Middle Eastern Archives - Page 2 of 2

Exil

The Joint

Weißgerbergraben 14
93047 Regensburg
Germany
Phone: +49 941 5 86 58 16

Cliff

I think this is my #1 absolute favorite restaurant in Regensburg. Since we live in Regensburg, that’s saying an awful lot. This place is worth it.

We originally came to Exil in April or May 2004 to looking for the kind of Middle Eastern food we could get from La Shish. La Shish tends toward the Lebanese cuisine, whereas Exil is definitely Kurdish. Strong, rich flavors in interesting combinations make it a trip to remember for eaters of lamb (yum!), poultry (chicken and turkey), and fish and vegetarians too. Whenever we go, I try to get something with a side of their spinach, whether I’m craving tender skewers of lamb or not.

I still haven’t found my La Shish replacement, but now I get Exil cravings as well. Oh, by the way, if you go often enough, the staff notices and you might get the occasional surprise espresso or coffee after the meal. At least, we do.

Sarah

Cliff and I are in agreement – this place is our hands-down favorite restaurant in Regensburg. We take all of our visitors here and, to a man (and woman), they’ve all given it the thumbs up. We’ve each tried several different dishes and have yet to be disappointed.

The offerings are mostly variations on theme. They all have several of the same components, but they’re all prepared to varying effect. All entrées are served with salad, tzatziki and bulgur as accompaniments to the main event. I’ve tried to recreate the heavenly spinach and ended up with underwhelming results. Now that it’s summer and fresh veggies are abundant and inexpensive, it’s time to try again.

The atmosphere is relaxed and hip. Every month, there’s new art on the walls available for purchase by patrons. The music is usually interesting, often R&B, soul or unusual remakes of old favorites. And the service is outstanding.

And, yes, I would have said that without the free coffee drinks. But they sure don’t hurt!

La Shish

The Joint

22039 Michigan Avenue
Dearborn, Michigan 48124

http://www.lashish.com/

Cliff

La Shish, oh how I miss my La Shish. Most people are probably familiar with La Shish thanks to Dearborn (in fact, that’s how I first tried it), but my favorite La Shish has always been the one in Troy. For some reason, it’ just a nicer atmosphere – smaller and quieter and much more brightly lit.

I often think about how darn good the little things at La Shish are. For instance, I’ve never quite had a salad dressing like the one on the standard house salad at La Shish. It’s light and zesty at the same time.

Another Cliff-pleaser: “mediterranean salsa” as an appetizer. Don’t eat too much though – it’s easy to fill up on that and the other starters (hummous with “highlighters” and their freshly-baked bread). Save room for a nice traditional arayis (get rice on the side instead of potatoes), or a fancier shawarma or ghallaba dish. You’ll need it, trust me.

Sarah

After moving to Detroit, this was my first experience with Middle Eastern cuisine. Now I’m hooked. La Shish helped me develop a taste for lamb, couscous, hummus, turmeric and nutmeg and cinnamon and cloves and any number of exotic flavors. I usually got the traditional Arayis (thin, delicate pita filled with onion, ground lamb and pine nuts served with almond rice) or Ghallaba (rice and vegetable pilaf (sometimes with chicken or lamb) with lots of seasonings). Just wonderful! Cliff’s loyalty is well-placed.

Lamb Feta Stuffed Peppers

1 chopped Onion
3 Cloves minced Garlic (we use 5 or 6)
6 Medium Bell Peppers*
4 T Dill
1 1/2 tsp Season Salt
1 tsp ground Allspice
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 C cooked Rice
1 lb ground Lamb
1 C crumbled Feta Cheese

2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finey chopped
26 oz tomato puree (I just used regular canned tomato sauce)
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 T sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/4 c fresh dill, chopped
2/3 c chicken broth
*Make sure peppers have even bottoms so that they stand up by themselves!

1. Make the sauce: over medium-low heat, sauté garlic in oil until soft and translucent. Add tomato sauce, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in dill and chicken broth and simmer 5 more minutes, then set aside.
2. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat, add onion and garlic and cook until soft.
3. Slice tops off peppers and remove seeds. Stand peppers upright in 9×13 baking dish.
4. In large bowl, combine onion mixture, dill, season salt, allspice and pepper. Mix in rice and lamb, fold in feta. Stuff peppers with mixture.
5. Pour sauce over peppers and bottom of dish. If any lamb mixture is leftover, stir into sauce on bottom of dish. Cover with foil.
6. Bake in 375°F (190°C) for 45 minutes. Uncover and continue baking 15 minutes until meat thermometer inserted in center of filling reads 160°F (70°C).

Gabe’s Family Hummous Recipe

Gabe’s grampa smuggled this recipe into the U.S. from Syria via Cuba back in the day.

1 19oz can of chick peas, or two of the smaller European-sized cans of chick peas (a.k.a. garbanzo beans, a.k.a. ceci beans, a.k.a. Kichererbsen
One Teaspoon of salt
Three tablespoons of Sesame Tahini (Ground Sesame Seeds in Olive Oil)
Four or five cloves of peeled garlic (you can use fresh garlic or minced in a jar)
Five tablespoons of Lemon Juice

1. Drain the chick peas and save the juice.
2. Dump everything else into the blender
3. Start blending and slowly add chick pea juice until you get the viscosity you like (we used about half of the juice we drained).

Note: we used 3 heaping teaspoons of minced garlic in our batch and it was strong enough for us.

We had some leftover minced parsley and threw that on there with a little olive oil and a dusting of Spanish pimentón (smoked paprika).