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Categories: Middle Eastern, Greek and Mediterranean [Edit]
1185 Lincoln AveCampbell, CA
"***This review must begin with a mandatory ginormous rave for Jenna, the adorable hostess. She is absolutely charming and witty and…" read more »
I am a huge hummus fan, so I'm not really reviewing for gyros. I love the hummus AND baba ganoush, and everything he gives me to DIP in them, too. It can get stuffy in there, and it's not the best ambiance/decor. Also, you have to buy a bottled drink out of the fridge, so I needed to go over to Starbucks to get a simple ice water. However, I like the authenticity and flavors enough to keep going. Also, it's affordable, especially for downtown Willow Glen. So keep an open mind and give him a try!
This guy is so rude and cranky, the ambiance is nil, but the gyros are off the charts. Mmmmm. I crave a gyro every.single.time I pass by his shop.
The Mediterranean (read: middle eastern) food for sale (turkish delight is yummy, eggplant, lentils, baklava, etc.) is very good too.
Not sure on the cleanliness issues... but the food is always fresh.
WOW! Seriously, the best, most authentic Mediterranean food in San Jose - BAR NONE. This is almost as good as you'd on the side of the road in Amman Jordan - trust me, I'd know. Unfortunately, I can't make it to Amman at least once a week, so Casablanca's is a great stand-in.
This is THE place to get hummous or baba ganouj in the bay area...it's so good, you don't even need pita. You can just dip your finger in there and lick it off! (Note: doing this anywhere but the privacy of your own home may result in dirty looks -- and sometimes even then). One of the best things about Casablanca's is the owner makes everything a little bit different every time - but it's ALWAYS great! Every time I go in, I know I'm in for a pleasant surprise. Can't get that anywhere else.
Oh, and the dolmas - you know, the little packets of rice and goodness wrapped in a grape leaf? - AMAZING! If you've never tried it, buck up, be a man, and put one in your mouth. You'll thank yourself for it.
Now, let me address some of the HATERS' common complaints:
1. "Oh NOO it's so hot in here -- my right guard bill is through the roof!!" - May I suggest wearing breathable clothing or dressing in layers?? Come on people - humanity conquered being "too hot" before the development of speech. It's not hard! Toughen up!
2. "Oh NOO the owner is cranky!" - No he isn't. It's you that's the problem. Try smiling, or getting off your cell phone while you order.
3. "Oh NOO I can't use my credit card!" - Have you not been following the news? The banks are failing! Cash is the new credit! Get with the times!
Gyro Nazi!
What a cranky, disgruntled guy. Complained that I was paying with a Visa Check card for a single gyro. Kept saying the banks charge too much money and squeeze the "little guy".
I'd put up with the bad attitude...if the gyros were that amazing. They're above average. He slices the meat fresh, grills it, rolls the sandwich, then presses it again in a panini grill. If you order, tell him to go easy on the yogurt sauce. Decor is nothing to speak of. At least food is cheap, $6+ for gyro.
i walked in there to do a take out order. first thing i noticed. NO A/C, it's a hot sweat box in there. it was about 80 outside and a good 99 inside the joint. no fun bad sign number one. then the guy that was there (the owner maybe?) said he'll be right with me....so he could finish his news paper article. bad sign number duece. i ordered the lamb kabab over rice. he said it'll be ready in 10-15. so i walked outside as it was a lot nicer outside than inside. came back inside to pick up the food and get ready to leave. he seemed to be really interested in that newspaper as he looked at me a few times and went back to his article. i just stood there like an idiot. maybe he wanted me to suffer with him in the heat of his shop. i don't know. finally he finishes his precious paper so he can ring me up. great service huh?
ok now the food. the rice was tasty. had a good flavor, but it was old. it was so many peices that were dried out. the lamb was extremely dry. i finished half of it until i decided enough is enough and threw it out. the veggies on the kabob were good. but that was about it.
one star for having my food ready in the 10-15 minutes as promised.
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Let me start off first by saying I would have given this place a higher rating had I not gone to House of Falafel in Sunnyvale afterwards...
