicken is a stroke of brilliance. The crispy skin combines perfectly with the tender and juicy meat that hides beneath it.

But screw all of that business. The real star of the Casbah show is the walnut baklava. One bite of this sweet and savory flaky cake will have you exclaiming “Holy (insert foul language here)!” just the way I did when I bit into it. I kind of want to make a bed of it so that I can roll around on it naked. It is that good.

Well enough about me rubbing my nasty bits on phyllo cakes. If you haven’t tried the Casbah yet, please do so. Just remember, if you want a chicken shawarma sandwich for dinner, call it in and get it to go. Otherwise, head on over and rock the Casbah with some friends.

Until next week, good eating to you and yours.

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Adam also has this thing called Sandwich Control.