Yalla

Yalla, Inman Park (Krog Street Market)

HOLLA for YALLA! I’ve wanted to come here for a while but have been slightly intimidated with the line, however, on one Sunday night there was no line and thus a feast was ordered.

We had the Baba Ganoush, Layla’s Falafel on Pita, Todd’s Shawarma on Laffe, and Baklava. In case you were wondering there enough food for two very hungry people and then some! The baba ganoush was good but had I known it come on the Shawarma I probably would not have ordered it. The falafel pita was busting at the seams with hummus, homemade pickled cabbage, labne, bitter greens, fennel, and of course falafel fritters. If you’re not one to like getting overly messy while eating I would suggest the plate over the pita. The shawarma was the clear winner as it included everything you could possibly want: spit roasted chicken , hummus, baba ganoush, Israeli salad & pickles, fried eggplant, and tahini all in laffa which I have now decided I like better than pita.  It is super big (think west coast style burritos) so come hungry! There was a lot to pick & choose from and you can always create a bowl, plate, pita, laffa of your own so next time I’m feeling decisive I may go that route.

Two final notes about the meal; their homemade sodas are  killer and finishing the meal with the walnut baklava was the best decision I made all day.

Abigail Street

Abigail Street, Cincinnati (OTR)

This will be my last post for Cincinnati (at least for now) and while all restaurants have been beyond satisfying this dinner will resonate in my mind for a while. The menu won my friend Morgan and I over before we even got there but our waitress was also perfect because she could actually advise on the food & wine and not just give the standard party line: “the whole menu is great you won’t be disappointed”. That’s a huge pet peeve of mine.

We were first overwhelmed at the wine selection because not only did they have wine by the bottle but also on tap and while the wines on tap were enticing we decided on a bottle. Morgan and I shared all dishes and I’d say got a good array. First came the Butternut Squash Soup and Gnocchi. I am typically not a fan of butternut squash but this soup blew me away. It had strong flavors of curry and was anything but ordinary. The gnocchi were pan seared similar to pierogies and came with sautéed leeks and asparagus that only contributed to the whole dish. Next came the BeetsMoroccan Spiced Carrot Salad, and Grilled Hanger Steak.  I wouldn’t classify these plates as small but if you share you can get a few and be all the more satisfied. To finish up we got Baklava one walnut and one pistachio; the honey, nut, and filo dough combination is never a disappointment.

The plates all had focused flavors from the Mediterranean but included elements from northern Europe. Although that sounds like a challenging endeavor all were executed without a glitch.