mmm-yoso!!!

Tahini (Kearny Mesa)

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog.  Cathy is writing today; Kirk and His Missus are on vacation.

Since October 2017, Tahini has been thriving in the small strip mall on Clairmont Mesa just East of the County Assessors Office.  The 'original' location is being reconstructed to open as Finjån (a Turkish/hot sand coffee shop) just next door to the newer, larger corner storefront.  Same owners. There is plenty of parking in front as well as behind the building. You step inside, walk up and order (there is also a Self-Service ordering kiosk in that far corner next to the cash register).  

The menu is simple. 
 Three types of 'main' dishes that you can personalize with three types of proteins and toppings.  There are also six 'appetizers'-which could be a primary meal, seven 'sides' and one dessert.  Everything is made to order; fresh pita is constantly cooling on racks near the entrance, fresh from the oven.
 'Halloumi Cheese Stix' appetizer ($9).  Halloumi is a semi-hard cheese with a high melting point, so it can be fried.  It is a goat and sheep's milk cheese, kind of tangy.     It's served on top of a wheat pita along with a fig jam and a cucumber-yogurt sauce.  Every element of this appetizer is fresh and flavorful. This is a half order of Tahini Fries ($5).  Crisp potato fries topped with tomato, red onion, red bell pepper, pepperoni, kalamata olives, feta cheese, garlic sauce and tahini sauce.  (The large size ($7) is more than enough for sharing).
 This is a side order of Cumato Salad ($3).  Cucumbers and tomatoes, diced and mixed with an olive oil based dressing, topped with feta.  Refreshing.  (The Cumato Salad appetizer is $6). 

The "Build Your Own" menu consists of three choices: Pita Sandwich, Salad or Rice Bowl.  There are three choices of protein: falafel (made when you order), chicken shawarma or steak shawarma.  The chicken is marinated with 10+ ingredients and the beef is certified Angus, also marinated with 10+ ingredients. 
 This is the chicken shawarma salad ($12.50-salad, $9.50, add chicken $3), customized with add ons and topped with garlic sauce and tahini sauce.  

Choices of add ons: lettuce, tomato, pickles, pickled turnips, cheese, parsley mix, bell pepper, kalamata olives, pepperocini.  (Feta cheese is 50¢ as are toasted almonds). 

Housemade sauces: tahini, garlic, BBQ tahini, Sriracha tahini, cilantro tahini, cucumber yogurt.  

Plenty of moist, marinated, roasted chicken; plenty of all the other ingredients.  Fresh, flavorful, wonderful. 
 The steak salad ($12.50) had a generous portion of the marinated steak as well as all the other ingredients.
 This time, asking for the sauce on the side was a way to try the BBQ tahini (it was subtle; you could still make out the sesame base) as well as our 'must have', the whipped garlic sauce.  Again, a wonderful, filling, tasty salad.  
A falafel sandwich ($9- pita sandwich is $8, falafel is $1) comes with five fresh made falafel, your choice of add ons and sauce.  These are fava bean based falafel, mixed with fresh herbs and subtle spices and perfectly fried so the exterior 'crust' is a light crisp and the interior is fluffy.

Owned by American and Arab friends with immigrants, refugees, butchers and bakers as employees, made it through Covid-19.  A great place to enjoy Middle Eastern Street Food. 

Soo and Maggie have been here.

Tahini 9119 Clairmont Mesa Blvd, Suite H San Diego 92123 Open Mon-Sat 11-8, Sun 11-7 Website

 Trays of fresh pita cooling.

Jerusalem (Before Covid) - Exploring Machaneh Yehudah Market and the Old City, Lunch at Jachnun Bar, Dinner at Machneyuda, and Beer Bazaar

**** This is another long one as I try to finish up our Israel posts; thanks for dropping by

I made sure to keep our last full day in Jerusalem open. I figured that we'd have seen enough over the last couple of days to figure out how we'd like to spend the day. And we started off at Machaneh Yehuda Market.

It was early and the food vendors weren't open yet, so we had a chance to check out the produce, bakery, and meat stalls....something we always enjoy and this was no exception.

We always learn so much about the culture and a region by just exploring the open air markets.

   We stopped to check out the varieties of tea available in this shop and the very friendly young man started chatting with us. He was so nice and we came to find out that he is originally from new York City! Of course the Missus finding out he was from the states immediately started the "interrogation"....boy did the questions flow. And he was so nice, with a great sense of humor. I ended up getting a coffee and the Missus some tea....She even purchased some tea as well. 

I asked the young man where to grab a Sabich and he made a recommendation.....he was so nice.

Machaneh Yehudah Market
Agripas St. 90
Jerusalem, Israel

From here we walked past Mamilla Mall and into the Old City.

This was a Monday and things seemed much quieter than the previous days.

And along with the now familiar sites.....

There were things we hadn't noticed on the previous day. At the Fifth Station of the Cross we saw this.

Apparently, this is where Christ stumbled and placed his hand on the wall to balance himself. And this is his handprint in stone along the Via Dolorosa.

We went ahead and followed the route in reverse from where we had started the previous day.

 Until we arrived at the First Station where Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus to die and the Crown of Thorns was placed on his head.

Right past this spot is the Church of the Flagellation where Pilate had Jesus flogged. We had wanted to see this area the previous day, but our guide would not take us because it as in the Muslim Quarter.

From here we decided to explore the Muslim Quarter for a bit.

Which seemed pretty mellow and relaxed. We stopped for some tea at this shop.

And just hung out with the old timers outside and watched the world go by.....

We were starting to get a bit hungry so we headed back to the area around Machaneh Yehudah Market and found the recommended Sabich Shop. We walked in and the menu was in Hebrew. There were no customers when we arrived so I asked about the menu....the two young ladies working were not very nice; I was told; "you read the menu and order....it right there..." And she walked away. I did a Google translate thing, walked back to the counter and was ignored. Two customers walked in behind me and their order was taken. So, I figured that they really didn't want my business so we crossed the street and went into the Market and stopped at this stand.

The Young Man working the counter was a hoot....he loved flirting with all the girls walking by.

There was something on the menu She wanted to try......

    The Shakshuka. This was quite good; great acidic-sweet tomato flavors.....like sunshine in the form of food. The eggs were lovely, the Missus just loved the seasoning. She even enjoyed the bread!

I was told; "you better up your Shakshuka game!"

Hmmm.....

Me, well I got the namesake item; the Jachnun.

  Man, this was quite good as well. Loved the pastry used to wrap the simple fillings; egg and eggplant was particularly tasty.

This was a very nice lunch...I'm glad we came here; I guess it was fate, huh?

Jachnun Bar
(Machaneh Yehudah Market)

We strolled back to the apartment and packed, we had a morning flight back to Paris, so there would be no time to dilly-dally in the morning. After which we had a nice afternoon nap.

For our last meal, I chose a highly recommended and very popular restaurant near Machaneh Yehudah Market named Machneyuda. I kept reading about the place and when Yotam Ottolenghi mentioned the place in several articles online; well it just seemed like the right pick for us.

We had 645 reservations and arrived at a hair past 630. The place was already packed and we were seated upstairs where the music and the discussions weren't quite as loud.

   The menu is a single sheet; but there's quite a bit to choose from. The direction of our ordering was based on our previous meals and we also selected dishes that caught our attention.

And as we often do; we made a meal out of several starters as those menu items seemed the most interesting.

The first two dishes were easy to pick. We had really enjoyed the vegetables in Israel, so we made sure to get a couple of veggie based items.

Starting with the Turkish Tomato Salad.

Man, the wonderful sweet-acidity of the tomatoes; just perfect.

The Cabbage Siniya was also very good.

The cabbage had been charred thus creating a nice smoky-sweetness and wonderful textural contrast. The nutty-earthy tones of the tahini gave the dish some heft and the chilies added a bit of zip.

Our least favorite item of the night was the Shaour Tartare.

   The tartare was delivered covered by spinach leaves; which were browning and getting discolored. The fish itself was quite chewy and very mild in flavor which was just over-powered by the aioli, herbs, and spices.

Meanwhile, the Sweetbreads were so delici-yoso!!!

Firm at first bite, giving way to a wonderful creaminess; the tomato and radish paired quite well, smoothing out any strong metallic-offal flavors with the dill adding in a grassy, slightly anise touch to things. The flatbread was crisp and nicely charred.

Our last dish was the Crispy Brain with Eggplant.

As if things couldn't get better; the brain was nicely fried; the interior so crisp then creamy, the tender eggplant smoky, the bread added a brioche like sweetness.

Overall, this was a excellent dinner and a great way to end our stay in Jerusalem.

Machneyuda
Beit Ya'akov St. 10
Jerusalem, Israel

After this wonderful dinner, the Missus treated me to a nightcap, stopping at the Beer Bazaar location in Machaneh Yehudah Market.

