Alforon (College Area): Very Yummy

Finally tried Alforon. Very tasty. Very small. Couple who runs it are very hospitable.  Very yummy veg flatbreads; baba ghanoush; humus; sesame bread (Lebanese bagel).  Pistachio nest was only ok, but the rosewater custard (I forget the Arabic name) and the date cookie were very delicious.  All the tables were taken on a Sat. night - good we reserved.  They are very kid friendly too.

Egyptian Delights: Delightful! (CV farmers' market)

Foodie Mom has had a banner day - snuck in a glorious meal from a food truck at lunch, and got some delicious takehome from the farmers' market in CV with SuperBoy.

Egyptian Delight is a food stand at the CV market (Thurs 3:30 - 7). They're based in Sorrento Valley.

Ridiculously tasty hummus (had a char like roasted baba ghanoush but was definitely humus).  Very respectable rice. And what yummy falafels!! Not at all Greek falafels. Very nicely Egyptian spiced.  What a find - rival for best Mideast in the county. Yum!!!! (and fast and easy!).

Kebab Shop (Encinitas): Yum! Fast! Kid-Friendly!

We tried to go to East Village Asian Diner tonight in Encinitas. (looked through the blog, saw that we liked it in spring 2010 and hadn't been back). On the phone they said they didn't take reservations but that we shouldn't have to wait at 6:15 for 3 people. Well, we didn't show up til 6:25, but it was mobbed, and it was going to be a 25 min. wait, in a tiny space, with the frigid night entering through the opening and closing door. So we switched gears.

We'd also been thinking of trying the Kebab Shop in Encinitas (Trader Joe's shopping center). Verdict: Yum!

I got: yummy falafel donner. Very tasty falafel (though it doesn't beat Habibi's or Sultan Schwarma). But it's Turkish and has other flavors (like tarragon in the dressing in the salad inside). $6.60-ish.

Super Boy got: 3 salad plate: humus, Greek salad, green lentils and walnuts (I love that my boy loves lentils - I asked them for a taste in advance so he wasn't committing himself to a dish he would think was strangely flavored, but he insisted, "Moooooooooom!!! I like lentils!!!" and sure enough he loved them. They had fresh tarragon and tasted delish; the dressing on the salad also had some tarragon (white-style dressing); the feta was very yummy. The humus was fine, nothing terrible, nothing to rave about. Was a huge portion; he ate, I ate, and we took home. $8.99ish

Other options from the salad plate included Moroccan carrots, dill cucumber, Algerian eggplant (had a quick taste, liked it ok, but not enough to choose it as a huge side rather than something else).

Cute Husband got: chicken schwarma. He was kind of bummed, cuz he wanted chicken kebab. But they said it would take 15 mins to make, and we were quite hungry by then. He is not a huge schwarma fan, so wasn't as crazy about the meal as we were. But the nice counter staff (Turkish-Americans who also lived in Germany; hence the Euro-Turkish menu) said next time we can just call ahead and they'll put it on for him so it will be ready when we come. Great! He also got a small side of fries ($1.99) and we all munched on them. Very tasty too.

Other plusses: lots of seating! Not much of a line! (lots of people were in and out, but they were well-spaced) Tons of easy parking! And not very expensive for serious Middle Eastern quick-casual ($24 and change for lots of food for the three of us).

If no one gets sick, and I have my way, we'll be back again soon!

Fairouz (Sports Arena)

Delish dinner at Fairouz (the Palestinian - er make that "Greek/Middle Eastern" - place on Midway).

SB dressed up so he would look extra special. He knew George, the owner/host, would be happy to see him.

Some of SB's faves:
--lentil soup
--hummus and pita
--cooked carrots
--carrot halva dessert (with coconut and honey)
--sugar cookies

Cute Husband enjoyed:
--hummus and pita
--some kind of chicken :)
--spicy carrot salad

My faves of the night
--stewed green beans
--stewed zucchini
--lemony potatoes
--spicy chickpea salad
--hummus
--carrot halva
--rosewater pudding desserts

Wasn't as crazy last night about the okra, baba ghanoush, broccoli-quichey thing (unfamiliar name), lentil soup (ok, not super-delish).

Fairouz is wonderful because it's a fixed price ($13.95), you don't have to wait for your food to arrive, and they have a stamp card. So last night we got one free meal, and ate like princes for $20 for all 3 of us (with drinks). Yum!!

Quick takes: Bo's Seafood (Hillcrest) and Habibi's Mediterranean (Escondido)

Found myself in Hillcrest the other day at lunch. Bo's is in a strip mall with lots of parking. DELISH grilled fish tacos (some kind of tangy marinade and sauce). Not cheap, but reasonably quick and yummy. Would be toddler friendly.

Habibi's: OH BOY! Real Middle Eastern food in Escondido - real find. Not far from the Children's Museum at all. ST was overtired so it was a little stressful, but we had:

--amazing vegetarian lentil soup (had fresh ground spices: did I taste a hint of cardamon?)

--Greek salad: just eh, but ST loves feta

--hummus: super-yum, very thick and fresh. CH prefers thinner hummus but I thought it was very authentic and delightful.

