Yum Yum(‘s, Fort Collins, CO)

Posted on May 19, 2018 by melsmosaic

I love Mediterranean food and since moving to Fort Collins I’ve had a hard time finding it. Recently, however, I was introduced to a great place that I never would have stumbled across on my own — Yum Yum’s. It’s family owned and operated, multiple award winning Mediterranean restaurant established in 1991.

It’s so easy going and laid back in there. Casual atmosphere, also do carry-out and you truly know it’s family owned when they deliver your food to your table.

The menu is a very traditional Lebanese/Mediterranean one, which can be tough at some times because it’s hard to decide what to get. Usually when I go to these types of places I could eat just apps and salads.

I was sold right away when I found out their Baba Ghanouj had no yogurt in it — Roasted eggplant, sesame tahini, fresh garlic, lemon juice and special spices. Served with pita bread. Some places add yogurt, some don’t. Love it when it’s the latter.

I decided to go with that and some Fatouch Salad — Cucumber, parsley, green pepper, tomato and lemon juice.

Both were absolutely perfect, and big serving sizes.

Others at the table went with Gyros and Shawarma plates. They have several beers on tap here, as well. We were talking with the owner while eating and the story is so true to a family restaurant about how it’s been taken over from a couple generations and they aim to keep in that form. The service was amazing, the food was delicious and the prices were very reasonable (especially considering the large serving sizes). If you like this type of food, give it a try!

Ayse Meze Lounge

Posted on November 18, 2016 by melsmosaic

Visited a nice restaurant in Frederick, MD that provides ‘the best of Greek, Turkish and Lebanese Cuisine in small dishes.’ This was Ayse Meze Lounge.

Went for lunch, and while they have a lunch menu, was easier to look over the dinner menu with all the small plates. They say to get about 3 per person. There were so many choices that it was hard to pick! While milling things over we of course started with some babaghanoush. I was thrilled with this because it is very hard to find it without dairy. Bring it on! So smooth!

Then we opted for the Mantar – mushrooms, almonds, dates, oregano, brandy. Such and amazing taste. Could have eaten pounds of this stuff.

Next was Pancar – roasted beets, arugula, manouri, walnuts, sherry dressing. The cheese on top is goat cheese so loved that I was able to eat it!

Then Enginar – baby artichokes, roasted peppers, grilled onions.

We also had some dolmas, but I didn’t get a picture of those. The lunch was very nice and very filling! Five plates/meze between two of us was more more more than enough!! They have an outdoor seating area that is quite nice and evening entertainment. Will definitely check this place out again.

Beirut, Auckland, NZ

Posted on May 12, 2016 by melsmosaic

Another night, another restaurant. Asked for another suggestion from the concierge and this time because of what we were looking for, the restaurant suggestion was Beirut, which is contemporary middle-eastern food.

After pouring over the menu, we opted to split several small dishes and opted for:

Za’attar: kale, thyme, coriander, sumac, goat’s cheese

Fattoush: watermelon, beetroot, cucumber, orange blossom, parsley

Bubba: burnt eggplant, black sujuk, toasted sesame, black cabbage

Skate: fermented apple water, bees wax, pine oil, onion ash, batarekh, white radish

All were amazing. The bubba just melted in your mouth. The radish wasn’t my favorite in the fish dish (skate) but the rest of it was great. Love this kind of food!

Za’atar

Posted on June 20, 2015 by melsmosaic

Have you ever gone to a Lebanese restaurant for dinner and they bring you the great pita bread and olive oil to munch on? But that olive oil also has something extra in it? When at Lebanese Taverna a couple weeks ago I finally asked what that stuff is. That magical ingredient is Za’atar. The waiter told me it’s easy to find at specialty grocery stores. So I stopped by Rodman’s in DC and found a huge (of course) bag of it. I am in heaven. I have put it in olive oil like in restaurants, sprinkled it in and on top of hummus and also used it as ‘just’ a spice on meats and salads. Can we say addiction?

You say dolmades, I say dolmas

Posted on October 29, 2013 by melsmosaic

In the end, they’re all the same. I was making dolmas the other night for a supper club, for the 2nd time in about 8 years because they are a food that I do not enjoy preparing but thought I’d give them another try. I have wondered about the difference in the two names so did a bit of research. And, it’s not rocket science. Based on various sources, dolmas OR dolmades is just the plural form of dolma. So on we go.

I checked out several recipes and after weighing my options I went for Tyler Florence’s.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/dolmades-stuffed-grape-leaves-recipe/index.html

I made a couple substitutions because I had them on hand and they wouldn’t alter the taste too much:

-almonds vs. pine nuts

-veggie vs. chicken stock

-dry vs. fresh dill

So to begin, prep the onion, fennel, lemon zest.

Saute the onion, fennel, nuts, zest and rice…ahh, smells good. Then add some stock and when done stir in dill, parsley, S&P.

Then you blanch the grape leaves. I think this is what the recipe I used years ago didn’t have me do so that caused tearing (both ripping and water coming out of my eyes from frustration) issues. You do that for 5 minutes.

Then the true work begins. Get those leaves separated. Have one ready, put about 2 tablespoons of mixture in the center, be strategic in rolling (all in the recipe), then place in a dutch oven. You roll and roll, then roll some more. Eventually you run out of filling.

You put the pot on the stove, put some stock to cover the dolmas half way, some olive oil and lemon juice.

They cook for about 30-40 minutes and voila! I was a bit disappointed in mine. The rice wasn’t quite done, but I didn’t determine this until too late. I made, I ate, I will next time and thereafter forever enjoy them from elsewhere (aka restaurant or storebought).

Travel = Great Food!

Posted on October 23, 2013 by melsmosaic

When I was in Oregon it meant I had to eat out. Darn! My friends and I explored several places, I only remembered to get pictures at a few.

Day 1: Dinner at McMenamins – Zeus Cafe. Quite the variety. One person has chickpea fries, one went with mussels for appetizers. For dinner, I had a great thin crust pizza with grilled chicken, arugula, tomatoes and something else…I can’t remember what because it was so good!

Day 2: Lunch at Yara Lebanese Cuisine. Any place that makes Baba Ghanouj without dairy to put a ‘lactard’ on cloud nine is unreal (at least in my book). So, we had a mixed plate/yara platter appetizer then I had a house salad, and friends had kababs.

Dinner at Pok Pok. Yes, I had to use the bathroom and what did I find when I was in there? Oh, that they were elected for The James Beard Foundation Awards. This has happened for many, many years.

Anyway, other cool stuff on this place. You go put you name in line/on the list. They give you your buzzer and mention there is a bar across the street where you can wait. They are connected to these guys so you can tell the other bar what your buzzer number is and they’ll take care of it. They let you know when your table is ready. Nicely connected!

When we got our table, jumping ahead a bit, great food! I tried the Yam Tuna — thai style tuna salad with ginger, garlic, thai chilies, green onions, lemongrass, tomatoes and Oregon (oh, yes, local!) Albacore in spicy lime and fish sauce dressing. Some of it had some kick! I can see why this place is well known and recognized.

Day 3: Lunch in wine country!!!!!!!!!! Received several recommendations to try Red Hills Market. People told me it was sort of like a Dean & Deluca on a nice local level. You walk up to the counter, order and then they bring it to your table. I enjoyed a nice salami and arugula sandwich and a delicious bean soup. It was a sort of cloudy day so fit the weather perfectly.

Dinner was based on a recommendation from one of the wineries. You can never go wrong with Mexican! So, my friend and I checked out Verde Cocina. Fresh, delicious, perfect!

For me, the three staples at a mexican restaurant are a margarita, salsa and guacamole. Check!

Here, they serve you nice warm corn tortillas instead of chips with your goods. Deadly…

For dinner, they had ceviche…SOLD! I love the stuff.

Day 4: Dinner at Petisco. Little, local restaurant in the neighborhood where I was staying. I was so thrilled because I was able to have French Onion soup for the first time in ages because they use olive oil (vs butter) in the base and the cheese on top…manchego. What more could one ask? Great way to end my trip in Oregon!