Middle East/Mediterranean on Westside

For a few months, I/we've been on a Middle East/Mediterranean kick.

Eaten at the old Falafel King in Westwood Village, Tajrish on Washington in the Marina, the new branch of Zankou Chicken on Sepulveda near Santa Monica, Shamshiri (check the spelling) on Westood, Attari also on Westwood and Gaby's on Venice in Culver City.

Dang, I didn't realize I've been to so many places this summer.

Some quick reviews -- I wish I had the menus in front of me.

Falafel King: It's fine for lunch when you work in the area. I like the hummus and the lentil rice in particular. What I really crave at Falafel King (where I've been eating off and on for about 25 years or so it seems) is the hot sauce. They have the best tasting hot sauce I can remember. It's not just heat, just a great flavor.

Tajrish: I've only been going there recently. It's Persian (my dry cleaner is also Persian and he says he can recommend a better place near the Marina. I'll let you know.) I've tried a lot of dishes there and recommend the chicken combination that comes with grilled chicken and a sort of cutlet with ground chicken in it. I think it is called kurg, not sure. This is a nice place with real table clothes. I also like the fact that they put out some fresh basil and onions and olive oil to eat with pita while you are ordering. Fantastic rice and a great potato salad made with eggs and chicken.

Zankou: I'm sure you all know Zankou, an LA legend. This is the new one on Sepulveda, packed at lunch. I order number five, the quarter chicken with hummos, beets, tomatoes and pita. Best garlic spread anywhere. Perfect chicken. You know the drill. Easy to over eat, it's that good. Zankou deserves its legend status, I could eat there every day, I think.

Shamshiri: I'm not sure if this is Israeli or Persian or what. It's on Westwood in that Persian district between Wilshire and Santa Monica. I had a good lunch there: chicken and rice, but it was unremarkable. Good food, but not special food.

Attari: This is on a side street off of Westwood. We only went to Shamshiri because Attari is closed on Monday. Fantastic, unique sandwiches. At least, unique to me. Several kinds, I like the ground chicken, the ground beef. The soups are also wonderful. Great, out of the way lunch place. It's around the corner from Borders Books (south of Borders on the same side of the street as Borders.)

Gabys: Just had them cater a party. Great food. (BTW - I like the one in Culver City better than the one in Marina del Rey. Sort of a good cross between all of the above. They have the cutlets I like, good grilled chicken, great hummos and rice. One warning: They allow smoking as the restaurant is a covered outside area. They even have hookahs for you to try. It doesn't bother me, but it might bother some people. This is a favorite of the Culver City PD, never been there when there weren't cops inside. Which also doesn't bother me.

Gaby's has great food, but the service, in the evening at least, is generally inattentive at best.

The food is good enough to keep me coming back, though, and if you order the first round of drinks as you sit down, it can be a very pleasant evening.

Thanks for the recaps. I had Zankou last night, WOW their beef schwarma has been REALLY good the last few times I've had it at the W. LA branch.

I've been wondering about Tajirish...my Persian friend recommended it to me, but I never went.

I really like Shamshiri..esp. the Lobio Pollo.

You might wanna check out Sham in Santa Monica on 7th and SM. Blvd as well.

Oh man, I've been meaning to try Sham.

It's right next to the guitar shop where my son has his bass worked on.

The menu looks great. The problem with Sham is that there is no parking around there. But next time we go in for a cord or some strings I'll get something.

Thanks.

Yeah, just be aware the service has usually been bad (until I stopped going because of it). I would go there more often if the parking situation was better and the service was more efficient. Maybe its changed for the better...but who knows.

I vote for Gaby's in Culver City. The hummus is the best anywhere. I promise, I just crave it daily!

Hmm...where is Gaby's?

I'm always in MDR/CC, never heard of it.

On Venice just a smidge west of Motor.

Same side of the street as Versailles, which is just on the other side of Motor.

There is also one on Washington almost at the ocean, across from C&O. It might be in the old 26 Beach location or it's next door to the old 26 Beach. But you get the idea.

wow, i just tried gaby's for the first time last week, and i really enjoyed it! if not for someone else telling me about it, i would never think to go there. sort of mixed in with all the other crumbly sort of places on that block, so it doesn't stand out. doesn't seem to need to, though. at lunch, it was about 3/4 full.

seating is almost all on the outdoor covered and closed in patio, so though you face busy venice blvd, you don't really notice. we had a sampler type thing to share and it was a LOT of food, and pretty dang good (except the stuffed grape leaves, which were soooo tangy it made me pucker)

Link: http://thedeliciouslife.blogspot.com

Wow, nice roundup. I know I'm dating myself, but I've been eating at Falafel King at least 30 years, since it was in a corner of a butcher shop. I love their eggplant salads and the fried potatoes on top of the sandwiches.