Gimme Your Kibbeh

I love kibbeh. How about you?

Driving south along Ridge Road in Parma, it is difficult to miss Sittoo's sign. Perhaps it is the simplicity that makes it so striking. Along the edge of their 6-space parking lot, the maroon sign stands at eye level with "Sittoo's" printed in simple white lettering with a minimalist pen illustration of a stereotypical grandmother - bespectacled, utilizing the "oo" in Sittoo's, hair tied in a bun, and a smile. "Pita & Salads" is subtitled in a black.

For the ~3 years Sittoo's has been at this location, we assumed it was a hippie-health food mart with alfalfa sprout filled tofurkey pita pocket sandwiches based on the "Pita & Salads" advertised on their sign. Grassy pockets aren't a bad thing (no sandwich is complete without alfalfa sprouts!), but that description wasn't exactly enticing Bug to veer off course and walk through those doors.

Our friend, Goksga, mentioned one day that Sittoo's is owned by the same family who owns Aladdin's Bakery, a local Middle Eastern bakery, and Aladdin's Eatery, a local fast casual chain of restaurants serving Middle Eastern fare. My ears perked up when I heard this news.

Bug overcame the mindset that Middle Eastern cuisine consisted of loathsome chickpeas and couscous from his dining experiences the past year and a half at Nate's Deli and attending the Middle Eastern Festival.

After going through the double glass doors of the former pizza joint, you are met by a parlor table displaying a menu with descriptions of each dish in large print. The brown hues give the place a comfortable and classier look.

A few feet beyond the table is a counter similar in set-up to a fast food restaurant with a high stainless counter separating the cashier and the kitchen. Soda and tea dispensers stand to the right. On the counter to the left of the cashier is a tower of cookies and baklava. The place is immaculately kept, not stained with the stench of old grease, rubbish, and soda syrup.

As I ordered our food, I poked around the baklava display and shamelessly snagged a container ($2.95) with the most crushed pistachios, as a snack while we waited for our food to be delivered to our table.

I've never met a baklava I didn't like

The one item that is a constant, the four times we have eaten there, is their kibbeh ($3.95). Fried in peanut oil, the bulgar wheat and spiced beef parcel is filled with spiced ground beef, onions, and pine nuts, and served with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and yogurt.

Kibbeh is often made with ground lamb and complements hummus and harissa-spiked yogurt.

I don't now what you are going to eat

Bug is a big fan of kofta since his visit to Istanbul Turkish Grill. His order of spicy kafta sandwich ($5.99) was prepared with finely ground beef formed and grilled on a skewer then nestled in a pita with onions, tomatoes, hot sauce, pickles, and lemon tahini dressing.

No words were uttered by him, at least intelligibly, as he savored the first half of his wrap. The portion may appear small, but the kofta are generously sized and pitas have a way of filling the belly.

Koftalicious

When I caught a glimpse of my platter, Sittoo's Combo ($6.99), my first thoughts as the rice-noodle pilaf moved toward me was Rice-a-Roni and disappointment. Skimming my fork over the grains, I took a small bite and found the pilaf to be lightly salted and nutty, firm but not undercooked. Hooray!

I love grilled food, so it should come as no surprise that a well prepared dish of grilled meats would be nothing short of fantastic. The chicken was perfectly charred (not burnt!) and moist, the beef was peppery, moist, and tender, and the kofta was spiced and firm.

Sittoo's Combo

As I broke the crispy falafel in half, I was surprised to discover a green-yellow mashed filling. In my previous experiences, the filling has always been grey-brown. I must have eaten it at the wrong places. As I peruse through the photographs on Google images, there are numerous pictures displaying a green-yellow filling.

To complete the ensemble, crunchy salad greens, cucumbers, and peppers with tomatoes, parsley, and a citrus dressing gave the seriously delicious grilled spiced meats, curried falafel, and pilaf some bounce.

