African and Middle Eastern Food and Cooking

Gypsy Cafe and Parlor revs up in an old garage downtown

An old garage at the corner of 23rd and Champa streets has been transformed into Gypsy Cafe and Parlor. The spot opened its doors this week; a grand opening is planned for June 16. See also: - Guess where I'm eating baba ghanoush and hummus? - Guess where I'm eating three-bean hummus - Pizza, pizz ... More >>

Damascus Grill offers a spread of Moroccan (plant-based) favorites, old and new

There are a lot of good Mediterranean restaurants in town -- places with great falafel, hummus or baba ghanouj. But for a good Mediterranean restaurant to rise to great, it should not not only execute the staples well, but also offer dishes that go beyond the basics. And for vegetarian and vegan din ... More >>

A quick trip to a land of sunshine and bright Mediterranean tastes

See also: In the kitchen at Cafe Byblos

Get in line for Saj Mediterranean Grill's falafel plate

Places like Saj Mediterranean Grill, at 6955 South York Street in the Streets at Southglenn, can seem intimidating to the uninitiated. Anytime you have to line up to place an order, there's the potential of an extensive, awkward interaction with the person behind the counter to determine exactly wha ... More >>

Baba's Falafel takes to the street with fried vegan goodness

Falafel is like fried chicken for non-meat-eaters. It's crunchy and flavorful and filling. And there are many, many different ways to serve it. Dalia Hannah and Chris Hernandez are experimenting with as many of those ways as possible in their new food truck, Baba's Falafel, which took to the stree ... More >>

Shish Kabob Grill skillfully embraces both tradition and change

Photos: Behind the Scenes at Shish Kabob Grill

The falafel truth: How will Shish Kabob Grill stack up?

When you go to a restaurant you've never visited before, you never know quite what you'll find. Even if you've pulled up the menu on Yelp during the drive over, you're likely in for a surprise since those menus can be out-of-date. Middle Eastern restaurants are different, however. No matter where yo ... More >>

Jerusalem is a veggie-friendly oasis on Evans

Even on off-hours on most weekdays, the patio is half-full and there are several occupied tables inside the tiny restaurant -- which indicates that Jerusalem is either near a university or is really tasty. Or, in this case, both.

Falafel with tahini sauce for a Mid-East treat on Meatless Monday

If you're looking for a good online (vegan!) recipe bank, then the Humane Society's Meatless Monday recipe of the week is an excellent source; we made this week's falafel with the accompanying tahini sauce and served it in pita bread with fresh greens. Yum!

Sahara is a veggie-friendly oasis in the Tech Center desert

You know you've picked a good restaurant for lunch when it's already filling up at 11 a.m. That's what we found when we stepped inside Sahara. Like many restaurants in the Denver Tech Center area, Sahara is tucked inside a strip mall, but the attention paid to the decor makes you quickly forget the ... More >>

Shiraz rules the Tech Center's Middle Eastern cuisine scene

The southern I-25 corridor has not been known for its proliferation of fantastic eateries -- but as Laura Shunk noted earlier this year, things are looking up lately, and Shiraz is one of many good spots we've found in the Tech Center.

Garbanzo wants diners to feel good about Mediterranean food

Slide show: Garbanzo on Colorado Boulevard

Hummus recipe for snacking and full meals on Meatless Monday

No one's saying you have to go meatless just because it's Monday -- but as incentive to join the growing movement, every week we're offering an animal-free recipe. Hummus is awesome. It's one of those versatile spreads that can work on bagels for breakfast, in sandwiches for lunch, or with carrots ... More >>

Falafel King rules the plant-based falafel empire

Any restaurant that presumes to go by the name Falafel King had better serve excellent falafel. Fortunately, not only does the Falafel King at 825 Colorado Boulevard serve great falafel, the people serving it were charming and happy to point out the vegetarian and vegan-friendly dishes on the roster ... More >>

Sultan Grill will feed you like a king...in an Arvada strip mall

After readers responded to my lament about the lack of interesting ethnic food near the Tech Center, I decided to explore not just the southern suburbs, where I grew up, but the entire circle outside of Denver city limits, looking for the best ethnic restaurants in the metro area, strip-mall salvati ... More >>

Favorite food find of the week: Chicken Kabob

Lori Midson​If you ask Foad Aftahi what he thinks about Denver's Persian restaurant climate, he wrinkles his nose and shakes his head. "I don't think you'll find any good Persian restaurants in Denver," he claims. And that, he insists, is why he opened Chicken Kabob, a tasteful, contemporary, ... More >>

Ali Baba Grill vegetarian spread brings the Middle East to Golden

​Vegetarian fare plays an important role in Lebanese cuisine, and Golden's Ali Baba Grill is testament to the fact that you can get delicious (meat-free!) international cuisine as far west as the foothills. There doesn't seem to be a down-time for this eatery; when we stopped by on Labor Day ... More >>

Garbanzo is a very veggie-friendly chain

​In an ideal world, we'd all cook seasonally and locally, procuring our ingredients from farmers' markets -- and when we dined out, we'd eat only at local, independently owned restaurants. But this isn't Shangri-La, it's the real world -- and in the real world, convenience sometimes takes pr ... More >>

Arada Ethiopian offers hands-on veggie food

​Sitting down for an Ethiopian meal is a communal experience, and it's no wonder why Arada, 750 Santa Fe Drive, is one of the most popular Ethiopian restaurants in the city. Even after peak hours on Saturday night, the exposed-brick dining room was three-quarters full of tables -- mostly famil ... More >>

Shawarma Mediterranean Grill opens in Centennial

Shawarma Mediterranean GrillShawarma Grill's beef shawarma plate​In 2000, brothers Abe and Pierre Dagher closed Cedars, a Lebanese joint on Federal Boulevard they'd owned for fourteen years, and went their separate ways, exiting the restaurant industry for other trades. But now they're back t ... More >>

Udi's will bring Saba Middle Eastern Eats to Boulder this spring

​Back in 1994, Udi Baron started a ready-to-eat sandwich business with his wife, Fern. Since then, and with the help of additional family members, that shop has spawned a bakery that supplies home pantries and restaurants, a catering company, a granola-maker, a national gluten-free line, a han ... More >>

Queen of Sheba on Colfax offers a royal feast

In the kitchen with Cafe Options chef Craig Dixon: Hummus

Lori Midson ​ In this week's Chef and Tell interview, Cafe Options chef Craig Dixon talks about why he believes Denver is the country's top city for slinging food, how he wishes that citizen journalism reviews were more factual and his role at Cafe Options as both a chef and teacher to the wo ... More >>

The lunch bunch gives a thumbs-up to Phoenician Kabob

Guess where I'm eating?

Photo by Lori Midson​What I love most about Middle Eastern food is the way that you can shove a dozen different dishes onto the same plate, mix them all together, stack a big bite of everything on a fork and end up with the Gaza Strip, a flavor explosion of parsley, onions, roasted eggplant, garli ... More >>

Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill plans fifth Denver location

 Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, a Centennial fast-casual concept restaurant with four stores, plans to open a fifth location at the Cherry Creek Hotel, 600 South Colorado Boulevard, according to a sign hanging on a fence in front of the hotel, which is being completely renovated. A Panera Bread ... More >>

Veggie Girl: Arada Ethiopian

The first time I tried Ethiopian food, I was visiting my friend, Mat, in Montreal. We'd met the previous summer on a train headed to Berlin, and since we were both backpacking solo around Europe and trying to get to Prague, which had just suffered a flood, we found ourselves staying in the same ho ... More >>

Encore Restaurant

Recycling is good for the planet – and it can taste good, too.

Arada

Ethnic cuisine at its best.

Aladdin Cafe and Grill

I brake for hummus.

Stranger in a Strange Land

I'd never understood Ethiopian food -- and then Haime Asfaw showed me the way.

Turkish Delight

Timing is everything at Istanbul Grill.

House of Kabob

Sticking with it

Best Middle Eastern Restaurant

Jerusalem

Golden Opportunities

These out-of-the-way restaurants should be on the eaten path.

Best Middle Eastern Restaurant

Ali Baba Grill

Check, Please!

Readers give our food critic something to chew on.

Best Place to Fill Up on Falafel While Filling Up

Haji Babba

Best Middle Eastern Restaurant

Pita Jungle

Middle Ground

Two Denver eateries offer diners the spice of life.

Best food-court vendor

Falafel King

Bad Karma, Sad Shawarma

Eating at the Sahara Restaurant can be a dry time.

The Best Is Yet to Come

Sami Kraydie's Sinbad is the real deal.

The Pita Principle

Spice World

Mouthing Off

Syria's Eating

Middle East Meets West

THE FALAFEL TRUTH

GIVE `EM A HAND