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Cafe Med: A Vacation For Bored Taste Buds | |
| By Anne Wilson -- Special To The Tribune | 07/13/2001 | |
| Cafe Med is a perfect example of why books and restaurants should not be judged by their covers. This plain-Jane place, once a Greek fast-food eatery, is surrounded by asphalt and weedy fields in a hardscrabble part of Salt Lake County on 3300 South and lacks what is known as "curb appeal." Inside, owner and chef Douglas Nassar has tried to spice up the decor with exotic fabrics on the walls and windows, live and artificial plants and an assortment of art objects, including a columnar fountain. His efforts to make the most of this rather homely building are laudable. (He plans to add a patio in the near future.) But more important than ambience is what comes out of a restaurant kitchen. At Cafe Med, it is exotic food, well seasoned and prepared, and a bargain to boot. Nassar, who is half-Persian, is a veteran of such restaurants as Fuggles, Squatter's and the Park City Smokehouse. When he saw the Greek fast-food eatery, he envisioned a broader menu of foods from Greece, Italy, Turkey, the Middle East and Morocco, with an emphasis on vegetarian fare. Nassar is betting that the dining public, wary of beef due to recent cattle disease outbreaks, is willing to experiment with more grains and vegetables. Beef and lamb, staples of the Middle Eastern diet, still play a leading role at Med. But diners have delicious choices if they want to go meatless, from salads starring falafel, a satisfying mix of ground chickpeas and fava beans fried to a rich, golden brown ($6.99), to meal-sized platters with a half-dozen grain and vegetable components ($7.99). The vegetarian sampler, for example, includes hummus, a garlicky dip made of ground chickpeas; baba ghanooj, a roasted eggplant spread; tabbouleh salad; Greek salad with cucumber, feta cheese, olives, tomatoes and onion; falafel; basmatic rice; stuffed grape leaves; and sauted vegetables. It's a lot of flavor for the money. The ingredients are fresh and high quality. There is not a shred of iceberg lettuce in the falafel salad and the meat that falls out of the overstuffed gyro sandwich ($4.99) is juicy and redolent of lamb. Larger appetites won't go away hungry. The Turkish kabob platter ($10.99) is a large plate filled to the brim with a bed of basmati rice, topped with lamb and chicken kabobs, roasted eggplant and fried Anaheim chile peppers, then finished with tomato sauce and garlicky yogurt. With so many elements, a lot could go wrong. But the lamb was charred outside while pink within and the chicken was moist and nicely seasoned. The eggplant was tender and flavorful while the peppers added a mild kick. Another good option for big eaters is an entree with chicken kabob and kubideh ($6.99), a seasoned ground beef mixture that is traditionally molded around a flat skewer and grilled. It is a rare menu item in Utah, one that requires a sweet-sour spice called sumac that is widely used in Middle Eastern cooking. Every table at Cafe Med holds a bottle of the reddish brown stuff, which can be sprinkled over food as Americans use salt. Nassar's version of kubideh is good, not as brightly seasoned as it could be, but moist and tasty. The rest of the plate is traditional, too -- basmati rice, roasted tomatoes and onion. Nassar even offers another hard-to-find Persian classic, koresh-e gormeh sabzi ($5.99), a beef and red bean stew that gets its green color from a concentrated dose of chopped parsley and its tart flavor from ground dried limes. There is familiar food as well: mushroom ravioli in a pesto cream sauce ($7.99), a grilled chicken sandwich with spicy buffalo (wing) sauce ($4.99), a half-pound hamburger topped with feta or cheddar cheese ($4.99) and a daily fresh fish special (market price). Service at Cafe Med is casual but accommodating: On our first visit, our server recommended a couple of quick dishes that would get us to a movie in time for the previews. When we went back for a more leisurely meal, the only thing we cared about that our server didn't was a small mess from the appetizer. It's a small detail, but one that fastidious diners will notice. Even with Salt Lake City's relatively stable demographics, there is slow but steady growth in the number of ethnic restaurants like Cafe Med. Many of them offer good food at reasonable prices, even if they aren't the most comely places. So celebrate diversity with a falafel and give thanks for mad cows. Cafe Med 420 E. 3300 South, Salt Lake County, (801) 493-0100 Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Prices: Entrees from $5 to $11 Liquor: Beer license application pending Reservations: Parties of six or more Children's Menu: Yes Takeout: Yes Wheelchair Accessible: Yes Outdoor Dining: No Parking: On site lot Credit Cards: All major Anne Wilson is The Tribune's restaurant reviewer. The newspaper covers the cost of meals at restaurants reviewed and there is no connection between reviews and restaurant advertising. Wilson welcomes food and wine news, comments and suggestions at wilwrite99@aol.com. |
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