Hipster Jerusalem anyone?

Actually we enjoyed the vibe here; the bartender spent time in San Diego! 

She told me to keep the coaster to remember our time here.

Cool folks!

Beer Bazaar Jerusalem
(Machaneh Yehudah Market)

Like I said, this was our favorite area in Jerusalem.

Back at the apartment, I sat on the porch for a while.

And tried to take in all that we'd seen and done over the last couple of days....whew.....

The next morning we were off to Ben Gurion International Airport. We had time to check out the lounge since we were flying Business Class on El Al.

And had a light breakfast.

And we got fed again on our flight to Paris.....

We arrived in Paris on time. We'd have one night before moving on to our next stop!

Jordan (Before Covid) - Petra at Night and Wadi Rum

**** I'm trying to finish up our pre-Covid travel posts, so will try to keep this brief, the photos speak for themselves. Not much food in this one.

After seeing the wonders of Petra in person, we decided to do Petra by Night. I had planned on being in Wadi Musa on one of the three nights the light show was available (Mon-Wed-Fri). We had an early dinner in the hotel we were staying at; Petra Palace.

And then walked over to the Petra Visitors Center to stand in line for tickets. We got there early and were the fifth group of folks getting tickets. Just before 830 we were let in and proceeded to head down the Siq toward Al-Khazneh (the Treasury).

The path was lined with candles.

After getting to the Treasury, we found sat on mats along the candlelit ground.

And soon enough, there was the sound of a flute and the lights shining on the Treasury came on.

And then more music, more lighting effects, a reading/poem.....more lights.....

After a while it got a bit monotonous; but heck I guess it's worth doing once?

And then we marched back out of Petra and back to the hotel.

The next morning we packed up had a quick breakfast in the hotel.....

We checked out and waited excitedly for our driver to pick us up.....well, that is, I waited excitedly. You see, the next part of our tour was for Wadi Rum. Not that I knew a lot about Wadi Rum....but what little I knew surrounded the tales of one T.E. Lawrence, probably more well known in the west from the movie Lawrence of Arabia. TE Lawrence fought alongside the Arab tribes revolting against Turkish rule and is known to have been launched from Wadi Rum. In fact, there's a set of peaks in Wadi Rum named after one of Lawrence's writings. Anyway, Lawrence of Arabia was one of my late Mom's favorite films and without fail, she would watch it everytime it was on television. You can read more about TE Lawrence and Wadi Rum here.

That's the "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" above; named after Lawrence's Autobiographical work of the same name.

It's quite possible that I enjoyed Wadi Rum even more than Petra in some ways. Perhaps it was our amazing Bedouin Guides and Drivers, whose sense of humor was great and also the Australian couple, who was on our tour of Petra the previous day who were so much fun and easy going.

From the Nambatean ruins.....

To the amazing peaks and valleys....

The views......my goodness....

We would and take a short hike to one of the peaks.....things were so beautiful, so serene, so colorful....you could have what I call a "Bourdain moment" of your very own taking in the amazing vastness of Wadi Rum.

And our Bedouin Drivers made a pretty good lunch......

That chicken grilled over a live fire was awesome........the Missus and I started talking about returning to Jordan at this point and staying in a Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum....maybe even one of these places!

After lunch we headed off....our Bedouin driver asked us if we wanted to go "dune surfing"......and having our wonderful Aussie companions in our Jeep it was all go......

Man, it was so beautiful here....I know, I keep saying that over and over.....you get the point!

One of the last stops was the Jebel Umm Fruth Rock Bridge. There were younger folks climbing up the rocks to stand on the formation....

Of course, I'm not a big fan of heights...nor scrambling up the side of the mountain....but you know who the only person on our tour who was all in for doing this was, right?

And here's the photo She took of us "wussies" waiting below.....

    We really enjoyed Wadi Rum and like I mentioned above, hope to return and spend a night here one day. Our Bedouin Guides and Drivers were so accommodating and had a great sense of humor. 

Once our day was done; our drivers took us to the border crossing at Aqaba, where we crossed over to Eilat and then were taken to Ramon International Airport for our flight to Tel Aviv.

Our flight arrived in Tel Aviv we suddenly realized that we were no longer in our "little bubble" of vacation. Our flight arrived and we took the shuttle bus to the main terminal. 

