Here are my views on “Mediterranean” food. Prepare to be astounded.
I enjoy Mediterranean food immensely. I just don’t see how one place is any different than the other.
The Kabob Express is just like the Falafel Emporium which is just like the House of Hummus.
Rarely do I see a fluctuation in a menu. Perhaps the shwarma at one place is a bit juicier, or the falafel might be a bit drier but they all seem to have the same recipes and the same dishes. They are all quite uniform and there doesn’t seem to be such a thing as Mediterranean Fusion.
Which I’m totally fine with. I love all that stuff, and when I crave it, I don’t want to wonder what I’m getting.
Which brings me to Gaby’s, located on a nondescript section of Venice blvd…actually .isn’t all of Venice blvd nondescript??
I just deleted a whole paragraph of boring description of the place. Who cares? The food is good, you’re not coming here for the ambience.
I ordered the Vegetarian special, I got a little hummus, baba ghanoush, tabouli, dolmas, falafel, garlic sauce and pita. What, what? Yum, yum.
I’m amused that these places exotically call themselves “Mediterranean” to steer the customers against what they really are: Middle Eastern joints.
You walk in and you aren’t quite sure where you’re supposed to be. Are those faded photos in bad frames of Greece? Is the olive skinned waitress from Spain? Those are places in the Mediterranean.
No. You are most likely in a Lebanese restaurant that thinks you will not come to a Middle Eastern food establishment. And sadly, in the case of some folks, they’re probably right.
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