Sarah’s Kabob Shop

Right by the Dmv on West Market, Sarah’s Kabob Shop is the latest ethnic restaurant to sit in this location, following Stix Kabobs and before that the dearly departed Peruvian Chicken (pollo a la brasa) place.

This place seems to be doing well business-wise, but we weren't blown away by the food.

I ordered the falafel plate and M got a gyro plate. The falafel was a little burnt and lacking in any discernible flavor. Closer to a hush puppy than falafel. The salad was served with something that tasted like ranch and I didn’t finish the hummus, which is a big deal for me.

The fries were pretty good and they make a big deal that they’re made in house. The gyro was standard and decent.

I’d put this place in the Pita Delite category. I’d have a hard time coming back with Nazareth Bakery right down the street…

Bangkok Cafe

This is a great little Thai restaurant off Holden across from the Japanese steakhouse.

The menu is pretty standard, but everything we’ve had is done really well.

Panang curry is M’s usual. The green curry is excellent as well.

Larb is a salad made of minced chicken, lime, chilis, fish sauce, cilantro and toasted ground rice. It’s a wild mix of flavors and a nice light change of pace from curries and noodles.

Neat story on the menu about how the owners wound up living in greensboro.

M says this is her favorite Thai place in greensboro. Give it a shot and let us know what you think or what your fav Thai place is in the comments.

Update: El Mercadito

Been a while since we posted last. I’ve had a few opportunities to eat at El Mercadito recently and I still feel they have the strongest taco game in town.

The last two or three times I’ve been there, the cashier has spoken great English. They also have an English section on the menu now.

Neat place with a meat counter and a bakery. Next time I might have to try the chicharron.

Give it a try. I recommend the lengua and chorizo.

Chef Samir Shaltout

Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue does it?

But hey, neither does baba ganouj and that doesn’t stop it from being delicious. Speaking of delicious baba ganouj, this place has it, among other nice mezze options.

Clockwise from top right, baba ganouj, hummus, moussaka and marinated eggplant. We also split an okra and beef tagine, which I thought was only ok. It tasted homemade, but more in a “I probably could have made this at home” way. The rice and salad were really good though and it was a ton of food.

The inside was surprisingly well decorated to be in a strip mall and the service was great.

While not the best middle eastern restaurant in Greensboro, Chef Samir Shaltout is definitely a good option in the ethnic food wasteland of Wendover.

Taste Jamaica

Edit: this place has closed

Jamaican food in Colfax, who knew? M and I stumbled upon this place while visiting the Piedmont Triad Farmer’s Market. The booth had a good bit of products available, including baked goods, Jamaican meat patties, drinks and more.

I got a beef and cheese patty for $3 and it was really tasty. It was nicely spicy with flavors of allspice and habanero peppers.

And as I promised the lady working there, here’s a link to their Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Taste-Jamaica/349566091793337

I <3 Pho Asian Cuisine

I ❤ Pho Asian Cuisine – 4715 High Point Rd

No matter where you come from, I think it's safe to say that nothing hits the spot on a cold rainy day like a big bowl of warm soup.

My first introduction to pho was in Springfield, VA outside of Washington DC. M was working in DC at the time, but I was still in school. I’d come up to visit her Thursday and stay through the weekend, and to pass the time on Friday I would go eat at different ethnic restaurants. Hey, we all have our things.

Pho is a broth based soup filled with rice noodles and your choice of meat, including some interesting choices like ‘tendon’. The first thing to come out when you order pho is a huge basket filled with fresh basil, cilantro, bean sprouts, lime and jalepeno slices. At this point you realize you probably made a good decision.

The soup that follows is a mix of familiar and new, with rice vermicelli noodles, meat (in this case brisket and flank), maybe a few onion slices and plenty of rich and heady broth. It’s like your mom bringing you a bowl of chicken noodle soup when you have a cold, if your mom was Vietnamese. Maybe she is, I don’t know!

At this point you can doctor your pho up however you choose with any of the above accouterments, as well as hoison sauce, sriracha, fish sauce and other options. I ❤ Pho also offers a variety of stirfried dishes and other entrees. M ordered the lemongrass chicken noodle bowl, which was killer as well.

If you’re looking for good Vietnamese in Greensboro, especially good pho, you’ve got to try I ❤ Pho.

Purple Yam

Edit: this place has closed.

He warned me.

“We’ve had a few Americans complain that the dish is a little…greasy.” How bad could it be? Pork, green onions, chiles, lemon and lime – sounds awesome right.

Well now I see why some consider it greasy as the dish is made of 100% pork fat. Served with rice, this was a bit rich for my blood (which likely now has a similar viscosity to the dish). The lemon juice and the generous, generous dose of sriracha didn’t even come close to cutting that.