I've gone to this place 2 times, so let me share with you all each experience.
First time:
I came here with my friend before we saw Aries Spears at the Improv on a Friday night. Being our first time, it was a little hard to find and parking was pretty much a pain. Anyway, we finally found the tiny place and walked in the door.
Upon entering, we felt we were knocked upside the head by a tornado of hot air. Mind you, this was the week of 100+ degree weather. Yuck...no A/C... -1 star right off the bat. The thought of how food spoils in heat seriously passed my mind; however, we ordered anyway. We both got the lamb/beef gyro's. He asked if we wanted them spicy and we said just 1 of them.
Thank god they have like 3 tables outside because you know that's where we were heading. It was soooo much better outside. We get our food and my first thought was that mine tasted really good. My friend also liked hers until she gets mid-way through and realizes there's hot sauce in it. Poor thing...she can't handle the heat. After that she couldn't really enjoy her meal as she had to pick through all the parts that were smothered in red hot sauce.
After we were done, we decided to order a baklava for each of us. Now, this is the best one I've ever tried! Crispy, sweet, and full of pistachio's just the way I like 'em.
Now, it was time to pay. I bust out my ATM card he straight out asks me to pay with cash. WTH? There are credit card stickers on the window and a damn credit card machine right in front of me and you ask me to pay with cash? WEIRD & ANNOYING! Thankfully, my friend had cash on her, but damn....that's shady of him.
The owner just sounds waaay too cheap. No A/C and he doesn't want to pay the small merchant fee for each credit card transaction. Blehh!
Second time:
I came here a second time only because my bf had a craving for a gyro and I didn't know of any other place near our home. Thankfully it wasn't uber hot...just about 73 degrees so we managed to eat inside.
We ordered the same thing, the lamb/beef gyro. The bf enjoyed his and mine was just alright. Yea, just alright because I had gone to House of Falafel about 2 days prior. Casablanca's gyro's can't hold a candle to HOF's. The meat here tasted unflavorful and NOT fresh. I still managed to eat 3/4 of mine because I was really that hungry.
So basically this is the breakdown of my rating:
-1 star for no A/C
-1 star for not allowing me to use my ATM card when they have the capability to
-1 star for the food not being thaaat great
All in all....a fair 2!
Not much to look at, but pretty good food. We stopped here for lunch on a sunny afternoon. I was skeptical because I think Willow Glen is too white for good ethnic food. In the end, I enjoyed my lunch much more than I expected, especially the hummus plate.
The restaurant definitely needs some sprucing up. It looks barren, like an prison cafeteria (no personal experience), which cannot be helping their sales. As we sat there, several groups peeked in, and then left. I think they missed out.
The owner was a little stand-offish too, reminded me of the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. Maybe he just has a passion for his craft. I don't blame him.
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ok went here to grab some lunch in the weekend,
walked in and only one guy behind the counter, its a one man band place, wild!
So alot of reviews talk about the guy that run the place, talks kinda loud, and may come off as mean, but after i finished the meal he talked to us for a bit and ended up being a pretty nice guy.
got the sampler hummus and 2 other items served with warm pita bread it was hella good, i have been to alot of greek and med places and this was really solid. good for 2 people maybe 3.
ordered the chicken shwarama plate, really big portion for one person, had enough left over for a solid lunch the next day,
food was enough for 2 people, (1 appetizers and 1 main dish)
Go here for the food not the atmosphere, food is a solid 5/5 stars.
I've been here a few times and the food is not too bad. My biggest complaint is that I ordered the chicken and it was over-seasoned. The guy that runs that place is pretty rude and didn't give us all of our falafels and still charged full price. I do like the assortment of beverages.
Eating at Casablancas on a sunny Sunday afternoon after a working session with a friend was quite a treat. The outdoor seating was wide open and helped make for a very relaxing meal. The techno playing inside added some interesting energy.
I tried the veggie plate, which was served warm inside a squarely wrapped pita full of good veggies and sauce. I had a hard time finishing the portion.
I would recommend checking this place out when you're up for a low-key Mediterranean lunch.
