Lowcarbezine!

Ethnic Restaurants 101 Continued: Middle Eastern

Okay, we've done Italian and Mexican; today we're going to look at one of my favorite kinds of food -- Middle Eastern! Here's our menu, from Byblos restaurant in Tempe, Arizona: http://www.amdest.com/az/tempe/br/dinner.html Call it up so you can go back and forth between this article and the menu, and we'll get going.

As always, remember: Ask questions! A well-informed waiter is your best ally; if you're not sure from reading the menu what goes into a particular dish, ask. And don't be afraid to request things the way you want them, within reason. Remember, you're paying them; any good restaurant should be happy to accommodate your dietary restrictions.

To the menu!

First the appetizers. Homos, sometimes spelled hummus, is out for Atkins types and other strict low carbers; it's made from chick peas (garbanzo beans) and is quite carby. However, it is a low impact carb, so if you're simply trying to stick to the lower glycemic index stuff, this may be for you. Moutabal (Babaghannouji) is made from eggplant, a very low carb vegetable, so the dip itself should be fine. If you can get them to serve it with celery sticks or the like, instead of pita bread, this could be a good choice.

Falafel is again made from chickpeas, and it's stuffed into a pita -- it's sort of the Middle East's vegetarian answer to the taco. Carby; pass it up. The vegetarian Dolmas are bound to have rice in the filling, so skip them, too.

Next we have Labneh -- a seasoned yogurt -- and Tzatziki, a wonderful sour cream-garlic-cucumber dip. Since the folks who wrote the GO-Diet turned up the fact that plain yogurt is much lower carb than we thought -- just 4 grams per cup -- I'd consider both of these good choices, except for the pita they're likely to be served with. Again, I'd ask for some vegetables for dipping, instead. (And for those of you just watching glycemic index, even white flour pita has a relatively low impact. I'd go easy, but a little shouldn't hurt. This does not apply to true low carbers, like Atkins dieters, however!! A low glycemic index carb is still a carb.)

After this comes Foul Moudamas, which says it's made from "lava beans."; I suspect this is a misprint, and they mean "fava beans,"; but either way, just about all legumes are high carb.

Byblos Marinated Chicken Wings is next in line, and I just love chicken wings! I'd ask what they're marinated with -- assuming it's not something sugary, these are among your best choices of appetizers.

Homos with Meat and & Pine (nuts) is out, because Homos is high carb. Kebbe has cracked wheat, so we'll pass that by as well. Next we have Arayess. Everything about this ground beef dish sounds fine except for the pita it's stuffed into. You could ask for it without the pita and eat it with a fork, or you could ask for some lettuce leaves to wrap it in instead.

Loubieh Bil Zeit is simply described as "A green bean delicacy, cooked vegetarian style."; Green beans are low carb, so this may be okay, but you'd want to inquire as to just exactly what cooking the beans vegetarian style entails.

I'm afraid the Spinach Pie is out, and too bad, too; this is one of the most popular Middle Eastern dishes. The lamb version of kibbe, like the beef version above, has cracked wheat, so we're not getting this either. But look what's next! Shrimp cocktail. This is another perfect low carb choice.

Finally we have pita cheese crisps -- do I have to tell you these are high carb?

Okay, moving along to the salads, one of our favorite sections of the menu! Tabboule is out, since the main ingredient is wheat. But look what comes next -- Fattouch, a salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, radishes, onions, and parsley, marred only by some toasted bits of pita, which surely we can have them leave off. This would be a fabulous salad for us -- and would also make a great base for a meat dish that would otherwise be served in a pita, or over rice. The Yogurt Cucumber Salad would be fine, too; unusual and cooling with an order of shish kabab. And of course Greek Salad is a low carb classic -- and again, a wonderful base for a meat dish that would otherwise go in a pita or on a bed of rice.

Coming up: Seafood! There are some great selections here, though of course you'll ask for an extra salad instead of the potato or rice pilaf. My only complaint is that these fish selections are not notably Middle Eastern -- if you're looking for true ethnic flavor, I'd move on. Filet of Fish Meuniere is a classic, and wonderfully low carb, but it's actually French in origin. The Grilled Fish Fillet might have a more Middle Eastern flavor, depending on what the "special seasonings"; are. The Shrimp Provencal-Scampi would be lovely, but again is not notably Middle Eastern, and I'm pretty sure that the lemon-pepper on the Grilled Jumbo Shrimp is not authentically Middle Eastern, either. Still, all of these fish and seafood dishes will be fine for the diet.