Our visits to Sitto's and Istanbul Turkish Grill have ignited a culinary spark in Bug to make Levantine cuisine. Having already made hummus several times, kibbeh and kofta won't be far behind.

- Cassaendra

Sittoo's
5870 Ridge Rd
Parma, OH 44129-3643
Tel: (440) 885-2525

Nate's Deli

Several years ago and each party since, the office has catered food from Nate's Deli, a restaurant that serves primarily Lebanese food, as well as deli sandwiches. We usually have several trays of shawarma, shish tawook, and falafel wraps, tabbouleh, hummus, baba ghanoush, and fattoush.

Our office party is where I met and fell in love with fattoush, a refreshing blend of chopped lettuce, tomatoes, onions and parsley, tossed with oil, vinegar, and sumac, and served with toasted pita chips.

Fattoush

Since the order is catered at work, the pita chips are delivered separately instead of mixed into the salad. Serving the chips separate is my preferred style of eating this, scooping the salad with the crisp toasted chips. The chips and the tart sumac take the edge off of the onions for me, a raw onion hater.

The heaping platter that you get at the restaurant is only $4.25. This and a side of stuffed grape leaves is probably all you need for a filling meal that won't feel like you ate bricks.

Shish tawook

Another dish I enjoy is shish tawook ($4.75), skewered marinated chicken. I've never had it as a platter, only served as a sandwich wrap in fresh pita with garlic mayonnaise and lettuce. It is traditionally served over rice.

Pickled turnip and peppers

I believe the pickled turnips came with the shish tawook. The turnips were crunchy and probably pickled in vinegar and something to make it pink, as I didn't detect any other flavor. The pickled peppers were a touch spicy and unexpectedly salty.

We also ordered a shawarma sandwich, beef strips sauteed with finely chopped onions. I forgot that it came with chopped onions, so Bug ate the whole sandwich.

Stuffed grape leaves and yogurt

The grape leaves were stuffed with rice and ground beef. The flavor of the leaves were atypically subtle unlike our numerous experiences at other [Greek] restaurants and at home. I wonder if it's the brand of grape leaves used or different preparation. They were well made and, for $7.50, the portion was generous.

Bug walked in not expecting to like it as much as he did. I'm glad that he likes this place, since their food is modestly priced and the people there seem happy to be there. Good food, good vibe, good prices.

- Cassaendra

Nate's Deli
1923 West 25th Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 696-7529
*cash and check only, closed Sundays

Middle Eastern Festival

While driving around town to prepare for CJ's visit last week, I noticed a banner advertising a Middle Eastern festival hanging over Ridge Road. How could I have missed this banner or any advertisement to this festival while I've lived and driven this part of town over the years?

I wasn't sure where the church was. At least Bug knew the general direction.

It was dusk as we were driving along a quiet stretch along Memphis Road. I wondered how we would know if we were at the right place? The answer became a bit obvious as we drew closer, from the carnival riders screaming over the groaning and wheezing of the motors to the aura that illuminated the sky.

Food tent

The festival has been held the past 45 years on Labor Day weekend. With the rides, several carnival game booths, and blaring live music, it was lively.

Amazing stuffed grape leaves

Bug and I agreed that these were the best stuffed grape leaves we've had in a while. The leaves were wrapped tightly around the perfectly cooked rice-meat mixture. The thicker veins on the leaves were removed, as they should be, which prevented the contents from spilling apart once bitten or cut with a dull, plastic knife.

Cabbage rolls

The cabbage rolls were similarly firm, perfectly cooked, and well seasoned.

Cross-section of the delicious rolls

We prefer the bold, slightly bitter, dark green flavor of the grape leaves.

Fattoush

The sumac-blended lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, and onions were crunchy and tart, perfect on this warm and muggy night. Fattoush is the only dish I will consume with raw onions.