Once we got to the baggage claim and exits, the Missus bargained with one of the cab drivers (our scheduled transfer never showed up) and we got into his cab. Just before we left a young Orthodox Jewish man spoke to the driver who came to us and asked if we wouldn't mind splitting the cab fair into Jerusalem. The young man would pay a third and we two-thirds. We said sure, why not. When the young man entered the front seat of the cab we said hello to him; but he would not speak, nor even acknowledge our presence. I mean, he spoke to the cab driver, but refused to speak to us! 

Once our driver dropped the young man off, he pointed to the neighborhood and said; "tomorrow evening starts Shabbat....do not come to this part of the city". Our driver was a really nice guy and dropped us off at the apartment we were staying at. Once we unpacked, showered, and got ready for bed, I walked out to the patio......

The Missus and I wanted no part of the politics.......we just wanted to enjoy the history, sights, and food....but people are one of the biggest part of any trip we take. As looked out at the street I wondered; "would we be able" to do that?

Jordan (Before Covid) - Petra

**** I need to dedicate this post to two "FOYs", Kerri, who I know has been waiting for this one and RonR who emailed me - "This morning for the third year in a row I cancelled (postponed?) our 3 month European tour which of course included Tel Aviv, Israel, and Petra. Then, of course I opened up my favorite website every morning and there you are talking about Tel Aviv. Aaarrrggghhh!" Oh man, I'm so sorry Ron, I hope you'll be able to visit Petra and Wadi Rum soon!

Also, not much food in this one....even though I'm going to try to keep verbiage to a minimum, it's pretty looong....so I wouldn't be bothered at all if you decide to come back tomorrow for a more food focused post!

After a nice, relaxing evening at the Intercontinental Aqaba a van arrived to pick us up in the morning. We saw the landscape change as we drove from Aqaba to the town of Wadi Musa.

We stopped twice for bathroom breaks; once at a viewpoint above Wadi Musa and Petra....which was interesting.....you'd never know what lay in the valley below from here.

We arrived a Wadi Musa and transferred to a larger van with several other folks' including a wonderful couple from Australia whose company we really enjoyed! The tour company, Eco Desert Tours was amazing. They dropped our luggage at our hotel while we were dropped off at the rather chaotic ticketing area.

Where we met up with our guide. Once everyone was accounted for, we headed off, down the Bab el-Siq, the path and valley that leads to the Siq. 

There are actually tombs and what is called Djinn Blocks, carved blocks of stone. The word means something along the lines of "spirit" in Arabic, but is also credited with being the origin of the word "genie".

And soon enough you reach the Siq, the narrow gorge which leads to into Petra.

There's a lot to see here as well, like the Niche Monument, a shrine created with two Djinn blocks.

 This of course, is just an "appetizer" as most folks come to see what right ahead. It goes without saying that the last few steps to view Al-Khazneh, known as the Treasury is quite dramatic in its own right.  First, you get a peek, then as you walk closer, it comes slowly into view....the pink-hued wonder, with intricate designs chiseled on it.

One could imagine the moment that Swiss explorer JL Burckhardt, disguised as a Muslim Scholar, became the first Westerner to enter Petra, and laid eyes upon this amazing structure.

It's about a mile to get to the Treasury; which of course, is the most crowded area of Petra. With folks selling Camel rides to various other items......

If you're not inclined to walking...well, you can catch a wagon, camel, or even a mule to get around.......

The portion past the Treasury is called the Outer Siq and is comprised of burial chambers of various designs.

We walked on over to the Street of Facades, a collection of more tombs, these crowded closer together.

Carved into the mountain right past the Street of Facades into El-Khubtha Mountain are what's called the "Royal Tombs".

And then beyond that; the actual city of Petra.

And then, it was lunch time. We had chosen just the simple lunch. We were then told we'd have free time to explore and the meeting place and time were indicated to us.

Which was perfectly fine. Actually, the falafel were not bad at all.

And then we set off exploring........and had a great time exploring the City....the Great Temple and Qasr al-Bint, a Nabataean Temple.

Of course the Missus couldn't help but climb and explore the Royal Tombs.

After which we headed back to the Treasury.

It was amazing how the colors seemed to change as the sun moved across the sky.

The Missus had seen folks standing on the cliff across from the Treasury...and so...She just had to get there.....sigh.

So, we found a trail across from the Treasury and started climbing up. As I was set to start climbing I saw a gentleman wearing a long black robe and a clerical collar...my goodness; it was a priest climbing and inching his way down the rocks! I stuck out my hand and helped him down the last few steps. He smiles at me and said: "thank you my son"!

