Baba Ghanouj

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

The restaurant Baba Ghanouj was recommended by CJ as to a destination for one of Margie's wine activities. www.babaghahoujrestaurant.com,  so tonight we are doing a recon to check out the menu. Located in Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach. Parking is not the best but we all found spaces close by. Terry decided to brave it and drove himself, first time since his surgery. It will be nice to have him back into the mix of things.

Interesting little place with a definite middle eastern decor and music.. And best of all no corkage. They even have a sign outside that advertises no corkage. Small inexpensive wine list.

We started out with a few appetizers, which I can make a meal out of. Naturally you have to order the Hummus and Pita Bread. Good but not great. I have had better and have had a lot worse. Then an order of Baba Ghanouj, minced eggplant. Taste was good, not my favorite dish to order but others liked it really well. Tabouli was added to the mix. Another dish I am not over whelmed by but I was not the only one eating. Best appy was the Warak Siam, vegetable stuffed grape leaves with a yogurt sauce. Very good. And lastly an order of Sauteed Potatoes with garlic, lemon, chili, cilantro and Tahini. These spuds were good. Cj was glad we had ordered them because not being a potato person he has always passed them up when dining here. Said he would never have tried them himself.

Then on to the main dishes. we tried the Beef Skish Kabab, Shisk Taouk (chicken) and the Shrimp on a Skewer. All good. Like the shrimp best then the chicken,. Beef had good flavor was way overdone for my taste. CJ said it was ordered medium but the outside and inside were the same color.
Sides of rice with vegetables and pomegranate seeds, baked tomatoes, peppers, raw tomatoes, onions were on the table. The rice was ok but a tad dry.

A couple of desserts were ordered. The Karafe with Kashta, a shredded phyllo dough drizzled with a sweet syrup and topped with Kastha Cream. I did not taste but others said it was very good. I ordered the Ice Cream with Pistachios, Rose Water and Rose Jam. It hit the spot. Not heavy and not overly sweet.

All in all good dinner. but I would have liked to try a few of their unusual dishes. Not just kababs.

We had a mixed bag of wines. I brought a 2007 Loring, Rancho LaVina, Sta Rita Hills,  Pinot Noir which was drinking really well.

 The 2009 Copain, Kiser "En Bas", Anderson Valley,  Pinot Noir turned out to be really good. Opened up after awhile. CJ had decanted it.

 2011 Michel Torino Estate, Don David,  Capayate Valley, Argentina, Malbec. This was a bigger wine and need beef with it or lamb. It was good also.

Paul and  Margie brought a 2012 Palmina Malvasia Bianca, Santa Barbara County. This wine needed spicier food. They also had a 2004 Bernard Bremont-Millesime, Ambonnay Brut, Grand Cru, France and a 2007 Dusky Goose, Rambouillet Vineyard, Orgeon, Pinot Noir. Both these wines were excellent and went well with the Lebanese food.

A good recon and now Margie has the job of deciding what will be on the menu in a few months when we come back for a full wine dinner.