Friday, December 17, 2010

Cafe Nuba

Aruba aNUBA....oOooh I wanna eat ya!
(think: Beach Boys, lol!)

For the past year (?) or so, Nuba has been quite the talk of the town - boasting authentic Lebanese cuisine in Vancouver (a first?) and quite recently, it has opened up its 4th (!) location at the Waldorf Hotel.  For one, I can't think of anywhere else in Vancouver specializing in Lebanese cuisine and second, not only is their food scrumptious, but they use local, fresh and organic ingredients in their cooking - a win-win situation, n'est ce pas?



Food:


Najib's special - Crispy Cauliflower

Najib's Special - crispy cauliflower with lemon & sea salt, served with tahini
                         - great starter, Nuba's speciality (claim to fame?), this must be deep-fried or something to achieve that crispy texture and taste but it sure doesn't taste like it's been (deep-fried!)



Le Petit Feast
Le Petit Feast - hummous, taboulleh, baba ganooj, and homemade pickle
                        - YUM!! Great start, beautifully-presented, everything was so fresh-tasting, hummous and baba ganooj were perfect, not too thick  - just the right smoothness consistency, loaded with lots of lemon juice and garlic flavour, pita bread was good too (though it was packaged from an exterior source)



Chicken Tawook (grilled Mount Lehman chicken breast marinated in paprika, thyme, lemon and garlic confit)
                        - a little dry (although I know how hard it is to make a nice, juicy, moist chicken!)



Beef Sirloin kebab - beef was cooked 'medium' (your choice) and it was tender, wonderfully-seasoned, juicy and succulent!


Lamb kibbeh

Lamb kibbeh - grilled grain-fed halal lamb patty with aromatic spices
                       - mmm though it was a bit gamey, it was a very well-seasoned sort-of lamb meatball! It was served atop a generous amount of nice, creamy tzatziki sauce..yum!

Service:

Very friendly and super casual - I liked :)

Value:

Fair and reasonable

Ambience:

Semi-funky yet cool interior - geometric wallpapers and retro-looking decor, casual atmosphere

Overall: 8/10

Yay:  If you're feelin' for some nice Middle Eastern, local, fresh and organic fare - think no further than Nuba! 4 great locations to serve you (all in Vancouver, so far)

Nay:  Minimal seating - not ideal for large groups





Posted by: J


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