Tom and Chee

Tom and Chee is Cincinnati's fast casual grilled cheese-ery. The small chain has three central Ohio locations - one in Pickerington, one in Hilliard and another in the University District.

The concept exists in other restaurants like Melt and Gooeyz. Tom and Chee focuses on the traditional grilled cheese and tomato soup with a few extra bells and whistles.

There are vegan and gluten-free options available. Sides include soup, salad and mac & cheese.

Sandwiches were passably better than what could be made at home. Junk-food add-ons like donut grilled cheese put a few interesting spins on the dish.

There are three tomato soups. The classic tomato and chunky tomato basil are vegan. The creamy tomato is a vegetarian dish.

The decor is bright and fun. Service is relatively brisk.

Condado Tacos

Condado is a Modern Mexican taqueria with fusion influences packaged in a nifty casual environment. The endless variations on build-your-own tacos give diners the option of customizing their perfect taco.

There are plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. Taco fillings include portobello mushrooms and Thai chili tofu. Taco shells include soft, hard and soft wrapped around a hard shell with guacamole and queso - obviously the wisest choice.

Overall, the best tip is to remember that less is more when selecting taco fillings. Scores of ingredients might score a messy taco.

The sweet Thai chili tofu is breaded and doused in a sweet-hot red sauce. It's a solid filling with more flexibility than the mushrooms. 

The bar is stocked with craft beers, top-shelf liquors and cocktails. There is an armada of margaritas that go great with everything. 

Service, like the atmosphere, is casual. Decor is heavy on the Day of the Dead. Vegetarian and vegan questions were answered effectively. The cards to order are located on each table, allowing diners to customize meals quickly and easily. 

Ethyl & Tank

Ethyl & Tank is the campus project from the folks who own the popular Crest Gastropub. This restaurant has a more casual menu than its Clintonville cousin. The excellent craft beer program is augmented by a full-service coffee counter.

The space is large and it can fill up quickly. There is a small rotating console arcade upstairs with classics like Street Fighter II Championship Edition, Mortal Kombat II, Rampage, NBA Jam and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Cocktails are named after video game characters. The restaurant is loaded with HDTVs.

The menu is loaded with options for vegetarians. and vegans. Many of the sandwiches have gluten free options. All of the sandwiches are better with a side of waffle fries.

Everything isn't a home run. For example, the falafel sandwich needed a greater amount of creamy dip to offset its dryness. But more items work than don't.

The tank nachos are a hot mess in the best way possible. A mountain of tortilla chips is piled with refried beans, queso cheese, Colby Jack, pico de gallo, jalepeños, corn and black bean salsa, sour cream and guacamole. They can definitely be shared.

Entree  options include veggie tacos, grilled cheese, smoked Caprese panini, veggie panini, green chile mac and cheese, and a variety of large salads.

Servers answered all questions about vegetarian and vegan options. The casual nature of the establishment sometimes results in uneven service. 

Mughal Darbar

Mughal Darbar occupies the old location of Taj Mahal, one of the city's original Indian restaurants on High Street in the middle of campus. One member of the family took over from the other, and the new operation offers the full bar, buffet and Indian fare that made its predecessor famous.

The menu focuses on Mughalai cusine, a North Indian regional fare rooted in the 350+ year rule of the Mughal emperors. It is related to Persian food, and like any other Indian menu, it has plenty of options for vegetarians. Vegans can also have dishes made without dairy upon request. There is a vegetarian combo platter as well as a lunch buffet for those who can't choose only one item.

The restaurant kept the multiple room format from Taj Mahal. The decor is subtle and welcoming.

At a recent visit, there was a Gujarati street food addition to the buffet because of a holiday. The bhel puri, a puffed rice dish made with onion, potato, tamarind and mint chutneys, should be consumed by the bucketful.

The other classics, chana masala and saag paneer in particular, are full of fresh ingredients and a rich spice level. The samosa has a nice thick exterior that allows the potato and pea filling to support a variety of Indian condiments.

