User-Agent: MT-NewsWatcher/3.4 (PPC Mac OS X) Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 14:31:19 -0500 Message-ID: Lines: 48 NNTP-Posting-Host: 66.58.23.26 X-Trace: 1088451080 26055 66.58.23.26 Xref: usenet.INS.cwru.edu chi.eats:25592 Struck with a huge desire for a falalfel sandwich last week in Evanston, I proceeded west on Dempster, vaguely recalling some falafel huts on that street in Skokie. I was just barely out of Evanston when I saw Basha, in a strip mall on the south side of Dempster within a block or two of McCormick. It was great. My original intention was thwarted by the special of the day, which was a generous vegetarian combo plate for $4.99. Basha is a counter service place, but I got my excellent victuals on a real non-disposable plate and got to eat it with non-plastic silverware. They get extra points for that! The place was clean and well ventilated - at least in the seating area. The open kitchen and ordering area were a bit hot. Everything on the combo plate was exceedingly yummy. The baba ganoush in particular was great. The two falafels were as lightly fried as possible, while still being sufficiently done. Two stuffed grape leaf cylinders (what are they called again?) were also light and refreshing - not heavy and ponderous as they are sometimes at less careful joints. The hummos was very light and smooth. Also included was a salad - onions, peppers, and tomatoes mostly with a few pickled radish strips and some kind of thin chip. The chip resembled the fried won-ton skin chips we've see on salad bars lately. One very soft and warm pita was included as well as a cup of lentil soup. I would have liked one more pita, but my waistline didn't need it, so I did not ask for more. The lentil soup was the low point. It was fine, but not up to the level of say, Andie's for example. The $4.99 special was plenty of food, even for this gourm... er, glutton. I did not study the menu much, but it looked like there are plenty of choices for the flesh eaters - both chicken and beef shwarma among the other usual suspects. Basha is in a god forsaken strip mall. There was plenty of free parking at the time of my visit anyway - a weekday mid-afternoon. Basha 3445 W Dempster Skokie 847 329-8855
Chicago, IL