Little Arabia Lebanese Bakery and Cuisine
638 S. Brookhurst St.
Anaheim, CA 92804
It's been a grind at work lately. New manager, the holidays are fast approaching, and people are getting crankier as they have more to do. Around this time of year, it's easy to get in a rut after a long day at work and just want to stay at home, lock the front door behind you, and not have to have any interaction with people for the rest of the day. I have to realize that's not fair to Katie plus it's not good for this restaurant blog. The three pages of restaurants I want to try is never going to shrink if we stay home all the time. So we decided to head out on a Saturday night to cross another one off the list.
Our destination on this early fall evening was Little Arabia Bakery and Cuisine. I had heard some pretty good things about their shwarma, and I know Katie is crazy for that and the garlic sauce that is found in lots of Lebanese restaurants. For those that are not sure, like me, shwarma is a lot like gyro meat, as it's cooked on a slowly moving spit, which allows it to cooks in its own juices. Shwarma is spiced differently though and not served with tzatziki sauce like its cousin the gyro.
Little Arabia Lebanese Bakery and cuisine is situated in a corner of a shopping center anchored by an old-school Stater Bros. Market at the intersection of Brookhurst and Orange Avenue, just north of Ball Road in Anaheim. We arrived at just before 5 on a recent Saturday evening. There was ample parking and we had our pick of tables when we walked in the restaurant. During our stay the booths filled up around us, but at no time would I say that they were busy.
There's a nice fenced patio out front, but we elected to eat inside. The interior of the restaurant was inviting, with a number of booths lining the far wall, and a good many tables in the center of the dining area. If you are getting food to go you order at the register, and for dining in guests you'll be directed to a table and a server will take your order. The menu at Little Arabia has all of your Mediterranean favorites. There's plenty of hot and cold appetizers, sandwiches, plates, and savory pies to choose from. They even offer pizza for those who are a little skittish about trying something new. I was going to forgo the pizza but still had a tough time making my meal decision. Let's see if Little Arabia was worth the drive up from South OC.
Starting things off for us were some of the baked goods that were featured prominently in the display case near the register. At $1.49 each these were a great way to start our meal. We got one each of the Mini Spinach Boat, Mini Cheese Boat, and a Mini Balabaki Square, which was filled with meat. My favorite of the three was the plain cheese, which had the tanginess of parmesan cheese, which mellowed into a smooth and creamy cheese. The spinach was nicely done, but the spinach could have been a little more prominent. The meat one missed the mark for me. It was spiced a little too much and did not let the meat shine. I really liked the dough that encased these, as it was soft and light and did not interfere with the contents of these baked goods. Worth a try for sure.
Katie had no problem deciding what to get at Little Arabia, as she eagerly anticipated this Chicken Shwarma Plate ($13.99). This massive pile of seasoned chicken really impressed, and that's coming from me, who is not really a big fan of chicken. It was tender, juicy, and seasoned well. Definitely the best chicken shwarma I have had, not that I have had a ton in my day. The garlic sauce was a tad too light with the garlic but did the trick. I knew there was no way Katie would be able to finish this all, so I had it for lunch the next day and it even held up then. Wonderfully done.
Whenever I'm in doubt about what to order, I always lean towards a combo meal, so I can at least get a good lay of the land if I'm going to end up visiting a restaurant again. At Little Arabia, I selected this Combo Plate ($17.99) as my meal on this evening. With this one you get either a beef or lamb skewer, I picked the lamb, a ground beef, and a chicken skewer. Not normally my thing, but the chicken one was my favorite of the three. It was seasoned like Katie's shwarma but in cubed form. It went nicely with the garlic paste. The lamb and the ground beef skewers were both slightly overcooked, but I still enjoyed them well enough. The rice was full of flavor and spiced with something I was not expecting but kind of warmed up to. It had a subtle sweetness to it. The hummus was silky smooth and I found myself using it to jazz up the ground beef and the lamb. I did not really get into the salad here, but it seemed fresh.
Both Katie and I enjoyed our time at Little Arabia. We have had slightly better Mediterranean food in OC, but this was a very solid visit and worth your time if you are in the area and craving some shwarma. It's definitely the thing to get here. Next time I'll try the beef. We felt very welcome during our stay, and the service was cordial, but they did seem to forget about us a bit when they got a little busier. Prices seemed fair when you consider the serving size of the food that you get with each meal. Glad I dragged myself out of the house to come here. Good food is what will definitely get me through this hectic holiday season.
Out of five briefcases, (because the first law school in the world was built in Lebanon, and all lawyers use briefcases), five being best to zero being worst, Little Arabia Lebanese Bakery and Cuisine gets 3 briefcases.
For more information about Little Arabia Lebanese Bakery and Cuisine, head to their website here: http://littlearabiarestaurant.yolasite.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment