ZAKI KABOB HOUSE

Ok, as stated in my previous post, I have a bit of a backlog of restaurants to work through, so the Ecuador posts will have to wait a bit. I've learned that some of the best restaurant recommendations come from friends, and this has certainly been true of our friends Paul and Armando. They've lived in the East Bay for quite sometime, and have been very helpful in introducing us to some of our favorite restaurants like Sabuy Sabuy and Vanessa's. This was also true of Zaki Kabob House, a restaurant located just 3 blocks from their home, and one that I had never even noticed.

The first time we went to Zaki, we had tried to go on a Monday, but the restaurant ended up being closed. So we went back a different night. Our friends had given us some suggested dishes to order. First I started off with an order of the hummus.I gotta say, their hummus is pretty damn awesome. It's really smooth and I think they put a ton of tahini in it, but it's also really tasty.

I ended up getting the half chicken for dinner.And it was delicious. It's covered in spices and roasted until it falls off the bone. The rice it comes with is also very tasty. It's obviously a large portion, and I didn't end up finishing the whole thing. Best of all, it's a great deal - I think it's around $8.

Meanwhile, Tom ordered a lamb burger, which our friends had also suggested. It was contained lots of different herbs, and I think he liked it quite a bit. The only problem was that it was so juicy, it kinda fell apart, and was impossible to set down.One of the best things that Tom discovered was this mint lemonade. It's like a whole lemon pureed with a ton of mint and ice and it's soooooo tasty. We totally loved it.

Since this post is a bit delayed, I've actually been to Zaki quite a few times. Like 5 times in a span of 3 weeks - which is when I stoppped going, I kinda OD-ed on it. I've learned that the rotisserie chicken is much better when you have it there. By the time you get it home, it's less juicy (though still yummy). Also, I've learned that you should order the chicken kabobs - I found them quite dry the time I ordered them. As for the service, it's super friendly since it's run by a family, but it can also be kinda slow and sometimes spotty. They make up for it with the super friendliness, though. Also, though the offer a few vegan and veggie options, I think the meat dishes tend to be the more outstanding items on the menu. I took my vegetarian cousin, and she liked it a lot, but I'm not sure my other vegetarian friends liked it as much.

At any rate, I think it's a great place, and it's definitely become one of our regular eat out spots. I hope the restaurant does well. I always like to see small family owned business succeed - especially when they're serving great food.