Anyway, it wasn't a super hard, but not an easy climb up. But of course, the Missus made it look easy.

I will say, the view was amazing.

Pretty amazing huh?

Of course, the climb down was much harder than going up. But...I'm here right? So I obviously made it.

By now we met our guide, whom we tipped, and told the nice guy that we'd just walk back to the hotel we were staying, the Petra Palace. We chatted on the way back to the hotel and decided to return and do the Petra by Night light show. But first; it was time to check in, hydrate, and most importantly, take a nap!

If you stuck around to the end of this post I thank you.

Have a great week!

Gate of Damascus (El Cajon)

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog, is being written by Cathy today.  Kirk and His Missus are on a little vacation. 

We were sad when Speedy Falafel closed in the midst of the pandemic. There had been a few signs on the building indicating a new restaurant was soon to be opened in early 2021, but that never happened.  In September, Gate of Damascus opened.  We stopped by in early January. 

 It was pretty busy with people at the entrance waiting for their "To Go" orders. 


 The interior looks about the same and you can have a seat at one of the many tables and a menu will be brought out.  (Hot tea is self serve along the back wall).  Breakfast is served until at least noon.  
 Foul with olive oil ($9.99)  is always a favorite.  Warm mashed fava beans cupping a wonderful amount of chickpeas, tomatoes and olive oil was certainly a filling savory breakfast.  (There is also a tahini Foul served with yogurt, which will be ordered next time).  
We ordered a Manikesh (cheese pie) ($3.99) because we saw it on other tables.  Fresh, tasty, a bit salty (in a good way).  Perfect crunch. Two fresh made pitas were also brought out.  Because we ordered this:
 The small appetizer plate ($11.99) Tabboule, Baba Ghannouj, Hummus and Motabbal (another eggplant based appetizer). ( Motabbal is made with eggplant, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and tahini (ground sesame sauce).  Baba Ghanouj is made with eggplant, onion, tomato, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, and no tahini!).  We took home plenty of leftovers. This is also a meal.  {Other appetizers to choose from include Mohammarah (red pepper hummus), Yalanjee (stuffed grape leaves), fried or grille Kebbeh (ground meat, onions, spices and bulgur wheat), Arabic salad, Fattoush, Tzazaiki and coleslaw}. Very refreshing, fresh, bright flavors.  
 Also we decided to try  a single skewer of beef kabob ($2.50) which is also a great choice and filled with subtle spices mixed in the ground beef.  

We will be back to try more of the menu, because everything is great!

Gate of Damascus 1142 East Main Street El Cajon, CA 92021 (619) 312-0427 Open Monday 9 a.m.-10 p.m., Tues-Sun 8a.m.-midnight

 Speedy Falafel had a choice of desserts sold by the pound in this display case.  Now there are choices of boxed desserts.  

From Israel to Jordan (Before Covid) - Masada, the Dead Sea, and the InterContinental Aqaba

**** Not much food in this one as I try to get our pre-Covid trip posts done.

We decided to use guides during our trip to Israel-Palestine-Jordan because things were a bit spread out and transportation a bit more complicated than we wanted to deal with. We also wanted to learn about the sites we visited and also just enjoy the ride. We contracted the company, Desert Eco Tours to help with coordinating our tours thru Israel and Jordan. They were wonderful to deal with and we got a private tour of Masada and the Dead Sea and some really fun group tours to Petra and Wadi Rum.

On this day, our guide, David was perfectly on time and we headed off. First visiting areas near Ein Gedi so we could get a bit more familiar with the area.

From our viewpoint we had wonderful views and could see folks headed toward the oasis and waterfall.

From here it was off to Masada, a place I was a bit fascinated in since I had to read a book for a book report waaaay back in Intermediate School (that would be "Middle School" for most folks). There are three different "paths" you can use to walk/hike up to the fortress, but we took the Cable Car to the Visitors Center and then out into the plateau and amazing views of the ruins.

There was one very interesting thing about David......he does his tours barefoot! He told us that it "keeps him in touch with the earth and history"....

Also, when we arrived he broke out a conch shell and just like Hawaii, proceeded to blow into it!

I came to learn that the "Conch Shell Trumpet" played a large part in many cultures!

And I was captivated by the crows who seemed to "guard" the area.....which belonged to them.

