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| - As a specialty market, this really is as good as it gets, especially in da burgh. I had been to Salem's in Oakland once seeking a specific item, and the staff there was incredibly helpful, and when they didn't have what I was looking for, they made a few good suggestions on where to find it. The check out guy was not only warm and friendly, but rather dreamy to look at as well.
And then WAY back when they first opened, I went to the Strip version long before they opened the market side, and was not only drooling over the impressive line up of home made goods in the cafe line, but was also very impressed with the genuine friendliness of the staff - this was true friendly, not 'hi, welcome to Starbucks, here's your coffee, buh bye' friendly. I ordered a few things for a quick lunch, and it was all incredibly fresh and flavorful, and the big burly guy with the shaved head and the sweet brown eyes talked to us like we were his new best friends.
I'd not been there since the market side opened, and finally made it there today, and was truly even more impressive than I'd imagined.
The cafeteria section grew, and it a true buffet of GOOD Middle-Eastern delights, both hot and cold, vegetarian and meat, meat, meat. I picked up one of their rotisserie chickens, a container of hummous (some pita bread was free to go with it), and I was considering trying one of their own marinated and grilled steaks. I really just wanted to take a couple of raw steaks home to have on hand, but the butcher counter line was pretty long. So I started to order just a couple of the steaks raw, and they asked if I just wanted steaks from the meat counter in the market, and I said that I just didn't want to wait in line. So the cafeteria guy told me he'd get me a couple of steaks from the market counter, and he did. No huff, no attitude...true helpfulness. My friend ordered a chicken dish with a rice dish 'side', and a hummous, and the chicken and rice dish was enormous.
Now, if I'd had time and energy to wait in the line for meat, I would have spent a small fortune. It's all Hallal meat, so it is slightly more expensive, but the quality can't be beat, and the variety is pretty amazing. Lamb, chicken, goat, beef, pork...and nearly every cut imaginable, including stomach and intestines, and fresh ripe red. I WILL be back to buy meat.
The market itself has it ALL to make a perfect Middle-Eastern meal, from rices and cous cous, sauces, tahini, rose water, spices and seasonings, and in a greater variety and price range than other markets like Labad's in the Strip (which turned me off after a rant by the owner about gay people - 'I'll take their money, but I don't want to be their friend' - well, they get none of my money).
Once home, I yanked off a chicken leg and thigh from the rotisserie chicken, and started dipping into the hummous. The chicken was perfect - juicy and beautifully seasoned in their own marinade - true yum. The hummous was excellent for a basic hummous. I like mine a bit more on the garlic/lemon/olive oil side, but it certainly was not bland and boring, and the 'free' pita was perfect with it.
My friend messaged me that what she had gotten was just as yummy, and she had enough to last several days. I will definitely be trying her chicken dish out one of these days. And when I'm not watching carbs, that dessert counter will be raided.
The crowd was quite international, a breath of fresh air in da burgh, and I have to say, the Middle-Eastern eye candy - damned near as good as the food. But then, I've always been a sucker for a short, dark complected guy with jet black hair and a prominent nose.
And I can't express enough - friendly staff. Helpful staff.
Clean atmosphere, stocked shelves, and even a sign that says 'Don't talk to the butcher when he's at the sawing table' - which means - fresh. It's being cut right then and there.
And even better and more amazing in the Strip - they have their own parking lot. I look forward to exploring more, and doing some serious cooking in the near future!
Now to just connect with that new habibi....
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