The veggie kebabs and oven-roasted paneer entrees look great. There are many common Indian dishes on the menu, but some of the items like kadhai paneer, a hot onion sauce bathing cubed cheese, and dum aloo, cheese and nut stuffed potatoes in creamy sauce, are not found on many menus around town. There are breads from many flavors of naan to fluffier paratha and crispy roti.

Pera Fresh Food

Pera Fresh Food is a fast-casual Mediterranean eatery located in the old Ali Baba space on campus. As would be expected, they serve inexpensive, healthy Middle Eastern eats on the fly.

Where Ali Baba offered a full service menu that focused on variety, Pera makes a small number of healthy lunchtime standards. 

The set-up at Pera is similar to Chipotle, where customers choose combinations of rice and vegetables as the foundation of their bowl, salad or flatbread wrap. Prices are reasonable. Falafel wraps are less than $5 at select times.

 The wraps are made on lavash bread that is warmed in the oven when ordered. It can be customized with veggies, including cucumbers, black olives, onions, spinach, tomatoes and more, as well as sauces like tzatziki, hummus and harissa. The falafel lacked a little crispiness, but had a pleasant flavor. The wrap is a full lunch if a side dish is added.

The hummus has a deep herbal flavor that also picks up spice from the dollop of harissa that floats on its surface. While the hummus is good, it is difficult to eat in the shallow take-out cup in which it is served, and it is challenging to order because bread must be ordered on the side a la carte. Bread probably should be included in the purchase price.

Desserts mostly lacked character. The rice pudding was bland and mealy. The baklava was good, but wasn't fresh or house-made.

Overall, service at Pera is fast. The prices are reasonable, but considering that most Mediterranean food is inexpensive, Pera may find it difficult to stand out. A plethora of restaurants have opened in the past few years that make better food for essentially the same price. 

Till Dynamic Fare

Till Dynamic Fare is the latest project from Magdiale Wolmark and Cristin Austin. Dragonfly, their last endeavor in this space, was one of the country's most heralded vegan fine dining establishments.

The menu at Till is about fifty percent vegetarian and vegan, unlike its predecessor. The focus is on fresh local ingredients.

The menu changes regularly. Specials are written on a chalkboard behind the long bar.

Starters include vegan poutine, cheese puffs, salads and sometimes the soup of the day.

The vegan poutine is shoestring French fries soaking up mushroom gravy with "cheese" curds of the house made tofu. The flavor is deep and addictive. The tofu was the weak link when eaten alone, but it picked up the proper balance when combined with the fries and gravy.

The cheese puffs were made with gruyere and cheddar. They were light, airy and had a long, subtle flavor.

The vegan black bean soup was drizzled with a mildly seasoned "crema." Layers of smoke explode in each bite supported garlic and chili peppers.

The Ohio goat cheese mac and cheese was tart, rich and delicious. The apples provided a nice sweet contrast to the dish.

Entrees included tofu and festival rice, the vegan meatball smash and tempeh fricasse. The vegan sandwich made appearances at On the Fly, as well as at Dragonfly's ComFest booth during the summer.

The tempeh had a great texture. It was served with creamy mashed potatoes, green beans and carrots. While the dish was well prepared, the sauce was too similar to the poutine gravy, making the dish's flavor seem repetitive when following the poutine.

Dessert options included vegan parfait and vegan gelato sandwiches.

Cocktails were excellent. Ingredients like caramelized lemon peel and chamomile tincture add interesting flavors to gin and whiskey. The bar also serves cask wine and six draft beers. Selections included Elevator Three Frogs IPA, Stoudt's pilsner, Great Divide porter, Schneider Aventinus dopplebock, and Belgian amber and sour ales.

The weekend brunch menus, which for now are available on Saturday and Sunday, also have vegan and vegetarian options. Coffee is from Clintonville roaster Thunderkiss Coffee.

The interior is white with dark wood accents and equally dark lighting. Music volume was loud enough to make conversations challenging.

Overall, Till looks like it should continue to provide high quality vegan dining in the fashion that Dragonfly did. The only standout negative was that the server seemed to be slightly unfamiliar with everything on the menu, and sometimes seemed out of place during service. The visit was during a soft opening period, and hopefully this can be chalked up to trial-run jitters.

