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View Lebanese Kitchen's Menu
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Restaurant: Lebanese Kitchen
Where: 1384 Washington Blvd., Pasadena
Phone: (626) 296-9010
Reservations: Not necessary
Cocktails: No
Service: Tableside wait service
Atmosphere: Casual
Outdoor Dining: No
Credit Cards: MC, Visa, Amex, Discover, Debit
Cards with logo
Kid’s Menu: No
Senior Discount: No
Food to Go: Yes
Catering Menu: Yes
Price Range: $2.50 - $10.50 |
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Frog
Legs |
Hummus, Tabbouleh, Pita Bread |
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Beef,
chicken and lamb kebob |
Chicken Kebob |
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Combination Plate - Shish kebob, lule kebob and chicken kebob |
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A Look At San
Gabriel Valley Restaurants by SanGabrielValleyMenus.com
Lebanese Kitchen –
Hop on Over (read on, you’ll see why)
By Bill Coburn
As you walk into the
Lebanese Kitchen, a small unassuming restaurant, you’ll see photos of Lebanese
scenes, including aerial shots of 20th century Beirut, as well as natural
scenes. Since I last spotlighted Lebanese Kitchen in May of 2005, it’s
undergone a major face lift, and the interior is much nicer, with a pleasant,
warm paint job, new moldings, and the second room, which was mostly being used
for storage on our first visit has been completely re-done and is now used for
dining. On both visits, though, one of the first things I noticed was the
continuously uptempo middle eastern music that contributed greatly to the
atmosphere throughout our meal. The restaurant was opened 10 years ago by
Michael Labbad, but this family run restaurant is now overseen by his two
children, Tony and Violet.
Our meal began with
good-sized helpings of hummus and tabboulleh, as well as a basket full of fresh
pita bread. Hummus (ground garbanzo beans with tahini and Middle Eastern spices
and drizzled with olive oil) and Tabbouleh (finely chopped parsley, tomato,
onions, cracked wheat, spices, lemon juice and olive oil) are served with every
Dinner Entrée. I’m not usually a big fan of either, but I really enjoyed the
combination of both on the pita bread. Even went back for seconds, which is not
typical for me.
There are some
things on the menu that you don’t find at every restaurant. For instance, on
our first visit I started with the BBQ Quail. Grilled to perfection with
middle eastern spices, it was a great starter. This night, I joked with Keelan
about whether or not he wanted to start with the Frog Leg appetizer. For some
reason, he declined.
Katie ordered the
Combination Kebab plate. This plate includes a Shish kebab, a lule kebob and
chicken kebob, topped with raw onions and served with rice pilaf and broiled
tomato. I ordered a Shish and Chicken Kebab combo plate, also topped with raw
onions and served with rice pilaf and broiled tomato. I can’t tell you about
the tomato (I don’t eat them) but I can tell you about the rice pilaf, which was
light, fluffy and deliciously seasoned with sumak and cumin. The Shish kebab
consisted of truly tender chunks of beef, with a nice blend of Middle Eastern
spices. The Chicken Kebab was tender and juicy, also deliciously seasoned. The
Lule (Ground Beef) Kebab was excellent, as well, kind of reminded me of a
salisbury steak, only better. The lamb kebab was also tender and the portions
were good sized. All kebabs are marinated Middle Eastern style and cooked over
an open flame.
About half way
through my meal, Violet stopped by the table with a surprise for me. She had
decided that I should try the Frog Leg appetizer. Not something I would have
ordered in a million years, but I knew there was no way Katie or Keelan was
going to try it, so I couldn’t pass it off on them. So I sucked it up and gave
it a try. What a pleasant surprise! The old joke is that anything “exotic”
like that “tastes like chicken.” Well this didn’t taste like chicken, but the
texture and consistency of the meat was very similar to chicken, though
obviously in much smaller proportions. Think about it, when you’ve seen frogs,
how big are their legs, really? But the taste wasn’t chicken like, there was
definitely an aquatic taste to it. I guess I could say seafood taste, since
that is what it reminded me of, but frogs don’t come from the sea, right? But
the sauce that it came in, a vinegar/red pepper/we’re not going to tell you what
else is in it sauce gave it a very nice flavor, I suppose it probably prevented
the seafood taste from becoming unpleasantly overpowering. I wouldn’t hesitate
to eat them again, they were really quite good. And here’s a tip: don’t make a
fool of yourself like I did trying to be polite and using a fork and knife.
These little legs are more suited for picking up and sucking the meat off like a
buffalo wing, which Violet told me is the accepted way of chowing on these
things. I wish I’d asked before I got through the order. I didn’t notice the
other diners laughing at me, but I suppose they’d have been justified. In
hindsight, it seems pretty obvious.
Lebanese Kitchen has
lunch Kebab specials Monday thru Saturday from 11am to 3pm, ranging from $5.99
to $7.99. Sandwiches, served from 11am to 4pm daily except Sundays are served
on pita bread, and range in price from $3.50 - $4.50. Lunch salads range from
$6.99 to $7.99, with dinner salads at $9.00 and $10.00. There are also some
salads available for just $4.00.
Lebanese Kitchen can
also assist you with all your caterning needs, with several plate options
available. You can find the Lebanese Kitchen menu, including their catering
menu at
www.sangabrielvalleymenus.com/lebanesekitchen. While you’re there, you can
download a coupon good for a free flafel appetizer with purchase of any two
entrées. But please, these coupons are to introduce new customers to the
restaurant, not for daily repeated use.
Bill
Coburn is owner of SanGabrielValleyMenus.com, a restaurant website featuring
dozens of restaurants’ menus, as well as downloadable coupons. He has nearly
20 years experience in the restaurant business, and has been eating for much
longer than that. |