The Falafel sandwiches are to die for. He wraps them in large flat bread rather than a flimsy pita and then grills them. He makes his own falafel by hand, which is pretty darn good. Everything is fresh and the "cranky old guy" is actually quite fun to chat with if you get in there when no one else is around. Oh, and the baklava is great too!
The ultimate one man band here people. Make no mistake, Fawaz is playing the loud foreign techno music, he is creating the hummus in the cuisinart, he is carving off the fresh lamb from the spinny rotating thingy, he is answering the phone, cleaning up, chopping the lettuce and ringing you up....all with little smile because as I see it, the dude is so busy he is either a) depressed no one works for him or b) he is the gyro nazi in disguise....seriously tho he is a very nice guy, I keep telling him jokes and he still wont smile...sad me.
The greek salad and feta gyro are my favs. The salad, even to go, is fluffy and full of purple marinated cabbage, feta, olives, lettuce and other goodness. Pretty much the only diff between that and the gyro is it is stuffed in a gyro an pressed to warm goodness. My man gets the lamb gyro and it is pretty darn tasty.
Be advised, you will get some damn slow service here, so minus one star. And another half star for the scary bathroom, ugh.
Cant really say this is pure Greek, it is a Med/Persian ? place...but nontheless-oompa!
3.5 stars
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ORGY IN MY MOUTH..... hella.
I think the Gyro Plate changed my life.
My best friend suggested I go there and grab a Gyro Plate and that it was WAY better than Yiassoo. I told her "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" there was no way that the Gyro was better than Yiassoo. It was really hard to hear that. You think you know a person and they they just come out and tell you something like that and it just throws your entire world into upheaval. what were talking about? oh yes, the Gyro Plate
So i get the gyro plate to go. It came in this very unassuming white Styrofoam box. I opened it up and thought "uhm. its just meat and rice...wheres the rest of it?"
i opened up the tiny box that came with it and there was this purple salad stuff. I dumped it into the box with the meat and i swear to god, i think fireworks lit up Lincoln Street because once I put that into my mouth, i just about had a religious experience.
The portion was huge! (definitely can feed two people, or one of me because i eat like I'm about to hit the electric chair) and just overall incredibly tasty.
I dock one star because the guy behind the counter was kind of rude. There was the sticker on the window that says they accept visa, amex and mc. I walk up to order, the CC machine is in plain view. When I went to pay, the guy said "CASH ONLY" I looked at him and said, but you have a machine right here and there is a sign that says you accept cards...... his response? "I NEED TO MAKE SOME MONEY HERE. CASH ONLY"
fyi: it costs pennies per transaction for a merchant to use a credit card machine
..... dude, at least lie to me. tell me its broken. tell me that a Y2K bug has crippled your credit card machine and it eats the plastic cards. tell me that there is a tiny leprechaun inside the machine that steals my personal information and sells it to drug lords in Nicaragua and you are trying to help a sister out by saving me from the trouble of identity theft......something.. anything! don't tell me that your a cheapo and that's why I have to pay cash.... sheesh.
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I have to agree with Sean O. stay away from the man behind the counter!!
I will not lie, the food is good. The chicken shwarma and beef shwarma, excellent and the hummus ALMOST as good as my dad makes!
But the service ABSOLUTELY horrid!!! He accused me of being broke, because my credit card wouldn't run through as a debit card. Umm duh!!The sign says they take visa, mc and amex, so why do I have to give you my debit card. After I kindly ask why he tells me he's trying to run a business.
And I can see that, by the fact that both times I went this man had not one other customer. Busy place, I can see why you need to push the few costumers you have away because you don't want to allow them to use their visa (who may charge you $.100/transaction).
Then when I asked where the pita was for my hummus, he then asked his niece if I had ordered pita. After she said yes, he very loudly says "Did you charge her for it!" Now I don't mind being charged for pita, but honestly WHO DOES THAT! It's freaking middle eastern food and pita is a stable!! It's like chips and salsa when you're grabbing Mexican grub.
Anyhow, I told them to forget about the pita and I walked down the street to La Villa and grabbed some bread from there.
If you want quick middle eastern food go to Falafel Drive Inn. This man obviously missed class the day they taught about Customer Service in Owning Your Own Business 101.
great food...takes some time for the ONLY worker (owner maybe?) to put together the dishes. we had a big group and it was hot, so we grabbed the tables out front...not too much else to see here. the washroom is ALL the way in the back, kinda feels like you are intruding upon the staff-space when going back there...
I called this place at 9:25 pm on a sat night. They close at 9:30 lol. I asked if it was too late to order and the guy replied. What do you want?!? I then ordered and he said. If I make- you come now. and I said thanks I appreciated it. And then he said "last time no more" I then asked him how much it would be and he replied "ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!!" and then hung up. wellllll. I went to go pick up the food and he was a lot nicer in person. He guess he was pretti aggrivated by the fact that I called 5 mins before closing. I honestly didnt know. well food was alrite. a little cold- i guess cause its all the left overs or sumthin. but it looked nice. all in all their place wasnt much to look at, but i give them 3 stars for staying open and extra 10 mins for me.
The food here is wonderful, and the owner is very nice. He gets to know his regular customers and engages them in conversation, often while he is preparing food.
There are a bunch of vegetarian options, and everything I've tried has been very good. All of the lavash bread sandwiches (there are 8 vegetarian choices) are generously sized for the price. They come wrapped in paper and then foil, and cut in half. Generally after eating a little more than half of my sandwich, I am full.
Another review mentioned having to pay extra for pita bread - I have never had to do this. When ordering an appetizer like hummus or baba ghanough, you will be given several pitas in a separate dish, which have been freshly heated up and cut into smaller pieces. They are very tasty. I'm pretty sure that various different plates (which come with hummus, etc) also include pita bread.
There are shelves of packaged food (like a small grocery store) which you can buy things from, including pitas. So if you want a package of the pitas they use to use at home, you can get them. The pitas and some other baked goods are locally made, but there's other imported food you can buy, too.
He will be happier with you if you pay in cash, but he does reluctantly take credit cards.
Got some grub to go here last nite...we have been driving past this place time after time going 'next time we have to go there'. So finally last nite, we went there. Chicken kebab plate, gyros plate, a yogurt drink, some pita bread and a small hummus later...we were $36 poorer. Yikes! Seems a little pricey...and seriously I hate when you have to pay for pita or lavash. Shouldn't your meal come with it? I think so.
The food itself was actually quite good, but did not taste Greek to me. It tasted more Persian kebaby to me...with a lighter, spicier kind of taste. The chicken was really tasty though and done quite right. The rice was so soft and slippery I am sure it was made with either a ton of oil or butter or both...you don't get that kind of amazing flavor otherwise. Hummus was quite good, freshly made with EVOO on top and some parsley. But we were disappointed in the pita that my husband purchased (while I was off getting my fix at the yogurt shot)...we got it home and realized that there were small mold spots starting on some of the pitas. So it wasn't quite that fresh.
Overall the place was quite tasty, pretty quick with the service...there was one person in there getting to go, and then us...it was pretty dead, but the high prices for what you got, and having to buy your own (moldy) pita was kind of a put off.
Don't know that we'd be rushing back anytime soon unless we were seriously desperate for a kebab and rice, which could happen. But there are so many other wonderful places out there (House of Falafel where you get hummus and pita with your chicken kebab plate!) that I'm bummed we didn't love this place because it is close by and it's a great to go option. My husband did like his gyro plate which was MASSIVE...he saved 1/2 of it for later.
Despite the name, Fawaz and his cuisine are more of the Eastern Mediterranean variety. I have only had the shawarmas here and they are tasty...not like the ones I have had overseas but only the bad shawarma joints taste the same. Fawaz has been friendly every time I have been here. He kindly answers my questions about the various food items for sale. I have only had pleasant experiences here.
Note: I have had no problems here with debit card payments. However, small ethnic restaurants tend to prefer cash (regardless of what any signs say).
1) It "helps" with the bookkeeping.
