Mediterranean Shish Kabob Restaurant: Enduring Food

Overview: cuisine shares Greek, Turkish and Persian culinary influences. Its dishes consist of herb-spiced broiled meats accented with acidic fruits such as sour cherries, preserved lemons and pomegranate. Lamb meat is heavily used and served stewed, roasted, or broiled to perfection. The portions are huge and the cost of dining here is within most pocketbooks' reach. 

Décor: A classic dining space is adorned with sturdy and comfortable wooden chairs accompanied by white and goldenrod linen-clothed tables. Stone-colored embossed paper covers walls, which lends depth and texture. Artistic metal sculptures tastefully decorate surroundings. A wine rack filled with wine bottles occupies a wall. A small skylight provides natural light and a few pieces of well-crafted decorative furniture add to an inviting ambiance.

Drinks: The restaurant exclusively serves Cedar Brooks Wines in all their varietals. Wine by the glass is $6.25 and $24.00 by the bottle. A unique drink found on the menu is doogh ($3.00), which is a yogurt soda. Turkish coffee ($3.50) is offered and is recommended to accompany dessert. Juice ($3.00) comes in orange, apple and pomegranate flavors and soda is available. Mediterranean Shish Kabob offers a wide assortment of popular beers ($4.25) including Heineken, Corona, Samuel Adams, Bud and Bud Light.

Appetizers: Known as mezze, the appetizer course collects tastes from Greece and Iran. A traditional starter, dolmeh ($5.50), is made with rice-stuffed grape leaves. The falafel ($7.50) is a great vegetarian option. It's made with fava, chickpea, or lentils. Eggplant is frequently used throughout the cuisine. There is Halim bademjone ($6.25), which is mashed eggplant, beef, beans, yogurt sauce and spices; and kashke bademjone ($6.25), which is fried eggplant, yogurt sauce and spices. Yogurt and cucumber ($5.75) is made with fresh yogurt, diced cucumber and spices. Other starters include yogurt and shallots ($5.75) and a traditional Persian soup called osh ($6.50), which is a combination of vegetables, beans, noodles, fried onion, mint and spices.

Entrees: Koobideh ($13.00) consists of two skewers of seasoned ground beef. Slow-cooking methods produce some of the most flavorful dishes, which include the rack of lamb ($22.00) and traditional stews that Chef Mano Alavi has mastered. The ghormeh sabzi ($12.50) stew is made with beef, vegetables, kidney beans and herbs. The Fesenjan ($14.50) Cornish hen is infused with pomegranate and walnut sauce. On my visit, I had ground chicken kabobs ($11.50): two skewers of ground chicken blended with special seasoning. The joojeh ($13.50) is a skewer of marinated Cornish hen. The salmon with gheliyeh ($14.50), is broiled with blended herbs, garlic, tamarind and it's a wonderful option for fish lovers. The salmon with torshi tareh ($14.50) is a taste of traditions.

Sides: Rice is a staple in the region’s diet. Typically, basmati rice is used as it is long and, when cooked properly, remains whole and separate making it perfect for polo. Polo is rice mixed with something, be it herbs, vegetables or fruit. Some variations served include; zereshk polo ($8.00) basmati with barberries and saffron; baghala polo ($8.00) basmati with fava beans seasoned with saffron and dill; shirin polo ($8.00) basmati with almonds, pistachios, carrots, orange and saffron; and albaloo Polo ($8.00) basmati with sour cherries and saffron.

Desserts: Offerings are scant, but one can sample kulfi ($4.00) a rich ice cream made with condensed milk or baghlava ($3.00) a beautiful flakey honey-and-nut pastry popular in Greece and the Middle East. Zolbia ($3.00) is a delicate, deep-fired batter sweetened by dredging in rose water syrup. Bamyeh ($3.00) is a saffron-based batter, deep fried until golden brown and dipped in rose water syrup.

Service: Gracious and hospitable.

Signature Dish: Souvalke ($18.50), a skewer of marinated filet of lamb with seasoning. This dish is ancient and accounts of its preparation can be traced to the Greek poet Homer.

• Mediterranean Shish Kabob Restaurant
• 217 North Santa Cruz Ave.
• Chef Mano Alavi
• Cost: $25.00 to $50.00