My household and I received an genuine style of the Center East on a latest Sunday evening at Mid-East Cafe and Restaurant on the Zip Strip close to the College of Akron.
The eatery on the former Thursday’s Lounge, the school bar that was a well-liked dance spot for many years, provided us the chance to attempt every thing from Turkish espresso to the restaurant’s signature halal hen with rice.
I might been curious in regards to the place after testing their web site, so I lassoed my husband, Steve, together with my daughter and niece into going with me on a culinary journey. It was particularly enjoyable to go along with my Lebanese-American niece, Emma, who had simply come house that week from educating English in Beirut.
Three of us began with Turkish espresso ($4), a thick, robust espresso made with fantastic grounds, like a powder. The espresso, which is supposed to be drunk slowly, was served in fairly demitasse cups about half the dimensions of a full espresso cup.
Emma identified that with Turkish espresso, which is unfiltered, the fantastic grounds sink to the underside of the cup. I added two packets of sweetener, however the robust espresso was nonetheless an excessive amount of for me contemplating I am not an everyday espresso drinker.
Neither Steve — who’s a espresso drinker — nor I had drunk Turkish espresso earlier than. We agreed that it was too thick for our style, however we had been glad to have had the cultural expertise.
Subsequent, I loved sampling the scrumptious, sizzling and soothing Saudi mint tea ($3), which wanted no sweetening. And all of us had been gaga over my daughter Elise’s iced tea, made in home with inexperienced tea and a really tasty mixture of sugar, vanilla syrup and coconut.
Linger over appetizers, entrees at Mid-East Cafe
It was good to really feel unhurried as we spent two hours eating at Mid-East Cafe and Restaurant. The enterprise does numerous takeout, however we determined to dine in, sitting at a desk with a black and white-checked vinyl tablecloth.
The decor at this eatery is nothing to jot down house about, with the darkish, drab look of the previous Thursday’s. Proprietor Mohamed Ismail, who opened the restaurant in 2021, mentioned loads of hungry school college students come now for late-night meals. He is planning on fixing up the place quickly along with his brother, which is able to embody a furnishings replace.
Mid-East Cafe and Restaurant doesn’t serve alcohol, however diners must be conscious that it does have a hookah lounge with couches within the again part of the restaurant, which we couldn’t odor from our entrance desk.
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For dinner, we had been completely satisfied to attempt quite a lot of Center Japanese and Mediterranean meals from the restaurant’s giant menu. Ismail, a local of Egypt, works with head prepare dinner Hashmat Saad, additionally from Egypt.
We acquired attentive, fast service from our waiter, Mohanad, who was from Saudi Arabia. First, we ordered Egyptian fava beans (ful mudammas) and baba ghannouj/ghannoush with an abundance of pita bread for dipping. We additionally added vegetarian stuffed grape leaves.
The 5 grape leaves (additionally referred to as dolmas or mahshy warquenab) had been small and served with a lemon wedge. The baba ghannouj — made with roasted eggplant, lemon, garlic, tahini sesame paste and olive oil — had a stunning smoky taste that we weren’t anticipating.
The star appetizer was the fava beans ($6), mashed and combined with garlic, cumin and lemon juice and drizzled with olive oil. The comforting mashed beans had the consistency of chickpea hummus however had been a barely darker colour and served heat.
Emma ordered the halal hen dinner with rice ($12), which turned out to be the preferred factor on Mid-East Cafe’s menu. In reality, Ismail mentioned the dish accounts for 67% of his gross sales.
The marinated grilled hen on this halal dish was extraordinarily tender, drizzled with scrumptious white yogurt sauce and completely accompanied by aromatic rice seasoned with cumin. It is impressed by the halal carts which are a well-liked road meals in New York, the place Ismail used to reside.
I requested Ismail later how his restaurant makes the hen so tender, and his response was, “That is my secret.”
All of us loved our entrees. I received a beef shawarma wrap ($10), that includes pita bread crammed with beef, lettuce, tomatoes, onions pickles and garlic sauce, which was filling sufficient that I introduced half house. Elise loved a generously sized plate of hen shawarma ($12) with rice, which got here with a aspect of the fantastic yogurt sauce and featured spicier hen than the halal hen.
Steve went for shrimp over rice ($13), with the shrimp flippantly battered and fried and served with the identical wonderful rice and yogurt sauce in addition to a sizzling and spicy chili sauce.
Order sandwiches from Greek to American
At this restaurant, of us may also get every thing from a gyro to a Philly cheesesteak or a burger with fries. The big menu contains vegetarian choices in addition to whiting or tilapia fish, a shrimp basket, hen wings and salads, together with a Greek salad, fattoush, tabouli and couscous.
We plan to return for carryout as a result of I wish to expertise the total halal hen entree. All of us would suggest Mid-East Cafe and Restaurant as carryout to our family and friends.
I am additionally trying ahead to making an attempt some extra exotic-sounding drinks, together with a date seed shake, Palestinian Limonana (lemon/mint shake), and a laban zabadi yogurt and honey shake, all of which value $5.
To finish our enjoyable and informative Center Japanese meals, Emma and I attempted the shole zard ($5), which is a Persian saffron rice pudding. The chilled dessert, made with rosewater and topped with golden raisins, was too candy for Emma’s liking. Nevertheless it was completely the proper dessert for me.
Arts and restaurant author Kerry Clawson could also be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.
Particulars
Restaurant: Mid-East Cafe and Restaurant
Deal with: 306 E. Trade St., Akron
Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday
Telephone: 330-400-4104
Info: Mid-East Cafe & Restaurant on Fb, mideastcafeandrestaurantllc.dine.on-line for carryout
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