Petra Caf? gets Three and a Half Stars (Business Lunch)

My co-worker thought we were going to a gas station when I mentioned Petra Café. I explained that it was Petra, named for an ancient city in Jordan, not “petrol,” which is what the British call gasoline.

She appeared to be somewhat relieved, so we headed to downtown Fayetteville.

Petra Café is about half a block east of the downtown square. It’s in a building that previously housed Jennianne’s on Center, a café that never seemed to open.

Petra Café has three tables, each with two chairs, and about 10 seats at what looks sort of like a retro soda fountain.

We were immediately greeted by a pleasant and helpful waitress who was adept at translating words like “hummus” into “chick pea” for us. So I went for the hummus ($1.29) and thought it was a humdinger. It had just the right amount of olive oil and seasoning to make the chick peas chirp.

For an entree, I had the gyros sandwich ($3.89). This was about the healthiest gyros I’ve ever encountered. It was chocked full of green lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions, not to mention savory beef and lamb.

My co-worker had the daily special ($5), which was a falafel pocket and two side items. Although an avid carnivore, she took to the baba chanouge with enthusiasm after the waitress explained that it includes baked eggplant and was her favorite on the menu. Although she said it tasted a little like a chili dog, she enjoyed it and said it was filling.

For one of the two sides that come with the special, she had a green salad that included obviously fresh lettuce, tomato and cucumber. She also chose another foreign dish to her, the tabbuleh. Despite the fact that it probably wouldn’t go well with a chili dog, she was very pleased with the the mix of hummus, green onions, peppers, tomato, lemon juice and oil. She even added a spoonful of tabbuleh to her pocket sandwich and offered me a taste. I agreed with her. It was very good.

For dessert, we both opted for baklava ($1.29 each). A big fan of baklava, it was perhaps the best example of the dessert I’ve ever had. My co-worker savored every morsel as well.

We were tempted by the Turkish coffee ($1.29 per cup) but were too plump to partake by that time.

In addition to a weekday lunch special, Petra Café offers a soup of the day that starts on Monday with tomato soup and wraps up the work week with lentil soup. It’s $2 for a cup and $3 for a bowl. The café is also open for breakfast.

We thought Petra Café was a great place for a change of pace in downtown Fayetteville. The food is inexpensive, healthy and exotic, all at the same time.