Fattoush with fried pita chips

I've mentioned before that my boss introduced me to this dish, and I will forever be grateful to him. My favorite way to eat this is scooping the vegetables with large, crunchy, fried pita chips. The chips and sumac act like a magical shield against the chopped onions for me. When the chips run out, the remainder is left with Bug.

I wish there were exhibits, but people don't go to cultural festivals to read. Food, drink, music, and dance are a great way to experience a culture...and the raffle to win $10,000 ($100/ticket, 400 tickets total).

- Cassaendra

St. Elias Church
8023 Memphis Ave
Brooklyn, OH
(216) 661-1155

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Office parties.

There were two that were held outside of work; one was held at one of the ballrooms in the InterContinental Hotel and the other at a country club, Signature of Solon. I'm too lazy to go out shopping for new formal evening gowns to be around people with whom I feel I spend way too much time. One was even on a raid night! ZOMGZ! Yeah, I didn't give it a second thought and did not attend.

One of the parties I was invited to and attended was a supervisor's luncheon. The food was catered from Nate's Deli. The director has recommended several times that if I wanted to eat real Lebanese food, go to Nate's Deli.

I have wanted to try the place for some time, but an odd drawback is that it's too close to home. For some reason, we rarely eat at places really close to home. It's awkward to go to a restaurant and park before the car has even had a chance to warm up. The place has limited metered street parking, along a street full of restaurants, and is open on weekdays until 6 p.m. It's about a 7 minute drive, and is adjacent to the West Side Market.

The "basic catering for 20-25 people" was ordered for the 8 of us. It included hummus, baba ganooj, tabulee, fattoush, shish tawook, shawarma and falafel. I love Lebanese food, but this stuff was loaded with garlic, parsley, and raw onions. *SCREAM IN HORROR*

Wait, what? Almost all Lebanese food has one or all of these ingredients. How can I love Lebanese food?

The hummus was soooo thick, it was like rich peanut butter...of course, not as smooth. It had a gritty texture as one would expect, but smoother than I have had in the past. It was a little salty for my palate, but very tasty.

The baba was good. This was the first time I've actually tasted the eggplant in this dip. Compared to the hummus, believe it or not, this was blander. I preferred this over the hummus because it was a little tarter.

I typically avoid the tabulee because I dislike fresh parsley, the main ingredient (chopped parsley, tomatoes, onions, wheat germ, mixed with oil and lemon juice). Certain versions of tabulee I like, and certain ones I hate. It's a crapshoot and I didn't want to make a scene so I scooped a tiny amount at first. I think the lemon juice cut down the offensive parsley and onion flavor so it was more moderate, pleasant, and refreshing. I went for seconds.

The fattoush, which was a mix of lettuce, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, sumoc oil, and vinegar, was great. What? Me eating something with raw onions and vinegar? I wouldn't have enjoyed this as much if it didn't have the pita chips. In fact, I probably wouldn't have gone for heaping returns if it weren't for the pita chips. The roasted flavor mellowed out the raw onions, which must have been mild to begin with. It was cut finely. I mean, ME...eating raw onions?!?!? No wai!

Yeah, so I went back for 4 servings of this.

The shish tawook, shawarma and falafel were rolled pita sandwiches. Shawarma consisted of sliced beef cooked in onions, parsley, and tomatoes. There was a cooked-in herb I couldn't identify that made this more interesting than this sounds. It gave it a mauve flavor. It was meaty and had no fresh vegetables, so the fattoush and tabulee were a nice balance. Shish tawook had grilled chicken. Falafel had uhh well, falafel.

This was a great meal, partly because it was so exclusive. It was a small group amongst people with whom I work closely; no "excuse me's," "sorry, coming through" bumping of bodies. We sat down at the table - director, managers, supervisors, and wee little me.

Some time in mid-November, I was asked to participate in a Secret Santa gift circle at work and a pot luck. The Secret Santa was okay. The pot luck part sucked. I was asked to bring some kind of warm vegetable dish and was urged to make "stir fry teriyaki" because I was Japanese. I explained that if I'm going to bring a Japanese dish, it's going to be authentic. It wasn't going to be a stir fry. WTF.

