Pita in the South End

I just came across a (new?) restaurant as I was taking a walk in a part of the South End I rarely go to--until now.

I was headed to Zapatos on Albany street (an awesome shop for amazing deals on shoes and various articles of clothing), when I passed this place called simply "Pita." Well, I was both intrigued and excited since I love Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food. So, I walked in and got a menu.

It was, unfortunately completely void of customers at 10:00-ish when I walked in, but the restaurant was nice and clean and seemed fairly new or newly remodeled.

The menu looked great, and the prices were very reasonable. They serve typical breakfast fare from 6am on weekdays, and the lunch and dinner offerings made my mouth water: salads, shawarma, falafel, stuffed grape leaves, baklava, etc.

I can't wait to try them out. (I didn't yesterday since I already had lunch plans.) I'm so glad to have found it, and I plan to become a regular (assuming it's good!).

Does anyone know anything about this restaurant? Know how long has it been there?

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Les Gourmands finally made it there. Here's what we thought. 

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473 Albany St at Union Park St.

Red Fez Redux

Last night, for Tim's birthday, a gaggle of us went to Red Fez. Based on Jeff's posting from last month, I had to try the Muhammara as an appetizer. Rachel Ray would say "Yumm-o!;" but, I think that's annoying, so suffice it to say that it's delicious! Peter liked it too as did the others sitting close-by. I don't know why I've never heard of muhammara before, but I'm sure glad I have now. Thanks, Jeff!

For dinner, I had the Red Fez Lamb. Yes, I know that's what Jeff had too, but I couldn't resist. It looked too enticing on the menu, and given his excitement about it in the aforementioned posting, I ordered it. Boy, am I glad I did. It was fantastic! (Since beginning this blog, I don't seem to have many negative things to say about the food I've had--not that I'm complaining about that--but I just want you readers to be aware that I'm aware of that so you won't just think I say everything is delicious! Anyway...) The lamb was cooked as I ordered it: medium-rare, and it was very tender. It was wrapped in fried (but not breaded) eggplant and served with two sauces: one a tomato-based "Neapolitan", the other a yoghurt-based garlic sauce. The accompanying couscous with spices, onions, and peppers was good enough to have by itself. Yumm-o!!  Ahem...I mean, it was perfect.

While I enjoyed my meal very much, the people who got kebab didn't seem as enthusiastic as I was about my meal. They liked it fine, but for the price tag, I'd expect a little more excitement from them. The portions are definitely big, but let's just say that if you are at the Red Fez, save your craving for kebab for your next visit to Shawarma King, etc., and try something else.

Our server was very nice, and she (and the young gentleman that helped her) handled a large group very well. They were very accommodating, and when--upon entering the room with the birthday cake (candle lit and all)--they realized that the birthday boy had excused himself momentarily, they furtively rushed back to the kitchen only to return later just like nothing had happened. It was very cute. (And where did that celebratory bottle of champagne come from?!)

The décor is fun. I don't feel like I'm in Morocco or anything, but I get it.

To reiterate what Jeff said, they have live music on Friday and Saturday nights, and I would like to experience that...

Oh! I almost forgot to mention my beer. I'd never had Almaza before until last night. I really enjoyed it. It was a nice, refreshing pilsner-style beer from Lebanon. (I might have had 2!) I wonder if they sell Almaza at my local emporium.

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