La Macarena Pupuseria

Pupusas are a staple dish in El Salvador, and La Macarena Pupuseria whips up vegan and vegetarian fare from El Salvador that highlights this Central American classic.

Pupusas are a less famous cousin of the arepa. It's more of a dumpling or pancake than an arepa, which has more in common with a sandwich than a dumpling. There sometimes are subtle differences in the corn flour used to prepare arepas and pupusas. It's safe to say that if you like one, you'd probably like the other.

The staff at La Macarena is fun and friendly like the decor. The menu offers tons of vegetarian and vegan options, and the daily specials often include a meatless option.

The guacamole tostadita showcased fresh avocados and cilantro. The crushed red pepper adds an interesting spicy touch to a fantastic starter.

There were a few different vegetarian combo plates. I sampled one with a tamale, plantains, black beans, cheese pupusas and curtido, a Mexican/Salvadoran cole slaw. The tamale was soft. The plantains were starchy with a hint of sweetness. The pupusas were stuffed with a little bit of cheese that was sweetened up by corn. It paired well with the slaw and the hot sauce.

One other interesting item at La Macarena is the tableside condiment. There is a mild tomato and pepper sauce from El Salvador that is more tomato driven than its hot sauce relatives from other countries. This is another touch that adds an authentic flair to this restaurant.

Vegans, vegetarians and those who like international flavors all should find plenty to like at La Macarena. It's a family owned gem in Uptown New Orleans that is well worth a stop.

La Macarena Pupuseria

New York Pizza Department

New York Pizza Departmentis a by-the-slice pizza joint at the South Campus Gateway. They also offer pizza shop staples that include pasta, salad, sandwiches and fried appetizers.

Prices at NYPD are inexpensive. There is seating for 50-plus inside the dining room.

There is New York style pizza, Sicilian pan and Chicago deep dish pizza at NYPD. The New York pizza was true to style, while the deep dish was about as close to Chicago style as St. Louis.

The New York plain cheese slice was delicately thin. It was a good slice, and two slices for $3.98 makes a pretty filling lunch.

The Chicago style spinach pizza was more like a hand-held lasagna than Chicago deep dish. While the ricotta cheese adds a nice layer of flavor to the spinach, it seems out of place in a deep dish pizza and more at home in lasagna.

The Greek salad was prepared in the Michigan style (i.e. with pickled beets). Romaine and iceberg lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, kalamata olives, beets and crumbled feta cheese came with a standard issue Greek salad dressing.

Overall, the New York pizza at NYPD is superior to the faux-Chicago pie. Low prices might still keep them busy.

New York Pizza Department

Curry and Hurry

Curry and Hurry is the latest Indian restaurant to open in the space that housed Curry and Kabab on the north end of campus just south of Clintonville. The focus is North Indian takeout that comes out rapidly for diners in a hurry, befitting the name Curry and Hurry.

There are plenty of vegetarian items on the menu at Curry and Hurry, as one would expect at an Indian restaurant. There is no dining room, so orders must be eaten off site.

The menu at Curry and Hurry is strikingly similar to the aforementioned Curry and Kabab. The web site also lists a vegetarian menu which I didn't see.

The weakest characteristic of the items I tried at Curry and Hurry was that the fried items were a little on the greasy side. This was the most obvious flaw, and this was offset for the most part by quick service and flavorful preparations of Indian classics.

The paneer pakoras, thickly breaded fingers of Indian cheese, were a tasty expression of this mild staple. The cilantro chutney added a fresh bite to the pakoras, which were so hot that they were almost molten (although like halloumi, paneer will not melt).

The samosas were large, stuffed with spicy peas, potatoes, onions and spices. It also paired nicely with the cilantro chutney.

The navratan korma was delightful. Korma is a classic North Indian/Pakistani cream curry, and the translation of navratan is nine gems, which refers to the fact that the dish typically is prepared with nine different vegetables, fruits and/or nuts. The tomato and cream curry has great garlic, ginger, cumin and chili flavor that coats the beans, broccoli, onion, potato and peas.

The naan was passable though not great. The plain naan was a good tool to pick up sauces and chutneys. The garlic naan was aggressive and would have benefitted from a more judicious use of garlic.