A lot of what is known about Masada was written and compiled by Josephus Flavius, who wrote that the first fortification of Masada began in the 1st century BC; though that has never been confirmed. Between 37BC and 31BC Herod the Great built two palaces. It provided a protected and fortified winter haven, which included cisterns, storerooms, and a casemate wall. If you're like me; the first time you really read about Masada was about the siege where a group of Jews, less than a thousand who then held off the Romans for 2 years before the walls were breached. According to the story, upon having the fortress breached, the Jews dispatched each other rather than surrender to the Romans.

You can still see the remains of the Roman base camps from the mountain.

We wandered the ruins from the Columbarium Tower Ruins.

To the Western Palace, to the Hanging Palace which had three terraces.

You could actually see folks hiking up the mountain. I'm quite glad that we chose the cable car!

The terraces were my favorite part of the ruins.

This complex, called the "Hanging Palace" was Herod's private residence. The views were quite dramatic.....

At least that's what this little fella' kept telling me.....

It was quite an amazing place to visit.

We had a quick bite to eat in the restaurant before heading to our next stop.

Where I got to swim....well, actually float in the Dead Sea. Because of the high salt concentration; over 30%, the water feels very "thick" and floating is easy....I did a back float and because of the density of the water, I had to work to stand back up. An interesting experience.

From here David drove us to the Eilat Border Crossing; where we crossed on over to Jordan.

A representative from the tour company greeted us as we crossed the border and then got us a taxi to our accommodations for the evening; the Intercontinental Hotel Aqaba.

A beachside resort.....the rooms were quite comfortable.

Dinner was a pretty standard buffet.

And we took a nice walk around the pool area after dinner.

We slept well and had a light breakfast.

Before checking out and meeting our driver. Next stop?

Petra!

Thanks for stopping by!

Garlic & Tahini Egyptian Kitchen (Mira Mesa)

I will often tell folks at work who ask me "how did you figure that out", the simple phrase "Google is your friend". And I truly believe that in certain cases. Take for example, Garlic & Tahini. I really don't think I would have found the place if I hadn't Googled "garlic sauce + Mira Mesa". Harvest Market has closed and the Missus was craving the garlic paste. An interesting place appeared on my search; Garlic and Tahini Egyptian Kitchen. I noticed two locations; one in La Jolla, which seemed to be a restaurant and the other on Mesa Rim Road, which seemed to be another area chocked full of business parks; like Hawaiian Fresh Seafood. I noticed a website; which led me to an online order form. I decided to go for it and placed an order; basically it's a "make-your-meal" type ordering.....you know, pitas, bowls, or salads, pick your protein. I also ordered a container of garlic sauce to take home.

My GPS led me to Flanders Drive; the street right past Huennekens (why do I always call it Heinekens?)...the way to HFSF. Down Flanders, right on Mesa Rim Road and eventually a sign......

In a business park.

Whereupon I saw another set of signs and parked in one of the stalls.

Then walked to the doorway to the right of the signs.

Then thru the doorway......

And right into a commercial kitchen. Yes, I know that the concept of Ghost Kitchens are a hot topic right now..... There were quite a few packages lined up on one of the tables.

I called out a rather hesitant "hello" and a really friendly gentleman came on over and I mentioned having placed an order online. He thanked me and said my order would be ready in a minute and he'd be happy to bring it out to my vehicle. So, I went ahead and waited in my car and soon enough he brought out a package with my stuffs.

Back at the office, I unpacked my order. I had gotten a Beef Shawarma Pita, a side of Falafel (five pieces) and an 8 ounce container of Garlic Sauce.

The first thing I noticed when I bit into my pita was the bread itself; which was more fluffy than standard issue pita. It also had a hint of sweetness; which actually wasn't a bad thing at all.

The beef had been chopped and was a bit on the chewier side. I enjoyed the diced tomatoes and onions....and even the parsley; though the Tahini was really mild in flavor and am used to to a more assertive sesame seed flavor.

The exterior of the Falafel were really crisp; though the interior was more gritty than I prefer. I enjoy a bit of light - creaminess in my falafel and I prefer Mister Falafel to the version here. Maybe if we hadn't gone to Israel/Palestine/Jordan late last year, I'd have enjoyed it more. I also preferred using the garlic sauce I purchased to the tahini that was included with the falafel.

Speaking of the Garlic Sauce......this version is truly a sauce and not a paste. As it was fairly thin; not a bad thing at all in this case.

While not as strong in terms of garlic flavor; I did like the texture as it was nice drizzling on salads, veggies, and frittatas - here's a Soppressata - Chard - Potato Frittata I recently made.

I'll definitely purchase more of this.

