It was the same day as my wedding anniversary so we kept lunch simple and local. In fact, the lunch locale was right across the street from the movie theaters...
The parking lot was packed to the gills because of a certain sporting event I don't care too much about and that's the World Cup. Yeah, I said it. Lest any soccer or "futbol" fans get offended, I'm equal opportunity when it comes to apathy with sports, football, basketball, golf (is that even a sport?), etc. I get the appeal, I really do but I'm not into watching it.
Sahara Taste of the Middle East was right next to the Press Box sports bar which was filled with patrons, all watching the game which we could hear blaring from the patios. Luckily, Sahara did NOT have any flat screens in there and there was a place to sit inside as well.
MFH originally suggested Tabu (a nondescript Japanese place that I'd been to before but never blogged) or Nicky Rottens, which took over the space from Savannah's. I saw the Nicky Rotten's menu and was instantly depressed by the crappy offerings - all fried pub/bar food. I thought Sahara was the much better choice since it was healthier and also much more affordable.
You order at the front, you get a number, grab a table or booth and they serve it to you. There are also some tasty offerings in their display case, at really great prices, like $1.50 for a potato chop or boreg (mashed potato filled with ground beef, and a Middle Eastern version of what looked like an egg roll), along with salads (tabbouleh, cucumber) and dips (hummus, eggplant).
It's spacious and clean in here. The folks working here were really nice too. A young man helped us and was very friendly and patients while we tried to figure out what we wanted.
Tapatio?
I guess so!
Our late lunch - TC's beef kabob combo, my beef boreg, potato chop, baba ghanouj with pita wedges, cucumber salad and MFH's chicken schawarma.
MFH's chicken schawarma - She forgot that they had a 2 for $6 special (it's smaller though).
Loved the thinly shaved and seasoned chicken.
TC's Beef Kabob combo with pita, hummus, cucumber/yogurt dip and rice.
She ended up giving the roasted tomato to MFH and I helped her out with a few bites of the kabob. It was all right but not as juicy as some I've had at other places.
We all loved the rice pilaf which had noodles, almonds, and golden raisins.
I had one boreg and one potato chop (which I'd heard of before from a post that Cathy did on Nahrain a few years ago; she had the Creamy Chicken Chop). These were shared with MFH.
Both had the same spiced beef filling. The boreg was baked. I was given a choice by the young man, "baked or fried" and when I asked his opinion, he said "baked" was healthier. The texture was crisp bt dry but it probably would have been better fried, haha!
The potato chop was different. It reminded me of a Cuban potato ball but not breaded and with a differently spiced filling. The cucumber salad and delightfully smoky baba ghanouj were also shared with MFH and TC with lots of leftovers to share with Bert for the next couple of days.
Sahara Taste of the Middle East
2990 Jamacha Rd., Suite 116
El Cajon, CA 92019
(619) 660-9990
sahararestaurantsd.com
I'll have to recap my thoughts on "Fault in Our Stars" as well as "The Rover" in a separate posts. Two totally different movies with different demographics. TC loved the first movie; this was her 2nd time seeing it. I haven't read the book, but will most likely "skim" through it and compare it to the movie. Later, we, along with TC would have a mini food crawl of sorts to celebrate our anniversary.
MFH originally suggested Tabu (a nondescript Japanese place that I'd been to before but never blogged) or Nicky Rottens, which took over the space from Savannah's. I saw the Nicky Rotten's menu and was instantly depressed by the crappy offerings - all fried pub/bar food. I thought Sahara was the much better choice since it was healthier and also much more affordable.
You order at the front, you get a number, grab a table or booth and they serve it to you. There are also some tasty offerings in their display case, at really great prices, like $1.50 for a potato chop or boreg (mashed potato filled with ground beef, and a Middle Eastern version of what looked like an egg roll), along with salads (tabbouleh, cucumber) and dips (hummus, eggplant).
It's spacious and clean in here. The folks working here were really nice too. A young man helped us and was very friendly and patients while we tried to figure out what we wanted.
Tapatio?
I guess so!
Our late lunch - TC's beef kabob combo, my beef boreg, potato chop, baba ghanouj with pita wedges, cucumber salad and MFH's chicken schawarma.
MFH's chicken schawarma - She forgot that they had a 2 for $6 special (it's smaller though).
Loved the thinly shaved and seasoned chicken.
TC's Beef Kabob combo with pita, hummus, cucumber/yogurt dip and rice.
She ended up giving the roasted tomato to MFH and I helped her out with a few bites of the kabob. It was all right but not as juicy as some I've had at other places.
We all loved the rice pilaf which had noodles, almonds, and golden raisins.
I had one boreg and one potato chop (which I'd heard of before from a post that Cathy did on Nahrain a few years ago; she had the Creamy Chicken Chop). These were shared with MFH.
Both had the same spiced beef filling. The boreg was baked. I was given a choice by the young man, "baked or fried" and when I asked his opinion, he said "baked" was healthier. The texture was crisp bt dry but it probably would have been better fried, haha!
The potato chop was different. It reminded me of a Cuban potato ball but not breaded and with a differently spiced filling. The cucumber salad and delightfully smoky baba ghanouj were also shared with MFH and TC with lots of leftovers to share with Bert for the next couple of days.
Sahara Taste of the Middle East
2990 Jamacha Rd., Suite 116
El Cajon, CA 92019
(619) 660-9990
sahararestaurantsd.com
I'll have to recap my thoughts on "Fault in Our Stars" as well as "The Rover" in a separate posts. Two totally different movies with different demographics. TC loved the first movie; this was her 2nd time seeing it. I haven't read the book, but will most likely "skim" through it and compare it to the movie. Later, we, along with TC would have a mini food crawl of sorts to celebrate our anniversary.
6 comments:
I know where this is- thanks for the photo- it looks yummy. Will have to drop by soon. There's a place named Pistashios a few blocks away, on the other side that I figure has desserts, so this will work out.
I figured you would know of it, or have passed by it before. I think you would really like it there.
Ooh, I didn't know about Pistachios!
I'm glad you picked this place over Nicky Rottens. The baked goods remind me of Portos in LA. Haven't heard of this place so this post was helpful. My mom refused to watch that tearjerker movie too. I thought it was b/c she had no soul (for the record I don't watch these movies and hate crying) but she said no, it's b/c she saw the commercials and the COMMERCIALS made her cry so she could only imagine how gut wrenching movie *must be* (and she NEVER cries).
Hi Fayw - Me too! My friend suggested Nicky Rottens the night before and when I looked up their menu, felt so depressed at how crappy their menu offerings were.
The movie itself isn't "bad". I'm just not the demographic for it (it's skewed towards teens with romantic soft spots, haha).
Wow, I haven't seen the commercials; it must have made an impact on your mom!
For the record, I totally cried during Fault in Our Stars but I also cried reading the book. I am a big softie :D
The potato-ball-ish item looked good - really, it all looked good! But the potato ball ish one interested me the most haha.
Hi Mary - I guess I do have a black heart of stone, ha ha. I don't even feel like reading the book because I didn't like the movie much.
The potato "chop" was pretty good and only $1,50 too!
Post a Comment