Overall, Curry and Hurry was acceptable. There are far better Indian restaurants in Central Ohio. However, if you're in the neighborhood, the menu provides plenty of options for vegetarians.

Curry & Hurry

La Bamba

While wandering around the Ohio State campus at 2 in the morning on your fourth or 44th beer, it sometimes requires a gut-busting nightcap to take the edge off the next morning's hangover. La Bamba provides this relief in the form of burritos the size of your head.

Diners can dine in or order to go. La Bamba's decor is campy, and the service is brisk and friendly.

La Bamba's menu for vegetarians includes lard-free refried beans, quesadillas, tacos, tortas, nachos and three sizes of burritos. But you don't want to be a wimp. You want to impress your drinking buddies by ordering the football-sized super burrito.

The vegetarian burrito is made with a choice of black and pinto beans, Mexican rice, peppers, onions, tomatoes, crema and cheese. Adding avocados is a nice touch that lends the burritos a fat, savory flavor. The salsas are fresh and deceptively spicy.

Orders are prepared at the counter in full view of diners (a la Chipotle). It's difficult to spend more than $10 at La Bamba.

La Bamba isn't the best or the most authentic Mexican fare. It is, however, a fantastic way to end a night after a heroic bout of binge drinking.

La Bamba

Formaggio

Formaggio is a Steubenville-style pizza shop near the South Campus Gateway. It is a take-out/delivery pizza shop with reasonable prices, befitting its collegiate location.

The first time I heard the nomenclature Steubenville-style pizza, I concocted a prejudice in my head that disallowed Steubenville its rightful place in pizza lore. While there are numerous sub-types of tomato pies that dot the American landscape claiming to be different from everybody else, most pizzas fit into neat little boxes. Steubenville pizza, however, is unique in that it is a medium-thick crust that is topped with cheese after it is baked.

Despite my prejudices, I'll have to say that Steubenville-style pizza is unlike other pizzas. Its closest relative might be the New England bakery pizza, a baked thin crust pizza topped with tomato sauce, sprinkled with parmesan cheese and served cold (it is available at Yellow Brick Pizza in Columbus, or any Italian restaurant in Rhode Island). Steubenville-style pizza is served hot, and the heat of the crust and sauce slowly melts the grated provolone cheese. Diners unwilling to experiment with the Steubenville style (called "fresh") can order their pizza "melted." Of course, I thought, "When in Rome..."

Pizzas come in regular and half sheet sizes. There are a few meatless specialty pizzas, including a white pizza and a veggie pizza.

The provolone cheese gives the pizza a sharper flavor. The crust is soft with a crisp exterior. The toppings, overall, were a little cheap and conservatively applied. Overall, the weakest part of the pizza was the finely chopped peppers and the canned mushrooms.

There is a coupon on the website that adds a free order of breadsticks to a $10 order. A generous portion of breadsticks is dusted with sesame seeds and served with a side of marinara sauce. Formaggio also offers cheese pizza slices fresh and melted for $1 for penny pinchers.

The prices at Formaggio, combined with the unique Steubenville pizza, make Formaggio worth sampling. If nothing else, you can tell your coworkers that you ate Steubenville-style pizza for lunch, and look at them in an incensed manner when they tell you that they've never heard of it before.

Formaggio Pizza

Veggielicious

Veggielicious is a new vegetarian food cart typically located amidst the activity on the Ohio State campus. Veggielicious offers breakfast and lunch, and they are constantly tweaking the menu at this point to get the offerings to the point where they please the widest variety of its clientele.

I was alerted to Veggielicious by the fine folks over at StreetEatsColumbus. While Veggielicious utilizes eggs and dairy ingredients, they are more than happy to prepare vegan items to the diner's specifications.

The menu at Veggielicious focuses on grilled wraps, quesadillas and bowls. Diners select ingredients that include eggs, veggie sausage, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, broccoli, jalepeños, salsa, sour cream and hot sauce. All items come in large and small sizes. Nothing costs more than $5.