2) Credit card surcharges are around 2.5% and that comes straight from their profits.
Keep this in mind before you walk into any ethnic restaurant.
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the owner wonders why people go across the street to the persian restaurant...
casablanca is perfect if you like the cashier to badger you into paying with cash (even though he has a credit card machine) and furniture that hasn't been updated since the last gas hike (1970s).
food is great but there are plenty of other places with just as good food.
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As I took my first bite into my carefully prepared sandwich...the first thing that came to mind was..."this IS NOT a greek gyro!" I thought the food was decent, but was not what I expected and did not satisfy my urge for a gyro. Next time i will try the shawarma... and take my gyro eating elsewhere.
This is one of my favorite places in Willow Glen because of Fawaz's chicken shawarma sandwich. It is my little piece of heaven. The smoky, moist chicken along with cucumbers, pickled red cabbage, onions, lettuce and tomato is wrapped in a lavosh bread that makes it easy to eat when I'm on the go. Also, the tzatziki sauce balances the heat from the chicken and the hot sauce (the hot sauce is a must!). I've ordered other awesome vegetarian dishes, but the chicken shawarma is my personal favorite. Come here for the food not the ambiance.
Casablanca is the real deal. The owner (Fawaz) may seem grumpy to some, but what I see is hard work, talent, and passion. The food here goes beyond stuffing a pita with iceberg lettuce and over-fried falafel. Because he is the owner, cook, and server he takes pride in each dish he creates. He served us a greek salad at one point (which is constantly brilliant) but after a few steps back to the kitchen he turned around, grabbed the salad and mentioned how he forgot something. What he forgot was a simple garnish, which wouldn't have been missed, but at the same time made it his own.
I take friends here as often as they'll agree. Each time I return after brining friends, Fawaz remembers to ask how they enjoyed their food. He's also an interesting conversationalist and will go into everything from world politics to how he makes his falafel. He's even fried me fresh falafel for a sandwich even though he had some that had been fried within the hour. Now that's what I care about when I'm eating...fresh, house-made courtesy. You can't get that at a chain! I always opt for the falafel sandwich, which is far superior to any I've encountered anywhere else. He uses lavash rather than pita for his sandwiches and stuffs it with seasoned onions, cucumbers, marinated cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, tahini, hot sauce (by request) and falafel. He then grills it in a panini press and serves it hot. You can also get the falafel deluxe which is the same ingredients as above, but includes fried cauliflower, eggplant, and potatoes.
This is definitely a place that will make both vegetarians and non-vegetarians happy.
The only thing keeping this from that elusive fifth star is the restaurant ambiance. It lends more to a lunch spot than a dinner spot, but is still in a great location.
Long Live Casa Blanca's!
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Edited 12/13/07: My predictions were correct: this is definitely our favorite place for Middle Eastern deliciousness.
He accepts credit cards, but not happily. I try to make sure I have the cash to cover our meal before I come here. Bitch all you want about how he ought to just not accept credit cards, then, but I want this hardworking man to keep making me delicious falafels with a smile on his face, and I'll visit an ATM if that's all it takes.
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Yelp, you have been seriously remiss in your duties of informing me about good places to eat. I had to hear about this place in a random Talk thread about where to eat in Willow Glen. Thank you to whoever mentioned this place, because I saw "falafel" in conjunction with a neighborhood not far from home and went bananas (but not banana shakes, because, as I mentioned in my review of Falafel Drive-In, I am not a banana fan).
Their menu is absurdly vegetarian-friendly. The food is absurdly tasty, too. We ordered a falafel sandwich, falafel deluxe sandwich, and the vegetarian combo platter with hummus, baba ganoush, tabbouli, two falafels, and two dolmas. My picky vegan boyfriend declared it the best falafel he'd had in awhile. The hummus was good, as was the baba ganoush, which had a different texture and flavor from baba ganoush I've had elsewhere. The pitas he serves (and sells) are pillowy, chewy, and delightful--we bought a bag to take home.
