some real good here, but always an oops!. we wanted to try something different, so we ordered some items from here that we'd never tried, and threw in an old favorite, as well, when we ordered from here a few months back . the favorite was the al-azhar mix grill ($24.95), a bit pricey, but anicevariety of meats. the new items were the grilled quails ($17.95) and the red sea mixed seafood plate ($25.95), also pricey, but also offers aniceassortment of seafood.
the quail dish consisted of 3 grilled, butterflied birds along with 2 sides. the quail was quite tasty, well seasoned, and like most quail i've tried, a little on the tough side. the mix grill has chicken kabob (simply excellent), kofta kabob (nice, but rather mild), lamb chop (nice), beef shish kabob (also very tasty, though a touch chewy). all in all, a good way to try a number of their meat dishes, all done very well. comes with 3 sides.
the mixed seafood plate was the best, and the most interesting, of the dishes we tried. it is a verynicecollection containing (in our dish anyway) grilled squid, 3 sizes of shrimp (each cooked differently), a fried fish filet with anicered sauce, and mussels. not an inexpensive entree, but the portion was more than ample. i liked this dish a lot. though more expensive than the mix grill, this one comes with only 2 sides.
we tried several sides, with some mixed results. gollash belgebna is layered fillo dough with feta cheese - rather bland, and limp in texture. bamya is okra with tomato sauce cooked in broth, and this is a very good side dish. the mixed rice dish was dry, and also bland. mulukheya is minced jute plant leaves cooked in broth with spices - an interesting dish, but probably an acquired taste.
both the mixed grill and the seafood platter are supposed to come with a free appetizer, but our order did not include them. not at all cool, especially on an order this size. and you have to pay extra for pita bread, even with entrees costing $18 to $25. i never mind paying for what i get, but i damn well want to get what i pay for.
i liked this meal a lot better than any i've had here, but there always seems to a small stone in the shoe on each visit. i'll be back, probably.
-----06 jan, 2012-----
confusion reigned suprer, the food didn't. we called in a takeout order here this evening, with less than good results, with both the food and the ordering process. first of all, the current working menu at the restaurant is more than a little bit different from that posted on the restautant's website. having selected our order from the website, we quickly encountered both procedural and logistical problems.
the website states that all entrees come with your choice of 3 sides, salad or soup and a starch. all included (their wording & emphasis). and if you eat there the sides, etc are said to be bottomless (all you can eat). come to find out - au contraire! the inhouse menu indicates that most entrees are served with grilled vegetables and rice or fries (my emphasis). prices on the two very different menus was virtually identical on comparable dishes. not a small change in the value aspect of these dishes. things would only go further south, and at an accelerated speed.
we settled on the mix sampler (their wording) - a mix of 4 items from the app listing for $9.95, and i'm assured that this is "good for 3-4". we ask for baba ghannoush, hummus, mixed pickled veggies, and ta'miya (which i specifically ask if i had pronounced it correctly, assured i had). the ta'miya was not on the inhouse menu, we did not receive it, nor did we receive something in its place.
the hummus and the mixed pickled veggies were very nice, with the exception of the pickled radish,. this has to be an acquired taste. the baba ghannoush was simply awful, with an undeniable underlying burnt taste - and this is a dish i eat often at a variety of restaurants here, and in the triangle area.. don't know about the ta'miya - didn't get it.
since we learned the sides included with the entrees were much more limited than we gathered from the web site, we added a side of grape leaves, and tabuleh. tabuleh was heavy on parsley, very lite on bulgur - ok, but a very lite version of this dish. the grape leaves were terrible - the rice was dry, no other ingrident seemed present, it was void of flavor.
we wanted to order the stuffed pigeons but were told this was no longer on the menu, and the web site had not been updated.- based on the opening date, this item did not stay on the menu long, or was never offered. so, we settled on the lamb shank, the kofta kabab, and the chicken shawerma..
the lamb shank ($17.90) dish was, again, not the dish i saw on the website, which was a tagine with prunes apricot and fig. this was a dish with onion, tomato sauce, carrots, onions, and spices - not a dish i would order again, simply not my kind of dish - dry with little lamb taste. the kofta kabab ($16.95) was a dense strand of meat, with little flavor, and was difficult to cut or eat. the chicken shawerma ($13.95) was simply ok, no more, no less. the grilled veggies were just charred. the mixed rice had little if any nuts, raisins, or onions that i could find. total cost was just short of $71.
there is little here that i encountered that i would knowingly experience again, and nothing that i would recommend. if you have a website, it should be accurate. if that website purports value, produce it, don't simply tell me the site has not been updated.. what has been done to the interior of the restaurant will in no way enhance the dining experience. taking out the short wall beyond what was the bar, has simply turned the dining area into a rectangular noise machine