Eating Omaha....El Basha

Sunday, a very nice physician I work with of Mediterranean decent, wanted to take me and my family to his favorite local eatery, El Basha.

We met around 4 p.m. on Sunday and all the kids made it there. Dr. Akkad ordered for us and basically brought more food to the table than anyone could possible eat. We feasted and took home the leftovers and had a great afternoon of conversation and laughter. The food came in waves and was delicious as always. The humus was smooth and fresh and Brenda and I could just make a meal of that alone. Baba Ganoush was smokey and so tasty with the pitas. We sampled almost every meat on the menu, the favorite being the lamb kabobs. They were out of Kibbi but most of us have had Kibbi before both raw and cooked. An order of Dolmas, stuffed grape leaves was ordered also. We passed all the dishes between usand it seemed everyone had a favorite morsel or two.

A bright yellow Basmati  rice accompanied each dish, fragrance heavily with cardamon and condiments were olive oil, Tahinni and Tzatziki. I usually make Tabbouleh this time of year for Lent but this was the Middle Eastern version heavy with parsley and mint and little wheat. Ours tend to be the opposite with a lot of wheat but this vegetable heavy version is more authentic, probably better for you and quite savory. Grilled chicken and Beef Schwarma rounded out the meal.  The end of the meal was punctuated with Baklava that was rolled and very understated and made with Pistachio rather than the Greek version with walnuts. Mint tea was drunk and conversation was rich and family style. Such a nice gentleman and a great guy to work with. Thanks doc!