A week later, I decided on trying a couple of other items I'd seen on the menu and was interested in. So, I placed another online orders and went to pick it up.

Same drill; I ducked in, said hello, and waited for my order outside.

This time I tried the Mesa'aa (Eggplant) and Fool (Fava Bean) Pitas, along with a side of Baba Ghanouj.

I really enjoyed the Mesaa'a; it had a mild spice, was well seasoned, and had a wonderful texture and acidity/tanginess. A definite keeper.

The mashed fava beans was milder in flavor, you could still make out a mild nuttiness, and the tomatoes and pickles really helped it out.

I was told to be careful of the "spicy" finish of the Baba Ghanouj, but I found it quite mild and lacking in the smokiness I expect in the dish.

In the end; I was happy to have found a couple of items I enjoyed from Garlic & Tahini, it's gratifying to support our local businesses during this time, especially in the case of such nice folks like this. I'll definitely be getting more Garlic Sauce, Mesaa'a, and Fool.

Garlic & Tahini Egyptian Kitchen
9932 Mesa Rim Road
San Diego, CA 92121
Hours - takeout only:
Mon - Wed 11am - 3pm
THurs     11am - 8pm
Fri - Sat 11am - 9pm
Sunday    11am - 8pm

Simsim Outstanding Shawarma - bc (before Covid) and dc (during Covid)

**** Simsim has closed

Simsim opened at the Gateway at Kearny Mesa back in August of 2018, I first visited a couple of months later...….I then just waited a while before visiting again....then wanting just one more visit before posting took my 'ol sweet time revisiting.....I'd been kinda underwhelmed, not at the portions (at first), but the flavors and such. And then the Pandemic hit. I've actually got a bunch of photos from places that I'd meant to revisit or post on. Simsim was one of them. But with the Pandemic; well, I was just going to delete the photos and call it a day. But I'd already had three visits to the place; so, two weeks ago, I decided to just do one more takeout visit...thus the "bc" (before Covid) and "dc" (during Covid) in the title.

So, here goes.

Simsim is located in the same strip mall as one of Cathy's favorites Niban, Elijah's, and the now defunct Souplantation. Much like Tahini Street Food, the set-up is "fast-casual" (i.e. the Chipotle, which by the way is also in this strip mall) model. You order at the counter and pick up your order when ready.

On all my visits the crew here were very nice and friendly.

The menu consists of wraps, bowls, plates, and sides with names like "Authentic", "Simple", "Spicy", "Tasty", and "Pure"...you get it, right?

On my first visit, I decided to just get the Beef and Lamb (the "Authentic"), which at that time was $10, it's now $12. 

It comes with a side of standard issue thin fries, which I think could have been fried a bit longer as it got soggy quite quickly. It was nicely seasoned though.

The bread off the sajj was fairly brittle and lacking in a bit of stretch from other versions that I had enjoyed more. In fact, one of my Middle Eastern coworkers said that this is almost closer to a tortilla for a burrito. I also like a bit more slightly charred "crust" on my bread as well.

The amount of meat in this was quite generous, though it is obviously aimed as "food for the masses" (nothing wrong with that) and was quite mild in seasoning...it was also on the dry side and a bit ore chewy than I preferred. The tahini was also pretty mild in flavor as well.

Still, very nice folks.....so, after a couple of months, I decided to return.

I'm still looking for really good falafel in San Diego; so I decided to try the Falafel Wrap($9).

The fries were done a bit better this time around and the "bread" had been toasted a bit more and actually had some nice crisp spots on it.

The falafel was mushy and pasty, and fairly bland...….in retrospect it was a good thing I had this before our trip to Israel and Jordan; because now I dunno what I would say about this.

After this I just kinda forgot about Simsim. Until the beginning of the year. I was kinda craving chicken with garlic sauce, I'd already tried the version at Tahini Street Food and Alforon was much too far away. So, I thought I'd try the version at Simsim. I got the "Simple" - Chicken and Garlic ($10.50) to go.

I quickly noticed that his wrap was shaped differently. It looked even more like a burrito than before! Also, the one thing I was most concerned about was that the fries would not hold up on the 10-15 minute trip to the office. Which turned out to be true.

The wrap itself seemed much smaller than before as was the amount of meat. Though the chicken had a bit of seasoning it was quite dry. The garlic paste was quite mild in flavor and I could have used more of it.

That same coworker I mentioned earlier told me that they don't make the bread for their wraps inhouse....

