Monday, April 24, 2006

Put Some Shish in Your Kebab!

Ahh, another sunny day. It's getting closer to days of firing up a grill, experimenting how many different food you can put on the grill and try to eat it, and enjoy friendly neighbor and friends chatting away the afternoon. But since it still feels a little cool for me, and I have no outdoor grill, I've decided to get the next best thing - go to Cafe Shish Kebab to enjoy some great grilled food!

Cafe Shish Kebab is located in the Bethel Center. The decor inside is warm and homey, and the chef, hostess, and waiters are all very friendly. This time we decided to try some of their calamari for appetizer. I've also ordered grilled shrimp as entree and my boyfriend a lamb chop and donor kebab for entree.

The calamari was seasoned lightly and breaded and fried. the texture of the calamari was so light and tender, it was one of the best cooked calamari I've tried! The house yogurt sauce that came with as the dipping sauce had slight garlic aroma and different kinds of herbs. When dipped into the yogurt sauce, it gave a little tang to the calamari and brought another layer of flavor to the otherwise simple dish.

When the grill shrimp arrived, the spices used there was so fragrant that I could smell it when it was still on the delivery route. The shrimp was grilled perfectly and taste very sweet and succulent. And the char grilled flavor was fused into the skin of the shrimp, which accentuate the sweetness. The rice pilaf was done very simple, but very perfect. The side salad had an interesting vinaigrette. I think the aroma was coming from the oil in the vinaigrette, which was infused with herbs and spices. However, I think they were a little too oil-happy and the vinaigrette was a little on the oily side. Overall the dish was very good.

The lamb chop was very tender, juicy, and grilled to perfect medium. The donor kebab is grilled with their own blend of spices and shaved off from a large piece of lamb, which gives a nice contrast in terms of flavor and texture to the tender lamb chop. The mixed veggies were sauteed with a little onion and garlic. Along with grilled bell pepper and tomato and the rice pilaf, the entire dish taste lambilicious!

I would rate Cafe Shish Kebab a 4 out of 5 on my yummy scale. And it is actually the best Turkish food I've tasted so far in Columbus. It is definitely worth a visit!

If you like the flavor of the grill in your mouth but not in your shirt, please go to Cafe Shish Kebab at 1450 Bethel Rd. Columbus, OH 43220. http://www.cafeshishkebab.com/

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Better than Cafe Istanbul and Turkish Cuisine? I'm skeptical; those are two of my very favorite restaurants in town. Anatolia Cafe's pretty good, too.

Anonymous said...

Well, Turkish Cuisine was closed when Cafe Istanbul absorbed the chef from there and weakened its own competition...and Cafe Istanbul has seemed to have gone downhill since in opened?

Anonymous said...

where is Anatolia Cafe??

Angry Asian Food Critic said...

Try Cafe Shish Kebab, you will change your mind. Because I did.

Anonymous said...

Anatolia Cafe is at 1097 Worthington Woods Blvd., kind of in the back streets not too far from Crosswoods.

I believe it's the location where Cafe Istanbul first opened, and Anatolia moved in when Istanbul went to Easton. Then I thought one of the chefs from Istanbul opened Turkish Cuisine on High St. but I think he also had a patisserie farther north on High that he closed to open Cuisine.

Last I checked, Cafe Istanbul was still delicious (though sadly they no longer offer tarama) and Turkish Cuisine still open, but I haven't been to either in a couple of months.

I guess I'll have to try Cafe Shish Kebab sometime.

Anonymous said...

The Turkish Cuisine closure is pretty recent, as in the last month or two...sadly...

Anonymous said...

Well, scheisse.

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