M went with the Filipino breakfast – toasted garlic rice, a piece of fried plantain, chinese style sausage, and a microwaved egg.

Lumpia was the main reason we were here. Picture a Vietnamese fried spring roll, but with the filling of a Chinese dumpling and you’ve got lumpia. Hard to argue with.

And then there’s this.

Halo halo. If you’re wondering what in the blue blazes is all that stuff… well, we are too. Each bite M fed me driving home seemed to have something different in it, and I’d say I recognized maybe 50% of what was shoveled in my mouth, which included beans. Tasty in a very strange way, it was like the Vegas slot machine of deserts. I didn’t hit the jackpot all that often, but I felt an odd compulsion to pull the handle and ask for another bite…

Go check out Purple Yam and try a noodle dish and a halo halo. And if they warn you about anything, heed the advice…

Giacomo’s

Best kept secret in Greensboro, and I have no idea why it’s still a secret.

This is one of those places where M and I go in expecting to just get lunch and come out with $40 worth of other stuff. You’ve been warned. Giacomo’s has a counter where you can get sandwiches and deli stuff, and also a cold section where you can get quarts of housemade tomato sauce, fresh pasta, etc. They also have a meat counter with meatballs, italian sausage, veal cutlets, etc…

No doubt, the stars of the show are the sandwiches though. Let me tell you what you’re looking at in the above picture. On the right you’ve got some house cured prosciutto and other salami. In the middle is a nice slice of provolone. On the left is grilled and pickled eggplant. (This is the very best part of the sandwich. I went through 10-15 eggplants last summer easy trying to replicate this at home.) Some roasted red peppers on the bottom and you have yourself one heck of a sandwich.

If you haven’t been, GO RIGHT NOW!

Mosaic Festival – Food and Music

M and I had a chance to check out Mosaic this year and it was awesome.

With vendors representing Palestine, Bhutan, Burma, Vietnam, Korea, the Caribbean, Iraq, the Congo, and others I’m forgetting plus two food trucks, there was a lot of food to try!

Chiba Chiba Dumpling and Taco Corner dishing out the goods.

Killer dumplings and Hong Kong sausage from Chiba Chiba

Burmese Banana Cake

Kabobs, somosas, and Congo-style scotch eggs plus killer pili pili hot sauce

Hibiscus and Ginger drinks from the Caribbean – pro tip from the Jamaican friend we made, mix the two 50:50.

Hummus, falafel and some stuffed and fried dumpling from Iraq

Strange soda from Korea – awesome tagline!

Vendors

The crowd

All in all it was a lot of fun. Good music too, a Jewish bluegrass band, some singers from Nepal, and one heck of a Bollywood dancer doing his thing. Be sure you’re there next there!

Greensboro Curb Market

Farmer’s Markets can be unexpected venues for wonderful food. The Ferry Building in San Francisco and The North Market in Columbus, Ohio are two great examples. Greensboro is no different with its Curb Market, located on Yanceyville Street across from the old baseball stadium.

One of the things I love most about the Curb Market is the wide variety of different ethnic foods packed in such a small space. M and I are here every Saturday, wandering from booth to booth and assembling a breakfast as we go. Here’s some of our favorite vendors:

Nora Glanz Bakery

Maker of the wonderful empanadas posted above, Nora is from Argentina. The guava and feta empanadas and the quiches she sells are very good. If you’re going to eat them there, ask her to heat them for you.

Zaytoon

Zaytoon offers Palestinian and Mediterranean dips, breads and cookies. Their green fava bean dip is ridiculous. It’s lucky if it lasts a day at our house.

African Sister

She’s usually selling traditional West African dishes like greens with peanut butter and red beans and rice. She also sells some beignets that look great, but I’ve never tried them. The ginger tea is very sweet and very ginger-y. Great way to wake up your senses.

Laura’s Goodies

Laura’s goodies will make you wish you brought more cash. Both because it’s expensive and because it’s unbelievably good. The french macaroons are eyes-rolling-back-in-your-head yummy, especially the passionfruit-chocolate and lemon verbena-chocolate. Yes, you read that right.

Loaf Bakery

Loaf does traditional European breads and pastries. This is my favorite breakfast spot. The focaccia is delicious.

Calico Cheese

Calico started off as your average small scale cheese producer. Apparently back in the day a Hispanic guy was working for them and convinced them to do some traditional Hispanic cheeses. Fast forward to today and they sell cheese from here to the beach in all the small Hispanic markets. Their queso fresco is great crumbled over tacos and black beans, and while it might not be “ethnic,” I could eat an entire package of their jalepeno skillet cheese.

Get over there and support the local food scene!