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Zaya Mediterranean at Inman Park Village offers cheap fare for hard times
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Hummos with Stuffed Kibbeh. Zaya 240 N. Highland Ave.
This past Saturday night, I took my first trip to Zaya Mediterranean in the Inman Park Village. I love food, all kinds of food, but I rarely find myself in Greek, Mediterranean, African, or Indian restaurants. Maybe it's because there are fewer of them than tapas bars, or maybe I haven't been daring enough in my flavor palate, but whatever the case, I'm glad to have found Zaya.
First, let it be known, ZAYA SERVES $4 MIXED DRINKS EVERYDAY! But there is a catch, I got a Vodka Martini and it was four dollars for the vodka plus $1.50 for the making it into a martini. Even though there was a catch, it was still a cheaper than most places. My second disclosure about there famed "Cheap Drinks" is that I wanted Kettle One and they were out. In fact, they only had Absolut vodka. I'll let you draw your own conclusions from that information.
Onto the food. Zaya was recently reviewed as one of the best restaurants to go to in Atlanta when economic times are hard. For less than $50 we had two appetizers, one entree, a martini, dessert, coffee, and endless warm pita bread. If that doesn't sound like a lot, try it. I still have Hummos in my fridge three days later.
I always like to try the appetizers because you get a diversified selection for a smaller price, kind of like a tapas restaurants. We had the Stuffed Kibbeh- A finely blended mixture of lean lamb and cracked wheat stuffed with beef, onion and pine nuts; fried to a golden brown. The texture was challenging to get through. The outside was hard and the inside was a little dry. It was served with a Greek Yogurt that had a strong taste of mint in the finish. The overall appearance of the Stuffed Kibbeh reminded me of a Hush Puppie. I, myself, don't like Hush Puppies because I always find them too dry for me, however, the Stuffed Kibbeh offered up more taste than a Hush Puppie with the lamb as the shining star of the dish.
We also had the Lahem-Bi-Ajeen--a mix of beef, lamb, onions and tomatoes, baked on pita bread. It was almost like an inside out meat pie. A thin layer of mixed meat topped the freshly baked pita bread. It came served with a sauce that slightly reminded me of those sour candy sprays that make your cheeks tighten up. I later found out it was a molasses sauce with a pomegranate reduction. Very sour.
For our main course we shared the Chicken Shawarma--Boneless chicken marinated overnight in olive oil, lemon juice,
garlic and aromatic Lebanese spices, broiled, with a side of Hummos and Baba Ghanuj. The chicken was tart and carried the lemon juice strongly. I liked the balance of the spices and the acidity on the chicken and found that a little dip in the mild Hummos balanced it all out. The Baba Ghanuj was very smoky and I didn't like it alone on the pita bread, but once again, with a little bit of the more mild tasting Hummos, it balanced out well.
For dessert we had the Ashta-- an egg-less homemade custard made with rose water and orange blossom in
a philo purse topped with house made syrup and pistachios. In the first bite, the rose water was the main note. I found myself wondering how I even knew what rose water tasted like, but my dinner partner quickly informed me it was the smell of roses I was associating with. Whatever it was, the rose water really captures the first few bites. As the new sensation of tasting something that one has only smelled before wore off, the rest of the dessert began to shine through. The egg-less custard and warm philo dough purse was smooth. Flaky philo dough surrounded the purse and gave a welcoming break from the soft custard. The house made syrup paired well with the rose water flavor in the dish. It sweetened up the custard and gave the dish more depth.
Overall I enjoyed my dinner at Zaya. I would go back soon, had I not so many leftovers still in the fridge.
Note-At the time of this posting at HalfoffDepot.com you can get $50 gift certificates for $25.