The fresh ingredients shine brightly in the wrap. There is a nice fennel note in the veggie sausage, and the wrap has flavors that can be describes as Latin, West Coast or Southern with equal accuracy. Portion sizes are generous yet not overwhelming.

Veggielicious has a limited selection of inexpensive beverages. While the cart is typically located on campus, it moves around regularly. Check the Facebook page for Veggielicious' latest location.

Veggielicious

Eddie George's Grille 27

With football season now under way after Ohio State throttled the Thundering Herd, it's about time to start staking out sports bars. Eddie George's Grille 27 is a sports bar/pub in the South Campus Gateway. It features typical pub grub with a generous array of vegetarian dining options.

Eddie George's has 27 craft beers on draft plus more in bottles, as well as a full selection of cocktails and wine. The atmosphere is pure sports bar, with televisions built into some of the tables as well as across the walls tuned to ESPN and other sports networks.

The menu also has my absolute favorite: markings identifying vegetarian fare. Eddie George's actually has a large amount of vegetarian appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pizza and pasta, conveniently marked with a green number 27.

Vegetarian starters include chips and salsa, hummus, roasted goat cheese, edamame, fried pretzels and a number of salads. There are three meatless pizzas, two vegetarian sandwiches and two pasta dishes. The menu is strongly biased towards lacto vegetarian dining, and does not appear to be vegan-compatible.

The roasted veggie wrap consists of a wheat wrap containing banana peppers, spring greens, mozzarella cheese and honey mustard. It is a tasty sandwich.

While the food at Eddie George's is solid, you definitely end up paying for the huge televisions you can watch at your table (or at the bar or in the bathroom). Prices seem a little high based based upon the overall quality of the food, although they do provide an admirable ocean of choices for vegetarians. If you're a vegetarian and feel like watching your favorite team that isn't part of the normal broadcast at the neighborhood pub, Grille 27 will at least get the job done. For diners, an appetizer and an entree should cost about $20 a person.

Eddie George's Grille 27

Gooeyz

Gooeyz is a new place featuring grilled cheese in the South Campus Gateway. Although it has the appearance of a corporate chain, for now it is the sole Gooeyz location.

Gooeyz shares a whimsical design and a comfort food focus that has been successful for a number of fast-casual operations that have opened locally in the last few years (Noodles & Co. comes immediately to mind). Diners order at the counter, and follow a river of cheese painted on the floor to pick up their orders. Prices are fair and average about $10.

Since Gooeyz is a restaurant focusing on grilled cheese sandwiches, it isn't vegan-friendly. It is, however, right up the alley of lacto vegetarians.

Sandwiches include the plain grilled cheese and a veggie grilled cheese stuffed with eggplant, zucchini, peppers, artichoke and mushrooms in melted pepper jack cheese with a tomato pesto dressing. Sandwiches come with a variety of breads, including Texas toast, wheat and 9-grain. Vegetarian appetizers include fried cheese balls, French fries and mac and cheese.

The veggie grilled cheese was very good. The sandwich is stuffed to capacity, and the flavors blend harmoniously together.

The mac and cheese was also excellent. It was creamy and redolent of black pepper. The staff told me they were working on the recipe, so the dish may change slightly in the coming days. In my opinion, it was a great side.

There are also limited breakfast options available in the morning. Choices include French toast and hash browns with (or without) cheese.

Gooeyz has a full bar with a limited selection of draft beers. It features discounts on food and drinks during happy hour.

Gooeyz

On the Fly brunch

I sampled On the Fly's brunch this Sunday. While I have previously raved about the "street food" menu at On the Fly and the above-the-rim offerings at Dragonfly, this was my first On the Fly brunch.

The Dragonfly brunch was always a tremendous way to experience one of the best restaurants in the city, as Dragonfly itself is a great way to show diners that vegan food can have as great a complexity as its animal-based competition. The On the Fly brunch offers a completely different menu than the one featured every day at Dragonfly's inexpensive carry-out, including Toad Hill eggs. Vegans can feel safe, though: the egg dishes like the huevos rancheros were able to be made as a tofu scramble, too.

