Come and travel Oklahoma with me.

Posts tagged ‘Mediterranean food in OK’

Food Friday: Hummus Mediterranean Cafe

I am a fan of Mediterranean food. I know it’s odd but I just love how the flavors come together. I finally had a chance to try Hummus Mediterranean Cafe a few weeks ago with family and we loved it.

We started with the plain hummus with warm pita. This was amazing. It’s hard to find good hummus unless it’s made fresh, and they make theirs every day. The warm pita worked so well with that fresh hummus, I could have eaten so much more if given the chance. While Miss Mae ordered the Akawi pie, me and Big K ordered the combo platter with Kofta and Shish Tawook. We also all got the mint lemonade as something different to drink. Because of a bigger order for a table before us, it took a bit longer than normal but the food was worth the wait. Let’s start with the Akawi pie, this is like a Mediterranean version of a pizza. Akawi is a brine cheese named after the Palestinian town Akki (now part of Israel). I had a bite, it was good. The cheese has a Feta type consistency and flavor. Overall, Mae loved it. The combo platters we ordered were good as well. They came with vermicelli rice, grilled vegetables, and baba ghannouj with pita. Kofta is a type of meatball with spices. Shish Tawook is marinated chicken, grilled to a perfection. Everything on this platter was amazing. The rice was perfect, the Kofta was good as was the Shish Tawook. Big K loved his platter as well. As for the mint lemonade, this was different, but it works. You have the fresh lemonade with the freshness of mint. It was just a flavor explosion that I had never experienced before but would definitely drink again.

We had a great night, just sitting as a family and enjoying a good meal. They are a bit hard to find if you don’t know what you are looking for, tucked into the corner of a strip mall. They also have a second location in Moore. I am ready to visit again to try more options on their menu. I am giving them 5 strips of bacon.

Address: 3000 W. Memorial Rd., Oklahoma City; 811 SW 19th St., Moore.

Category:

Food, Oklahoma, Oklahoma food

Tagged with:

Food Friday: Nunu’s Mediterranean Cafe

I have been wanting to visit Nunu’s Mediterranean Cafe for quite a while, I love Mediterranean food and get excited about trying restaurants offering it in the metro. Now Nunu’s has been around for a while but is still a great family-owned place to visit.

We went early on a Saturday afternoon, happy we did get there before noon because the place did get busy real quick. I ordered the beef kafta over hashwa and Big K got the sampler plate. You order once you get inside the door, then you take a seat. The guy taking the order was really nice and knew everything on the menu well. It didn’t take long for the food to come out. My meal came with beef kafta, hashwa, tabouli, pita and hummus. So now I will break that all down for those who aren’t familiar. Beef kafta is Lebanese ground beef with different spices added, usually parsley and onion. It is cooked over a fire and served in different forms like a meatball or on a kebab. Hashwa (hashwah) is Lebanese as well. In Arabic it means “stuffing”, basically it’s rice with ground beef, pine nuts, and possibly some veggies (depends on the cook). Tabouli (tabbouleh) is Mediterranean, basically how it’s prepared depends on which version the cook wants to make. There is no one recipe for tabouli, you can get a different version at different restaurants but it can have parsley, tomato, onion, bulgur wheat, mint, with olive oil and lemon juice. Hummus is also Mediterranean and basically consists of a few ingredients, mashed chickpeas, garlic, tahini, olive oil, and lemon juice. It’s usually served with pita. The tabouli was outstanding, lots of flavor. The hummus was so smooth, seriously some of the best hummus I’ve ever had. It worked well with their pita, which was made in-house. The beef kafta was juicy with lots of flavor. I was also blown away by the hashwa, first time I had tried it and I was in love immediately. The flavors just came together perfectly. Big K’s sampler platter came with beef kafta, chicken kebob, cabbage roll, hashwa, tabouli, hummus and pita. He loved everything. He agreed that was some of the best hummus he has ever eaten. He liked the beef kafta and hashwa as well, thought the chicken kebob was tender and flavorful. He was totally in love with the cabbage roll, said it was one of the best he ever eaten.

We also took home a sampler of Mediterranean desserts complete with baklava made with both walnut and pistachio, and pistachio cookies. This sampler was great as well, loved every bite. The best part of Nunu’s is that they do have a market attached, so you can take home some of that good hummus and pita. The service was outstanding and the staff was incredibly friendly. They are passionate about their food. I give them 5 strips of bacon and ready for another visit.

Address: 3131 W. Memorial Rd., Oklahoma City.

Category:

Food, Oklahoma, Oklahoma food

Tagged with:

Food Friday: Simply Falafel

A wonderful restaurant in Edmond that I always seem to forget about until someone reminds me is Simply Falafel. This is the place to get Mediterranean food in Edmond.

We have been going there since 2017, the first time we ate shawarma (“Anyone ever try shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about 2 blocks from here, I don’t know what it is but I want to try it.”) We loved it. Every visit we try something new and so far everything on the menu has been great. The falafels are good, some of the best I’ve had in the metro area. The hummus is also good, creamy and flavorful. The chicken shawarma sandwich is wonderful, a warm pita filled with seasoned chicken. I love every bite of this when I get it, so much flavor. Same with the standard gyro sandwich, filled with gyro meat on a toasted pita. My favorite has been the gyro platter. Grilled gyro meat, served with rice and pita triangles. You can also get your choice of side salad, the Caesar salad is good but the tabouli salad is better. If you have room, I also recommend the baklava. It’s so good, a perfect sweet treat after a great meal.

The service here is always on point, if you’re lucky you might even have a visit from the owner. He is the sweetest man who has a passion for the food served in his restaurant. It can be hard to find for a first visit, it’s in a strip mall to the west of the Target on Second Street in Edmond. I’m giving Simply Falafel 5 strips of bacon.

Address: 343 Blackwelder Ave., Edmond.

Category:

Food, Oklahoma, Oklahoma food

Tagged with: