date: 12/19/06
location: st. paul
grade: b+

a good addition to the area, probably nice for the students to have around the mac/groveland hood. i can't recall another mediterranean type of place there, though hey, i could be missing one. or more. per usual, i'm somewhat ironically too lazy to look it up right about now.

shish is a nice, open space, well-decorated for a campus joint. they thought stuff out, color-wise. even if you're in the windowless back room, where we ended up, it doesn't feel like you're in a dark closet.

you order at the counter, and you get a number and get served, but as dara mentioned in city pages, you do get real dishes and silverware, which is a step up from many similar set-ups. though if you opt for water from the cooler, you get a plastic cup. and may as well thrown in that the napkins are also paper.

though the menu (on the wall, take out menus available, plus daily specials) is not huge, it's enough to give you some pause before you order. per dara's advice, i got the shish maza plate. for around $8 you get a very nice hummus (for some, their favorite in the twin cities, but for me it wasn't quite as garlicky as i like it but still very good and smooth) with olive oil and paprika on top,

also on the plate were tabouli, baba ghanoush (both good renditions), three falafel balls (crisp and tasty, with lots of sesame seeds), a few squares of feta, olives, tomatoes, lettuce, cuke, and last but not least, quite a bit of light pita bread. this would also be good for an app for two or three people instead of for dinner.

if that wasn't enough, i also decided on the spinach pies (following dara to the letter). unlike most of the spanikopita you've probably eaten, this was made with fresh spinach. these are light, flaky, tender, and not at all oily, and possibly the best i've had. they make a nice appetizer, and truly do whet the appetite. those were around $3. so all this food was around $11, and well worth it. all very tasty, though i prefered most of my food more strongly seasoned.

some other dishes were a bit on the other side of the flavor spectrum... the dolma were LEMONY. the yogurt sauce (no cuke, so not quite tzatziki) that came with the kebob was GARLICKY (yes, caps for a reason, and you'd never thought you'd see the day i'd use 'em, but these flavors really screamed out).

not sure what to say about service. the counter guy was very suited for the job, and did it well. though even with numbers, there was some food lottery going on ('anyone order the tomato soup?' etc.). minor things. we refilled our own waters from the cooler, and we did that very well. that's one way to keep the glass filled.

it's worth repeat businessness. i'd like to try some of the kabobs or maybe some of their chicken dishes. they also do take-out, in case you need some party-sized hummus.