Some of the other menu options included a breaded portabella cutlet, vegan bouillabaisse, vegan cioppino, eggs (or not eggs) Benedict and a French toast sandwich. On the Fly has expanded its outdoor seating, allowing more people to be served in the small space.

The cioppino was an interesting play on an idea. It was a great showcase for seasonal produce. Traditionally, cioppino is a tomato-based San Francisco seafood stew. The vegan preparation has great tomato and fennel notes. There is tender eggplant, summer squash, mushrooms, carrots and two giant potato ravioli, garnished with a toasted bread that helps soak up the flavor of the dish.

Brunch at On the Fly is definitely a great experience, as should be expected. It might be a decent option for those who couldn't drag somebody to a vegan restaurant kicking and screaming; now they can eat egg dishes. While some might see adding eggs to the menu of a previously vegan establishment as an issue, since the eggs are a local farm product, and since the menu is still almost entirely devoid of animal products, vegans can still go to On the Fly without fear.

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal is Columbus' oldest Indian restaurant. Located on North High Street in the heart of campus, Taj Mahal prepares a ton of things that are safe for vegetarians (as you would expect from an Indian restaurant).

The menu at Taj Mahal has about 15 vegetarian entree choices as well as four appetizers. I sampled the lunch buffet, which had four vegetarian entrees as well as vegetable pakoras and naan.

The vegetable pakoras had a crunchy breading that snapped with each bite. The veggies were a mix of cauliflower, carrots and spinach. It paired well with a puddle of mint chutney.

The dal makhni was also very tasty. The Indian specialty is spicy and had a hint of garlic flavor. Another vegetarian option from the buffet was the malai kofta. Malai kofta is deep fried potato and cheese balls in a cream sauce. It is a rich, savory delight.

The roasted eggplant curry was a little hit or miss. While the veggies were mostly crisp and flavorful, the eggplant had an overly chewy consistency that was unpleasant. The dish might benefit from not sitting on a hot plate at the buffet for extended periods after cooking.

There is also a full salad bar and rice pudding available as part of the buffet. It costs $9.50.

There is plenty of seating at Taj Mahal. There is a full bar. Taj Mahal closes for a few hours between lunch and dinner.

Overall, Taj Mahal is a decent option for vegetarian diners. Personally, I prefer the quality of the food at Bayleaf, Indian Oven and Taj Palace to that of Taj Mahal. However, Taj Mahal still makes decent enough food to make it passable.

Taj Mahal

The Shrunken Head

The Shrunken Head is the newest revision of the former Victorian's Midnight Cafe. They are keeping the late night live music while adding more than a few menu options for vegetarians.

Apparently the Shrunken Head offers breakfast for much of the day. Since I had already eaten breakfast, I tried the lunch menu on for size.

The chalk board menu advertised bagels topped with cream cheese or brie. The lunch choices included a vast array of veggie burgers as well as a couple of vegetarian appetizers.

My starter was referred to as a tacodilla. It was a quesadilla that was folded like a taco instead of being layered. It was filled with tomatoes and green onions. The tacodilla was decent, although next time, I plan on sampling the hummus plate. Other vegetarian starters include cheesy garlic bread and a house salad.

There are five different veggie burgers on the menu. Most feature a black bean veggie patty dressed in a variety of ways and served with a side of spicy potato chips.

I chose the Veg Volcano. The veggie burger was topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and jalapeño in a smoky chipotle sauce. It was an explosion of flavor that was fantastically spicy (and this is coming from a guy who puts hot sauce on his breakfast cereal, so that means something). The only topping I found that didn't fit the flavor profile was the pickles, which didn't add anything to the sandwich. I would hold them from my order next time, although they hardly ruined a tasty sandwich.

Other veggie burgers include one with the typical lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle toppings and a barbeque burger. The menu also included a grilled cheese sandwich and a spicy grilled cheese.

The bar has 70 beer selections, including about eight on draft. Future plans include converting the back patio into a tiki lounge, which should come with the requisite mai tai, scorpion and zombie cocktails that accompany such an endeavor. Happy hour runs from 4-7 pm and features $2 drafts, $3 wine and $1 off cocktails.

The interior is dark and decorated with bright faux-Caribbean motifs, including the Shrunken Head logo. The staff was friendly and capable, getting my lunch finished in about 40 minutes.

