Mediterranean Grill

Sometimes, especially in the summer, I get an overwhelming craving for Hummus and/or Falafels. These gastronomical delights fuel my fantasies of desert adventures, a la T.E. Lawrence, as well as just being great summer food. Unfortunately, the relative low cost and mistaken ease of making both items has led more than a few restaurants to add them to their menu; the result being a general lowering of our expectations of these simple delights. Good hummus should be creamy but firm, with just a hint of lemon and garlic. “Hummus expansion packs” like black bean, sun dried tomato, etc. can be good but should be approached with trepidation, as often these are made to cover up a fundamental weakness in the starting product. A good falafel has a crispy outer coating with a soft interior, not unlike a properly made hushpuppy, and should leave a thin layer of oil on the lips, a reminder of its fried origins. Bad falafels run the gamut from rock hard greasy heavy balls to undercooked runny interiors. Unlike hummus in which additions can produce interesting, sometimes even good results, falafel “variants” such as the addition of corn or soybeans (I do not kid) just do not work. Somehow these great tastes have gone the way of the quiche: kitchen sink foods for the disposal of yesterday’s leftovers.

For roughly a decade Mediterranean Grill, on the corner of N. Decatur and Clairmont, has been teaching by example providing some of the best hummus and falafels to be found in the area. Falafels, in sandwiches or on a platter are made to order and are always warm and crispy. The hummus is platonic: slightly tangy, creamy, and cool. These guys also make a mean baba ghanoush (creamy eggplant salad) and a fantastic tabbouleh, a fantastic salad of bulgur wheat, mint, parsely, scallions, and tomato. For non vegetarians, the gyros are some of the best I’ve ever had, the chicken has a nice smoky flavor, and the kufta kabobs (spiced ground beef sausages) are fantastic. Turkish coffee is made to order and richly spiced with cardamom.

While the good far outweighs the bad at this restaurant it would be wrong of me to ignore those points where Mediterranean Grill falls short. The salads are made from iceberg lettuce, a bed of spicy field greens or an arugula salad would be a far better pairing. The fried calamari is overly chewy, and tastes like it is the frozen and pre-breaded variety. The stuffed grape leaves are dripping with oil and share the same “pre-made” feel as the calamari. Finally, the “Greek potatoes” feel like a feeble attempt to satisfy people’s need for fries and the staff would do well to tell those people to piss off and eat some tabbouleh instead.

Prices are good with most of the platters running around $8 and sandwiches around $4-6. Large servings of hummus are a meal in their own right, and come in around $4. Order at the counter, take a number, and bus you own table, there are no servers here, only an opportunity to support a local restaurant trying to educate the masses about some grossly misunderstood food.