--Felafel: I think I can safely call it the BEST I'VE HAD IN SD. Even better than Sultan Schwarma's. Very fresh, with delicious pickles.

--Chicken kebabs: CH thought they were good, though he wasn't as wild about the place as me. However, I tasted his rice pilaf. WOWZA! Yummy sliced almonds, raisins and vermicelli on top. Loved it!

I think they're Iraqi - they have kibbeh and bourekas and lots of other dishes whose names were unfamiliar to me on the menu.

Service not super-duper, but food was great and at a great price. Very toddler (and baby-) friendly.

Am so going back, if only I can find a time!

Restaurant round-up: Fairouz, Waters Cafe, Bencotto, Vela

Foodgirl has been busy and so I haven't blogged! So I don't get too far behind (and because of a special request from my fave Expectant Mama and her veg-loving hubby), here's the quick scoop on some recent visits.

Fairouz (Sports Arena): Fairouz really deserves its own entry since we absolutely love it. Middle Eastern buffet (says "Greek" on the outside but they're really Palestinian). Ridiculously good food (veg and non-veg), very healthy and reasonable ($12.95 for the buffet). Great atmosphere, charming and hospitable host, gorgeous art on the walls (doubles as a gallery); great music. We all like it. Some of the delicious things we get there (they rotate choices): lentil soup, chicken-lemon soup; stewed zucchini, stewed okra (trust me, sounds super-bland but somehow is ridiculously yummy); divine stewed eggplant when they have it; roasted potatoes; various chicken and beef things; tons of salads (humus, spicy carrots, minty macaroni salad); divine desserts (rosewater white pudding; carrot halva, etc.). There are probably 40 choices on the buffet between hot and cold and dessert so I'm leaving tons out. Boy loves the music, not to mention the humus, pita, lentil soup, veggies, and all of the wonderful desserts (esp. the carrot halva). We love this place even though it's a drive.

Waters (Solana Beach): Really Waters deserves about 10 entries, since I go there so often (I usually trust my readers to look up the restaurants but here's the URL so you have no excuse not to check it out! http://www.waterscatering.com/) . It is a gourmet paradise in Solana Beach, esp. if you're a working mom with veg and non-veg eaters at home. They have sandwiches (some of my faves are the eggplant and the portabella mushroom; ABW likes the roast beef especially), salads and wonderful desserts. But the exciting part are the ever-changing entrees, sides, etc in the case, all of which can be tasted and then purchased by the pound. I never leave Waters without buying a ton of stuff for us to enjoy for the next few days. The menu changes seasonally, so you never know what you'll find. Some things I enjoy there: soup (tomato, broccoli, cauliflower, roasted red pepper, gazpacho, etc. - almost anything, and it's usually flourless and vegetarian); macaroni and cheese; polenta; anything with quinoa; roasted vegetables (one of the few things they have all the time - I'm addicted to them); lasagna with the best sauce ever (ABW loves it too); wild salmon cakes; other interesting fish; grilled chicken dishes with all kinds of interesting sauces; etc etc. I'm only giving a little tiny sampling. Also love their zucchini bread, granola, mashed potatoes; sweet potato puree, and tons more. Without Waters, the transition to being homebound during Boy's first year would have been infinitely more challenging (and certainly less tasty). LOVE WATERS! (Plus they are super-friendly there).

Bencotto (Little Italy): Everyone treats this new "modern Italian" restaurant like the second coming; it's getting buzz everywhere. Was good - ABW loved it even more than me (he called it "Good", which is way better on his scale than Ok or Fine). We would definitely have gone back....but I got sick afterwards! It wasn't good enough for me to risk returning again. Had wine; eggplant parm app; delicious homemade pasta. Not sure what did it.

Vela (downtown in Hilton Bayfront): Let's just say I'll never go back. Food was good, but one of us got hurt - and they sicced security people on us and ruined our meal...We never made any comment about suing or anything but they went into horrible Liability Control mode and just ruined the rest of the meal. No apologies or even comping and then relentless calls and letters from their insurance people for the rest of the week until I asked ABW to get them to stop bothering us. The food was good but not good enough to ever have me set foot in that hotel again....

That's all for now...trying an old fave with a new chef tonight and will post on how it goes....Hoping for a much better experience than Bencotto or Vela! :)

Ali Baba's Cave (Sorrento Valley)

Ok, it's not worth a long drive - there's certainly better Middle Eastern food in the county (Sultan Shwarma, you have the tastiest, freshest, most authentic felafel in these parts!). But for a reasonably yummy lunch in which the toddler stays put long enough for mom and dad to eat....it works! Orientalist kitsch all over the walls, a fountain and caves all provided enough entertainment. The felafel sandwich was about a 6 out of 10, but yummy middle eastern pickles added a special something to it. The best feature was a very authentic middle eastern lentil soup (the place has a mixed persian and middle eastern menu - the soup was much more western levantine, earthy, thick, perfect for a rainy day). With views of the highway and the train tracks across the street, it's perfect for lunch with a toddler. (at night it is supposed to become non-kid-friendly, hookah bar atmosphere, but at lunch on the weekend we were the only customers, which was good for us).