Shawerma and other Arabic food

Neil S. wrote:
>
> Unfortunately, Yaya is no more (unless they moved to a secret location).

No secret--the new location is 663 Clay.

It's good to hear a review from a native eater. ;-)

Nabeel I. wrote:
|> Mmmm...all this talk of shawerma is making me hungry...
|>
|> I haven't been to Truly Mediterranean in SF, but I hear from other
|> Arabs
|> that they have the best shawerma in the Bay Area.  (BTW, in
|> general, the
|> lamb shawerma is the way to go...don't even bother with the
|> chicken.)

Then, you should know that they have lamb five days a week, and chicken the other two.  I recall chicken is Tuesday and Friday.  The shawerma is very good there.  And, the atmosphere is interesting as well.  The staff is quite stand-offish but in the kind of way that says once they get to know you they actually kind of like you.  Just the opposite of Med. Wraps.  It's just a take out place, with a few stools along the wall.

BTW, I've never liked the food as much at the new Truly Med. on Haight.

|>
|> The food at Mediterranean Wraps is good, but not outstanding.  It is,
|> however, the only Arabic restaurant I've found in the Palo Alto/Mountain
|> View/Menlo Park area.

Hmmm, I guess you haven't tried enough of the bad places around Santa Clara; your standards are too high.

|>
|> I've had catered food from Habibi in Fremont and it was outstanding.  At
|> last check, they didn't have more than a couple of tables in the restaurant.
|> I think they are mostly take out.  Review at:
|>
http://ae.zip2.com/sjmercury/scripts/staticpage.dll?only=y&spage=AE/di ining/dining_details.htm&id=314495433&reviewid=&ck=20016224&version=29 90104&ccity=San+Francisco&cstate=CA&adrVer=919463125&ver=e2.6
|>
|> Yaya, in San Francisco, is more upscale and serves an interesting
|> Arabic/California fusion kind of cuisine.  I've had their food once
|> and
|> thought it was very good, but not really like anything that my
|> parents
|> cooked.

Thanks for the recommendations.  Especially for Yaya; it's always sounded good to me, but I haven't tried it yet.  I'm curious, have you treid Byblos, and does it compare?

http://www.citysearch7.com/E/V/SFOCA/0003/33/38/

|>
|> For the best Arabic dining experience in the Bay Area, I would suggest Kan
|> Zaman on Haight St. in San Francisco.  The food is great (their
|> baba ghannoush
|> has a wonderful smokey taste) and the atmosphere is a lot of fun.

Hmmm. I guess I've got to go back.  I've been there a number of times with friends and never was really all that excited about the food.  I've also never had an Middle Easterner recommend the place to me ... maybe time for another try.

|>
|> And for dessert, there's only one place to go:
|> http://www.shatila.com/
|> They have, by far, the best baklawa in the country.  Many Arabs (including
|> all of my relatives) order baklawa from Shatila during the holiday season.
|>
|> Any other questions about Arabic food?  Send 'em my way...  :-)
|>
|> nabeel
|> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|> Habibi Restaurant
|> Safeway Shopping Center
|> 3906 Washington Blvd
|> Fremont, CA 94538
|> (510) 659-9600
|>
|> Kan Zaman
|> 1793 Haight Street
|> San Francisco, CA 94117 (415) 751-9656
|>
|> Mediterranean Wraps
|> California St., Palo Alto
|>
|> Truly Mediterranean
|> 3109 16th St (at Valencia)
|> San Francisco, CA 94103
|>
|> Yaya
|> 1220 9th Ave. (at Lincoln)
|> San Francisco 94122 (415) 566-6966
|>

Nabeel I. wrote:
>Truly Mediterranean in SF

Truly Mediterranean is one of my favorites, and I also like Ali Baba's Cave (Both of these now have locations in the Mission and in some part of the Haight TM-near Stanyan; ABC-near Fillmore). I'm still deciding about Just Like Home at 19th and Irving, but have generally liked it (they make really tasty lemonade, too!).

>Yaya, in San Francisco, is more upscale and serves an interesting

Unfortunately, Yaya is no more (unless they moved to a secret location). The date/pistachio ravioli were just yummy.

>Kan Zaman
Sounds great, I'll have to try it!

>http://www.shatila.com/
I'll take a few dozen of each! Wow!

Of course there was/is the Shawarma King in Boston (Brookline), but it wouldn't be nice to start one of _those_ threads :)

I would love to learn more about the subtleties between the various versions of all of these foods. Thanks for the info!

Neil

-te- wrote:
>
> Is Benbo's still doing their thing? ...at 460 Ramona St, N of University
> Ave, Palo Alto.
>
> I recall a very small place called Mediterranean Delight (?) in San Carlos
> right beside Baskin-Robbins on South ECR. Very nice.
>
> Habibi (Fremont) has 8-10 tables and a small counter. Family run/oriented.
> Casual/neighborhood place.
>
>   -te-
>
> PS: On a recipe/spice note, is tarragon important in some ME chicken recipes?
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> In article , [email removed] (Brad
> Shao) wrote:
>
> > >>Yaya, in San Francisco, is more upscale and serves an interesting
> > >
> > >Unfortunately, Yaya is no more (unless they moved to a secret location).
> > >The date/pistachio ravioli were just yummy.
> > >
> >
> >
> > If you're thinking about the Yaya formerly near 9th/Lincoln, they
> > moved to Clay St in the finance district.
Med Delights in SC is still there with good falafel sandwiches ( and a frequent falafel club).  I buy my tahini there as well