Monday, May 16, 2005

Uptown Kabob - Whittier

In the area for a visit, we decided to check out Uptown Kabob in Whittier. Directly adjacent to Rocky Cola Cafe, this family run "Mediterranean Grill" has that small town joint feel to it. You can tell they spent very little on the decor of the place since the walls are bare white, and what little color there was came from stock pre-framed pictures, the kind you'd usually find at swap meets.

The tables are set with white linen, but you soon notice that it's protected with a thin sheet of glass. Nevertheless, I was still pleasantly surprised at what I saw since what I was expecting was a takeout gyro joint, replete with a rotating spit of shwarma and an unshaven guy with a oil stained shirt carving meat from said spit. Instead we were greeted warmly by a waitress and given menus.

I opted for the Lamb Kabob dish for around $8. We shared an appetizer of hummus ($4) which was served with cold pita bread. The hummus was good, drizzled with olive oil and dusted with paprika, but I wished they toasted the pita bread or better yet, given us pita chips instead.

The Lamb Kabob came in a large dish with generous serving of white basmati rice accented with a streak of yellow rice down the middle of it. The basmati rice was fragrant and fluffy. Placed around the edges of the plate, framing the rice, were sliced white onions, a grilled tomato, a grilled jalapeno pepper, and about a half dozen cubes of de-skewered roasted lamb. The lamb was slightly charred on the outside, and brown all the way through. I could taste the marinade, but it was the slight gamey lamb flavor that I enjoyed. While the meat was not fork tender, I still savored it. But it could've been prepared a little more on the rare side. Next time I think I'll request it that way. The surprising kick of the dish came from the charred jalapeno and tomato. These provided a tart and spicy counterpoint to the gamey meat. Since no sauce came with the dish, I quite enjoyed this interplay of flavors from these simple ingredients.

This is not a destination restaurant, but if I were in the area again, I am certainly stopping by.

Uptown Kabob Family Restaurant
(562) 698-5553
6749 Greenleaf Ave
Whittier, CA 90601

6 Comments:

At 9:22 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Elmo - Like the variety of your posts. Is Zanoubia's (sp?) still there on Greenleaf - it was a pretty good Lebanese place we used to go to when we lived in Rowland Heights.

 
At 6:53 AM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Not too sure. I am usually in Irvine, used to live in La Habra, but that was before I got into food. I'll keep my eye out for that place the next time I'm in that area though. Thanks for visiting my blog!

 
At 6:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Uptown Kabob also does a nice job of catering and take out. I put together a party for 14 for under 200.00 and received high praise for the "not another BBQ" approach.

 
At 1:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kirk,
Unfortunately Zanoubia's disappeared shortly after 9/11. This place took over the location.

 
At 9:56 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

This is a posting is from uptown kabob restaurant owners and operators, based on your feed back we are changing many things at uptown kabob. Please visit us at kabob UptownKabob.com or email us at uptownkabob562@yahoo.com

 
At 10:09 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

This is a posting from uptown kabob restaurant owners and operators, based on your feed back we are changing many things at Uptown Kabob Whittier Restaurant. Please visit us at UptownKabob.com or email us at uptownkabob562@yahoo.com

 

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