So, what you read above would have never (or perhaps should have never) seen the light of day. But, looking at all the "bc" photos I was going to delete, and knowing that Simsim was doing takeout during this time, I decided to call in an order and pick it up on the way home to check on Frankie.

They've got outdoor seating set-up right now.

My order was ready on the counter when I arrived. I had decided against getting a wrap this time around and seeing that they had Muhammara as one of their sides; decided on the "Signature Side Plate" ($13). Which came with very standard issue (and obviously not made inhouse) pita.

Of the four items on the "plate" (Muhammarah, Babaganoush, Moutabel, and Hummus), I enjoyed the Babaganoush the most. It had a nice smoky hint to it, great flavor, decent texture. The Muhammarah was decent, slight sweet-sour tones, it could use a bit more nuttiness and garlic for my taste. Not in the same league as the version at La Miche, though not bad. The Moutabal was nice and creamy; though for some reason the eggplant and tahini flavors were quite mild. The Hummus as just plain bland.

This was by far my "favorite" item I've had at Simsim.

The food here, like Tahini Street Food is a fusion take on Middle Eastern Cuisine for the Western Palate. I think I prefer Tahini to Simsim, but you may want to try both on your own. The folks here have always been nice and friendly and Soo seemed to like the place, so perhaps you'd like to give them a try.

Simsim Outstanding Shawarma
7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
(858) 430-6717
Open Daily:
11am - 7pm

So, there you go......I've got a bunch of photos of one time visits....all from "bc" (before Covid), some from last year already. I'm fairly certain that if I do return to these places it'll be "ac" (after Covid). A few I probably won't return to. And if I do a post; I'll start from scratch and do a couple of visits. I'm not sure if it's worth posting mostly just photos from these visits.

So, what do you think?

Tahini Street Food (Clairemont Mesa Boulevard)

I recently had a meeting where the food was catered from Tahini. For some reason, I'd forgotten about the place after they were replacing Dudley's Kearny Mesa location, which is right next to Ramen Ryoma.

I enjoyed the Chicken Schwarma Bowl; while being a bit "tame" in terms of flavor; the garlic sauce wasn't too bad and I enjoyed the pickled vegetables, and the rice was nicely flavored and fluffy.

So, I decided to stop by a couple of weeks later.

I'd gotten there right after opening and the place was already doing some pretty good business.

The set-up is very much in the "fast-casual" vein....you order at the register, the stations on the "line" put things together. One both visits; the young man working the register was ultra polite and made sure to repeat everyone's orders to make sure they got things right.

The menu is very much in the Chipotle mold....or even say....Chi-poke mold; you choose your base, if you'd like it in a pita, bowl, or salad, you can add on snacks, be it versions of fries or hummus, etc......

I was feeling hungry on my first visit and got the Chicken Schwarma Bowl and I really wanted to try the Falafel, so I got a3 pieces of Falafel.

This was good as what I'd had in my meeting. The garlic paste; well actually the menu does say "sauce" and is not as pungently delicious as the versions at Harvest Market or Alforon. But it does the trick here. Loved the pickled vegetables which added a nice zip to the bowl. The chicken was decently moist and tender, though quite mild in flavor....yes; it's kind of food not to offend; but with that nicely flavored rice, it did the job quite.

On the other hand; I really didn't care for the falafel.

While the interior was nice and smooth; the exterior was really hard....not crunchy, hard, and in addition to being more salty than I enjoy, there was a strange bitterness that I detected. Plus, the Tahini tasted weak, runny, and watered down.

The pita though, was nice and warm, it was obviously made fairly fresh as I saw the handy-dandy pita bread oven on the side.

Because I enjoyed the pita; I headed back and tried the Steak Schwarma in a Pita.

And while the pita was lovely as before; the "steak" was very lean and chewy and it was very bland. I really should have gotten a different sauce than the standard Tahini that comes with the "steak"....but at least I know for sure that it's not my favorite version. There was a good amount of meat; fresh veggies; but overall, quite bland.

I also ordered a half order of the Tahini Fries (with no Tahini of course), with Garlic sauce.

This was quite nice; I like the way the garlic sauce complements the crisp fries and even don't mind the pepperoncini's or feta cheese; though I will probably ask for no olives the next time. Still, this was not bad.

Overall a mixed bag; nice folks working, it's fusiony food made for Western palates, not a bad thing necessarily, and that rice bowl is pretty good.

Tahini Street Food
9119 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123
Hours:
Mon - Sat 11am - 9pm
Sunday    11am - 7pm