The Red Fez

always looking for someplace less run-of-the-mill, it came to no surprise that i wanted to try out Red Fez, a south end establishment offering "Boston's finest authentic Middle Eastern cuisine". and so we departed on our merry way to the restaurant which was a wee bit off the beaten bath for a non-south end resident.

the restaurant itself is divided into two parts - the bar and dining room. the bar was filled with people at their tables enjoying their cocktails and delicious looking starters and entrees. apparently on friday and saturday nights there is live Turkish, Armenian, and Arabic music and the bar area turns into somewhat of a dance floor. we were there on a weeknight, so unfortunately cannot attest to this spectacle.

we were seated at our table for two in the main dining room, which almost had a red glow to it with the subdued lighting. once i had absorbed the atmosphere sufficiently i decided it was cocktail time, ordering a peach mojito concoction with Absolut peach and crushed mint leaves, among other things. it was very refreshing and just what i needed. christopher's margarita was standard, but very tasty.

we started out with the Muhamarra, a hummus-type dip made with roasted red peppers, very flavorful and light. in addition we were provided with oil sprinkled with herbs and lightly drizzled with a dark, tangy sauce of unknown origin. both were devoured within minutes.

for my entree i chose the Red Fez Lamb –lamb cooked in neapolitan sauce, wrapped in fried eggplant and served with light garlic yogurt. it was truly outstanding, and it was a shame i was unable to finish it because it was so delicious. i would have gladly smothered just about anything in the neopolitan/garlic yogurt combo.

christopher was somewhat underwhelmed with his entree, the lamb shish kebab, but only because he was expecting hunks of grilled meat as opposed to the balkan-style kebab meat that is first ground and somewhat on the greasy side. we both has the beirut couscous as our side, and christopher could not stop raving about how good it was, laden with vegetables and spices and oh so good. i definitely concurred.

the only negative part of the evening which wasn't really negative at all was the fact that christopher had to open our bottle of Argentine red for the waitress, for no matter how hard she tried, just couldn't open it. the manager walked by and saw the ordeal, so we were hoping something would be removed from our bill, but alas, it wasn't. we could hardly finish the bottle we were so full.

all in all it was a wonderful meal, and i look forward to my next opportunity there.

Read about a subsequent visit: Red Fez - Redux

*photo is courtesy of the Red Fez website, as I forgot to bring my camera