While the Shrunken Head is currently in its infancy, the pile of veggie burger options will definitely see me back there. I'll have to see how the place develops.

Shrunken Head Cafe

Shish Kebab Express

Shish Kebab Express is the latest Mediterranean dining option to open in Columbus in the last 12 months. Much like its predecessors Ali Baba and Lavash Cafe, Shish Kebab makes fresh, wholesome fare at reasonable prices.

Calling Shish Kebab Express a new place, however, is somewhat misleading. In actuality, Shish Kebab Express is a spin-off of Shish Kebab Mediterranean Grill on Bethel Road.

Like other Mediterranean restaurants, Shish Kebab provides numerous options for vegetarian diners. Even some of the salads and dips are vegan. My favorite characteristic of a menu (vegetarian choices marked with an asterisk) is in play at Shish Kebab.

There are many salads and traditional Middle Eastern starters like hummus, baba ganoush, stuffed grape leaves and falafel. I, however, chose to try the slightly less common sigara borek. Sigara borek is feta cheese and parsley wrapped into finger-sized phyllo tubes. It is bright, creamy and pairs well with the tomatoes on the plate that act as garnishes.

The sandwiches at Shish Kebab are also very interesting. Instead of offering stuffed pita bread as a wrapper, the falafel sandwich was prepared in a crusty sandwich roll topped with sesame and poppy seeds. The bread added another layer to the flavor profile. The taste of the sandwich is more akin to that of a veggie burger than a traditional falafel sandwich.

The only shortcoming of the sandwich is that it used a small amount of lettuce and a light coating of tahini sauce. The addition of more vegetables and tahini would have made a very good sandwich superb.

Shish Kebab Express serves a limited selection of desserts and a typical array of fountain drinks. Both delivery and catering services are available.

The interior of Shish Kebab Express is bright and modern-looking. There is seating for about 40 people inside. There are two flat screen televisions in the dining room. The staff is friendly and quick, although orders at Shish Kebab come out at a fast casual rather than fast food pace.

Overall, I have to say that I prefer Ali Baba and Lavash Cafe over Shish Kebab. The falafel sandwich at Shish Kebab should be a change of pace from those at the other two places if nothing else. I eat enough Mediterranean food that I can see myself eating at all three places in a future week.

Shish Kebab Express

Ali Baba Mediterranean Cuisine

Ali Baba is a new Mediterranean eatery located in the hot spot that used to house Moe's and Jimmy Guaco's. I read a post on Rosie's Kitchen about Ali Baba, and my natural affinity for the food of the Middle East drew me to the new campus eatery.

The decor and the set-up of the restaurant are similar to that of Jimmy Guaco's. Ali Baba is owned by one of the original proprietor's of Pita Hut, another popular Northside Mediterranean spot.

Like other Mediterranean establishments, Ali Baba features vegetarian options in spades. The appetizer options include the traditional (hummus, baba ghanouj and grape leaves) and the more interesting (mama ghanouj, which is a zucchini dip, fool m'damas, which is a cooked bean salad, and fried eggplant and cauliflower salads). Many other options, such as tabbouleh, are also available as sides.

The hummus was excellent. The smoothly mashed chickpeas are drenched with olive oil and harissa, and then sprinkled with mint and whole chickpeas. The hummus had a nice hint of garlic, and the harissa adds a hint of spiciness that makes the dip sing.

The falafel sandwich is vaguely reminiscent of the falafel sandwich at Pita Hut. The pita is cut at the top, and then stuffed with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and disks of deep-fried chickpeas. It is lightly dressed in tahini. If possible, try to get some of the harissa to add a little fire to the sandwich. The fries were fairly average.

It looks as if there are plans for a salad bar. I was unable to tell if there is an alcohol license. There was a tasty-looking case of rice pudding and baklava avaiable to quell the after-dinner sweet tooth.

Prices are fairly inexpensive. Ali Baba is open Monday through Thursday from 10 am to 12 am, Friday and Saturday from 10 am to 4 am, and Sunday from 10 am to 9 pm.

Ali Baba