The Vegetarian dishes are up next, and for the most part they're not for us. The only possible exception is the Vegetarian Moussaka. Look at the description: "Eggplant layered with a mixture of vegetables topped with a creamy cheese sauce and served with rice pilaf."; The rice pilaf is out, of course, but how about the rest? Eggplant is very low carb; we don't know what other vegetables are involved. I'd ask what goes in the cheese sauce, too -- if it's flour or cornstarch thickened, I probably wouldn't order this, but if there's no flour, and the vegetables involved are low carb, this might be okay.

Our Side Orders are up next. We have no clue whether the soup of the day is okay or not; you'll simply have to ask the waiter what's in it. But Feta and Olives is a killer low carb side dish, unbelievably flavorful, and very filling. The baked potato is out, no surprise there. But the garlic dip may or may not be okay, depending on what else is in it. If it has a yogurt or sour cream base, it's fine. If it's made from something like pureed chick peas, it's not. Assuming the dip itself is low carb, you'd certainly want to ask for vegetables to dip in it, instead of pita.

On to the Dinner Entrees! Again, they're all served with soup or salad, with a choice of potato or rice pilaf, with "garnish' and fresh baked bread. We'll be passing up the bread, and asking for extra salad in place of the potato or rice. But what shall our protein dish be?

Shish-Kebab! Now we're talking! I'd have it made with lamb, myself, but no reason not to have beef if you prefer it. Chunks of meat, broiled with vegetables -- you can't get a better low carb meal! Except maybe the Shish-Taouk, the next item on the menu -- cubes of marinated chicken breast, skewered and grilled with red peppers. This menu is really looking up!

Broiled Chicken sounds mighty plain, but almost everywhere in the Middle East the simple art of broiling a chicken has been raised to perfection. This would be one of my favorite picks.

Next comes the Byblos Mixed Grill, and again we're talking low carb heaven! A lamb kabob, a chicken kabob, and a "keufta"; kabob (sometimes spelled "kofta"; kabob.) What's a Keufta Kabob? Look down one item, and you'll see that it's a kabob made from ground meat -- most likely lamb, but possibly beef, or a combination -- mixed with onions, parsley, and spices, then formed on a skewer and broiled (not boiled!) One each of these delights sounds mighty good. (I may have to get up from this computer and get a snack; this menu is making me hungry!)

After the Keufta Kabob comes a sandwich version, the Keufta Khachkach -- it's the same Kabob, stuffed in a pita with tomato sauce, pine nuts, and mushrooms. Everything but the pita sounds good here; maybe you could order the whole thing on a salad?

I'm guessing the vast majority of you know what a gyros is -- a sandwich made from lamb that's been ground, mixed with seasonings, formed into a big cylinder, and roasted on a special machine made for the purpose, then cut off in long slices and stuffed into a pita with traditional toppings. I'm here to tell you that all of the innards of a gyros sandwich taste fabulous on top of a Greek Salad; this is my most common choice at a Greek restaurant, and it would be a good choice here, too.

Finally we come to Lamb Chops. I adore lamb chops, and they are, of course, carb-free. The mint jelly is not, however, and strikes me as a rather British touch. Still, lamb chops are very nice with no mint jelly at all. Go for it.

How about the House Specialties? The French Pepper Steak may not be Middle Eastern, but it is low carb. So are the Filet Mignon and the Sirloin. If steak is your pleasure, you'll have fun at Byblos. Me, I once again would be looking for something a little more exotic -- like maybe the Shawarma Chicken, which sounds great, and low carb. I'd skip the Beef Stroganoff; it's likely to have flour in the sauce, but the Escalope Cordon Bleu sounds fine.

Which brings us to the sandwiches. We're not going to be eating that pita, unless, again, you're simply trying to eat lower glycemic index carbs. And all of the fillings of these sandwiches are available elsewhere on the menu with no bread. Let's just skip the sandwiches.

Desserts? Yeah, right. Unless it's a very special occasion, deserving of an Indulgence, I trust you'll simply ignore these. With all the great meats and salads on this menu, plus a side of feta and olives, I'm betting you can get satisfactorily full before the end of this meal!

As with other restaurants, you'll want to drink water, coffee, tea (hot or iced), diet soda, or, if you want a drink, a light beer or dry wine. Beware of the Turkish Coffee and Mid-Eastern Tea; both are likely to be full of sugar.

And that's our Middle Eastern meal! Once again, we've found piles of delicious ethnic food that won't leave us sorry the next morning. We'll look at another menu next issue!

Posted by HoldTheToast at August 13, 2003 05:06 PM