Fast forward to Thursday. Bug has a pinched nerve in his back from a week ago when he almost slipped on ice while brushing the snow off my car and take me to work.

The dish idea I came up while sitting on the toilet one day at work was untested. *snicker*
3 lb asparagus
2 lb orange peppers
1/2 lb red pepper
2 lb grape tomatoes
3 lb yellow squash
1/4 lb fresh basil
1/4 lb baby spinach
2 lb mushrooms
2 lb eggplant

I was going for a bright, colorful dish. I figured no one else would have anything quite as colorful -- and I was right. Some of the dishes looked like it fell off a truck or was run over.

For me, food has to first be visually appealing. Secondly, has to smell pleasant. Thirdly, the essence of all the ingredients has to either mesh well together or stand alone well together. Otherwise, it's just edible substance.

Bug asked how I wanted the concoction cooked. I gave him the above list of ingredients and explained that I wanted a liberal amount of minced garlic, olive oil, medium course ground black pepper, and a touch of very course ground salt. I also wanted to put shaved Jarlsberg cheese on top while at the party.

He looked at me oddly - garlic? salt?! cheese?!! He felt my forehead to see if I was okay. Then he pointed at me accusingly and shouted, "Pod people!!"

Yeah, yeah.

Bug and I went across town to Miles Farmers Market, instead of the West Side Market, since I got a tip that they had very skinny asparagus. West Side Market did not have skinny asparagus when we were there a week prior. We headed to the cheese, and Bug surmised after looking at the prices that the people at work probably wouldn't know the difference between good cheese and regular cheese. We picked up Sargento shredded mozzerella and provolone.

Bug cooked everything up and took ~2 hours. We made enough for the 25 people I was informed would show up. Of course, that was a gross overestimate and it was only for 15 core people.

I kind of wished we knew how to cook eggplant. It was spongy undercooked. I wanted all the veggies mostly cooked, since I knew I would have to heat it up for several minutes in the microwave oven. I ended up picking out 1/3 of the eggplant because the color wasn't what I expected. The flavor, however, was wonderfully distinct. I nuked my bowl of eggplant with some cheese, and stole some of the vegetables. It felt good in my tummy.

It's Friday, the day of the pot luck, 11:30, and I'm wondering when the lunch is. I walk by and people are setting up. I thought "WTF, thanks for telling me." When I returned from nuking my 2 containers, the organizer tells me to put my vegetables on the ground near the bread.

WTF?!

Someone overheard this and moved some dishes to the side and placed my dish up front. I put the 2nd container away, since I saw all the other platters that were there. People brought enough for one of my containers. More for us!

I ate my fill. *burp*

The dish was a success. Numerous people came up to me for the recipe. I told them Bug made it. I gave him the list of ingredients and spices, he went to town with it.

I went to the back after a couple hours to grab more cream puffs. :D People were packing stuff up. Someone packed up 5 large containers of food for themselves. I noticed my container filled with deli meat. So I said, "Wow, I guess this is for me. It's in my container."

Organizer: Oh, it's for X.
Me: Well, it's MY container.
Organizer: We didn't know whose container it was.

WTF?

Me: Well, let her know she has to return the container to me by Monday.

A few minutes later, I am at the desk with 3 other people, and she receives 4 containers of food.

X: All this for me?
Me: Yeah, you're lucky. I got NOTHING. Oh, and make sure you return the container to me by Monday.
X: I like this, I think I am going to keep this.

o.O (yeah it's petty, but WTF)

X: I'm just kidding.
Me: You better be.

Organizer: There's more food in the back.
Me: No, I don't want any of that. Everyone took the good stuff.


Bug suggested that the next time it happens, to have someone give a deposit for the cost of the container; in this case, $5. I told him there wouldn't be a next time, at least with her as the organizer.

- Cassaendra