We went here on a Monday evening, grateful that it was even open, and once we found it--it feels hidden among Lincoln's neon-heavy chain establishments--we were the only diners there. Since it's just one guy preparing and serving everything, it isn't the fastest meal, but it wasn't too slow and it was definitely prepared fresh and with care.
I suspect this will become a regular stop for us.
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We went here today evening (And this is probably my quickest review after eating food).
As mentioned in other reviews, there was one person across the counter, who was taking orders, serving people as well as cooking. We ordered something vegetarian (I think it was the combo, so much for the quick review).
The food was well presented, and some items were quite nice. The bread wasn't too fresh though. I would've given it 4 out of 5.
The reason I dropped one point was that the person was handling raw meat with his bare hands, and that made me wonder if that's how he would've handled my dinner. I can understand that people cook both meat and vegetarian dishes, but I would expect some additional care whilst cooking.
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Fawaz is Palestinian, from Jordan, not Greek. He does do it all himself, and he works seven days a week. He may come off grumpy, but he is really a very sweet man. I am addicted to his dolma plate. The dolmas are the best I have ever tasted, and he always does the salad with it just the way I like it, none of the stuff I don't like, extra of the stuff I do like. And when I have my son with me, he fixes him a special chicken and rice plate. Atmosphere? The ethnic music has really grown on me. But it takes a lot of money to update this shop he took over some time back from the Jewish deli which had occupied this space for years before I moved to the area. This place gets all five stars from me because I am treated very well, and the food is great, whenever I go in.
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Yes I know this place has little to no ambiance but it has a whole lot of heart. Fawaz the owner is a great guy he does everything himself, he is the waiter and the chef and as he tells me has no social life.
I'm not just giving Casablanca's Cafe four stars for personality, the food is great. The falafels are good, nothing like the Falafel Drive-In, they are more authentic.
Casablanca shines with dishes you may not think of ordering, the baba ganoush is the best thing ever! I live in SF and sometime I consider driving down to SJ because I crave the stuff.
Take a risk and you will be pleasantly surprised.
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You walk into this oddly decored "restaurant" that looks and feels more like a walk-up deli with plastic chairs. There's an older "gramps" behind the counter, surely of Greek descent, and he hollers at his 10 yr. old grandson who's playing in the back of the kitchen. Looks sketchy, so their food MUST be good...
...and it is! The man behind the counter does everything himself, prepares all the menu items. I ordered just a simple cucumber salad with feta and olives--perfect on a hot day. My friend had a lamb gyro--great stuff. Everyone around us claims only the best at this place, and are weekly regulars.
Limited outdoor seating, hot inside, decent prices, but the food is much better than those well-decorated fancy places!
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There are different styles of falafels and gyros out there and I do not know much about any of them, but whatever style this place serves, it is my favorite. This place rules over Falafel Drive-in on San Carlos. I especially like the eat-ability of their sandwiches, they are more burrito like than other styles of falafels, and thus much easier to eat.
The decor is awful but the people are super nice. The price is right. Great place!
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The best falafels and best hummus I've had anywhere. I can't get enough of their falafel & hummus combo plate. The other things I've had have also ruled supreme. The shwarma = awesome, the falafel sandwich = rad, the kebobs = fabu.
Why don't I give them 5 stars? Because seriously, this place needs a face lift. It's looks like a corner grocery store. It kinda bums you out while you're eating, which speaks to just how good the food really is since it overcomes the drab environs!
I'm always game for a place where the food is reasonably priced and has tonnes of flavour at the expense of ambience.
I enjoyed the vegetarian combo - the falafel was moist, although cold (probably because we ordered it in combo form). The baba ganoush and tzaziki was so tasty. The pitas were soft and warm which also hit the spot.
I'll be back here for sure - you can't go wrong here.
This place offers the best falafels I have found in San Jose--deep fried to a beautiful brown and stuffed into lavash bread with cucumbers and all those other goodies. If you want to go all out with it, try the Deluxe Falafel. They also offer other wonderful vegetarian selections.
Try the foreign drinks this restaurant offers and check out their selection of Mediterranean foods to take home to broaden your culinary plate.
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