Don't we all wish every restaurant experience could be like the ones in the movie's or T.V? You know...no waiting for any tables, the stereotypical chef personally coming out with the dish offering you his creation as if he made it specially for you, murmuring "bon appétit!" Well maybe not all the time but once in a while would be great right?
Elf Cafe just might be that experience, but modernized and not as cheesy as I just made it sound.
You might miss it if you're walking too fast though, the spot wouldn't be able to host your birthday party since the maximum occupancy is probably 14-16 iffff that much. But they do make some decent eats. The menu is Middle Eastern, strictly vegetarian with only organic, sustainable and locally grown products of course. But the food truly stands out from the rest of the crowd.
An ambrosial Moroccan Tagine served with some of that piquant, pungeant Harissa Paste and thousands of al dente cous-cous granules nearly serenating me with it's aroma and flavor, integrated with summery squashes, eggplants, carrots and some more of those irresistable cinammon dusted almonds that are in every table. I think their 4 varieties Baked tarts are the specialty though, that along with their RAW Middle Eastern Platter. Another adventure for another day as I always say....
I actually feel some hospitality here.
Elf Cafe
2135 Sunset Blvd.
Echo Park, CA
(213) 484 6829
Wednesday-Sunday 6PM-11PM
(just thought you should know)
Showing posts with label Middle Eastern. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Middle Eastern. Show all posts
Monday, June 25, 2007
Sunday, March 11, 2007
San Gabriel: Divine Dumplings, Perfect Pho and the Best Falafel in L.A.?!
...yup, you read correctly.
When i first moved to Alhambra High School and everyone went to Rick's or "Panda"(panda express) with their friends after school, i discovered this place where the waiters greeted me with a plate of creamy hummus and assorted Mekhalel(pickled vegetables). Where the Falafel was always Crispy and the Baklava was freshly baked. And where i first started to accept my then unaccustomed passion with food.
This place helped me realize i was not your average teenager. When everyone else was thinking what they were going to do after school, i was thinking about what i was going to eat. This is where i was first introduced to then-unknown lebanese foods such as Baba Ganoush(a roasted eggplant dip), Raw Kubbeh(a traditional raw ground lamb dish) and even Baklava(A honey-sweetened Nut Pastry). I even spent my 18th Birthday Dinner here.
Although the menu offers other copious traditional Middle Eastern Delicacies such as Kebabs that are always tastily charred and still tender, the unorthodox Raw Kubbeh-: a dish of raw ground lamb eaten with nothing more than a couple of raw pieces of herbs and vegetables, a drip of olive oil and a paste of raw ground garlic, i always end up getting the same thing-the Falafel Combination: A plate bearing a mountain of their short-grain Rice, some palatte cleansing Tabouli salad, smoky Baba Ghanoush, a fresh Green salad, creamy Hummus and and finally 6 Falafel-easily enough to feed two even three or just one of me. The Falafel is just so perfect! Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside with the perfect of amount of garlic and spices.
They also double as a bakery, hence some of the best Baklava i've had also.
Time after time, i've always left here happy and have a feeling i always will.
Wahib's Middle Eastern
910 E. Main St.
Alhambra CA
( 626 ) 281-1006
When i first moved to Alhambra High School and everyone went to Rick's or "Panda"(panda express) with their friends after school, i discovered this place where the waiters greeted me with a plate of creamy hummus and assorted Mekhalel(pickled vegetables). Where the Falafel was always Crispy and the Baklava was freshly baked. And where i first started to accept my then unaccustomed passion with food.
This place helped me realize i was not your average teenager. When everyone else was thinking what they were going to do after school, i was thinking about what i was going to eat. This is where i was first introduced to then-unknown lebanese foods such as Baba Ganoush(a roasted eggplant dip), Raw Kubbeh(a traditional raw ground lamb dish) and even Baklava(A honey-sweetened Nut Pastry). I even spent my 18th Birthday Dinner here.
Although the menu offers other copious traditional Middle Eastern Delicacies such as Kebabs that are always tastily charred and still tender, the unorthodox Raw Kubbeh-: a dish of raw ground lamb eaten with nothing more than a couple of raw pieces of herbs and vegetables, a drip of olive oil and a paste of raw ground garlic, i always end up getting the same thing-the Falafel Combination: A plate bearing a mountain of their short-grain Rice, some palatte cleansing Tabouli salad, smoky Baba Ghanoush, a fresh Green salad, creamy Hummus and and finally 6 Falafel-easily enough to feed two even three or just one of me. The Falafel is just so perfect! Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside with the perfect of amount of garlic and spices.
They also double as a bakery, hence some of the best Baklava i've had also.
Time after time, i've always left here happy and have a feeling i always will.
Wahib's Middle Eastern
910 E. Main St.
Alhambra CA
( 626 ) 281-1006
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