Jul 5
2009

Oh! Falafel!…Part I

in Uncategorized

Mr. Fuji and I love eating foods from around the world. It can be Japanese, Thai, German, Italian, Cambodian, or French. It doesn’t matter, we love it all. One of our favorite types of food is Middle Eastern food. There’s just something about the combination of ingredients and flavors that makes for total comfort food. We just went to a fabulous little family-run restaurant here in the Salt Lake City, Utah area that serves a wonderful array of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean dishes called O’Falafel, Etc.
Mr. Fuji and I each ordered Shwarma Platters (I had beef shwarma and Mr. Fuji had a combo of chicken and beef). Shwarma is chicken/beef marinated in a mixture of spices and vinegar and then grilled.
Our shwarma was served with humous, basmati rice, garnishes, and fresh hot pita bread. The shwarma was fabulous–tender and perfectly spiced with a slightly vinegary aftertaste.
My MIL, FIL, and SIL all ordered Chicken Shwarma Sandwiches–chicken shwarma served in pita bread with lettuce, sauce, and other garnishes.
My sweet SIL will probably kill me for sharing this picture, but I just can’t help myself. I love you Kiki!
The bread was one of my favorites parts of the meal. It was soft and moist, unlike a lot of pita I’ve eaten in the past.
We finished off our meal with some homemade sah’lab-based ice cream. Sah’lab is a powder made from the root of an orchid plant and is used as a thickening agent in the ice cream. We tried all three flavors: pistachio, coconut, and mango. All three were divine–extremely creamy and bursting with flavor. But, I have to say that my favorite was definitely the pistachio. It was so rich and creamy with a strong pistachio flavor, a hint of almond, and bits of pistachio mixed in throughout it.
If you are in the SLC area I highly recommend this restaurant. The food is delicious and unpretentious. The portions are generous and the prices are very reasonable. I think that anyone would be able to find something on the menu that they would enjoy, as there is a wide variety to choose from (including many vegetarian/vegan dishes). This would be a great place to introduce your kids to Middle Eastern cuisine!

Although this was a delicious meal, the best was yet to come. I actually went back to the restaurant early the next morning . . . .

To Be Continued, Tuesday: Oh! Falafel!…Part II

O’Falafel, Etc.
790 East 2100 South, #100
SLC, UT 84106

Tel: (801) 487-7747
Hours: Mon-Sat: 10:30 am to 9:30 pm; Sun: 11:00 am to 7:00 pm

{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

Donna July 5, 2009 at 8:05 pm

Pita bread is soft and moist like that when it's fresh baked. You can feel it in the package if it's fresh, it's very floppy, unlike the supermarket stuff. We have a store about 10 minutes away that has it fresh every day and it's just wonderful.

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Bob July 5, 2009 at 9:33 pm

Oh man, fresh pita is the bomb. My brother makes it sometimes, I've been meaning to for ages now.

We have a roast beef joint around here that makes their own. We think they might even make it to order (which would be unheard of for a sub shop), it's frequently suspiciously fresh.

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Betsy July 5, 2009 at 11:46 pm

Your pics made me hungry! I love Lebanese/Middle Eastern food. Since I moved to TX, I don't get much of it anymore unless I make it myself. If you are ever in the Dearborn/Detroit area, you can get the best Lebanese food outside of Beirut. Dearborn is home to the largest Lebanese community in the USA. There are dozens and dozens of restaurants and bakeries that you would love. I miss it so much! Here's a place where you can find the tastiest Lebanese sweets: http://www.shatila.com/

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Big Davy July 6, 2009 at 8:48 am

Wow, what a feast! You should have invited your favorite uncle, and his daughter, who LOVE this kind of food! We'll have to make a trip up to SLC to try it out.

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Em July 6, 2009 at 9:35 am

Ooooh! That looks so delicious!!
I tried making Falafel at home, but I can never make it as good as from a real restaurant.
By the way, love that photo of the girl! ;)

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magikjaz July 6, 2009 at 8:30 pm

Betsy is absolutely right! I live in the Detroit Metro area and there are some amazing middle eastern places around here! My current favorite is Chef's in Livonia. They even serve kibbeh nayeh (raw lambs meat that has been marinated in spices and stuff) which is SO GOOD!!!!

I'm a super sucker for hummous and lamd shawarma tho – and tabouli. take it all and wrap it up in a fresh pita and i'm in heaven!!!

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Fuji Nana July 6, 2009 at 10:29 pm

These pictures are making me SO HUNGRY! I'm excited for your part 2 post.

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koshercamembert July 7, 2009 at 7:28 pm

Love the pic of Kiki…congrats on Foodbuzz top 9…and love love love Middle Eastern food, especially fresh-baked pita. An Israeli friend baked some for me a few weeks ago (I posted it on my blog) and I sat enraptured in front of his oven!

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UPrinting July 31, 2009 at 8:38 pm

Pita breads are so heavenly! ^_^
Shawarma's are pretty good too. Except that it smells kinda off. Haha! But a very delicious food indeed…

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