El Sham (Medditeranian) - Hamilton, NJ

After reading the reviews on Chowhound, we decided to try El Sham today for lunch. We both took the day off from work today, and it was very fitting being our anniversary. After watching the Rick Steves episode on Iran this morning, I was craving some middle eastern cuisine, and this was the perfect fit for my cravings! El Sham is just a 10 minutes drive or so for us, so it was nice and close. The place is in a strip mall, and I have no idea if this is a new strip mall, or if it has been there for a while. As you walk in, the counter where you order is tucked into the back left hand corner. In the front of the restaurant, 8 tables occupy the open space. The walls are a light blue color, and the restaurant is trimmed out in yellow. The place may not be fancy or romantic, but I can tell you that it is clean! You can eat off the floors in here, and it just looks pristine. They also have nice dark colored tables, and the place is no frills. For lunch, we started out with the hummus, that was served with a nice light oil on top, some green herbs, and 4 fresh pita slices. This was very nice, and I could eat a ton of it. For an appetizer, it is the perfect portion, and I actually left a little on the plate to use on my sandwich. Zelda opted for the falafel sandwich, which was a nice sized portion, with lettuce, tomato, and a tahini sauce served in a pita. She said that this was much better than the last one that she had at Moustache in Lambertville before they closed. From the bite that I had, the spices were very nice, and this had some damn good flavors to it! I opted for the shish kabob sandwich, which was a nice grilled lamb cubed and seasoned. Let me tell you that this was awesome! The lamb was hot off the grill, and when I say hot, I mean hot! It was served with a nice lettuce, tomato, onion, and tahini sauce. The seasonings on this were absolutely perfect, and I love the hot temp on the lamb. It was cooked perfectly, and was just damn tasty. I added some hummus to the sandwich, and I recommend doing the same. It makes for a nice combo. All in all, for $20 with a couple of sodas, this made for a bargain lunch! The ambiance isn't the fanciest, but what is important is that the food is authentic, and damn good! We definitely plan on going back and I look forward to trying one of their many different platters, and Zelda looks forward to trying their falafel platter or vegetarian mixed platter! It's nice to have a new place like this in the area, with goo service, and great food! Kudos to the crew at El Sham! El Sham 1641 South Olden Avenue Hamilton, NJ 08610 Phone: (609)931-0513 Fax: (609)931-0514 http://www.elshamrestaurant.com/

Moustache Restaurant - Lambertville, NJ

We've heard great things about Moustache from friends, so on a beautiful February NJ day, a drive to Lambertville was just what the doctor ordered to enjoy some nice weather outdoors. After all, how many days near 60 degrees to you have in February? Moustache is located in the location that used to house a Capa Pizza where we had pies on multiple occasions. Upon walking up, you could see that they did some work to the outside of the building, with some nice landscaping, and some paint work to the building. Moustache prides itself on Middle Eastern cuisine, and they seem to be doing it the right way! Upon entering, this place did a complete 360 from the old Capa Pizza days. The interior was totally renovated and rearranged, with the old rotating pizza oven being removed, and the entire kitchen being moved from the front left hand side, to the rear right of the building where the bands used to play. The rustic concrete floor is still there, and the new tables are adorned by copper tops, and look very nice. Lanterns hang from the ceiling, and this really helps set the tone and ambiance for some good ethnic cuisine. One of the first things that Zelda noticed was the sign behind the host stand that says "We proudly accept cash." Upon looking around, there were no Visa/MC stickers on the door, so I took a walk a few blocks to hit the ATM at the corner on Bridge Street. Upon returning, I was greeted at the table by an order of hummus that looked absolutely gorgeous. A nice ring of hummus surrounded some chopped chick peas, served with a fresh pita, whole, in a basket. Upon picking up the pita, you could tell how thin and airy it was. You could tell that these were definitely homemade, and they were at the right side of the tasty scale. Awesome!! Upon tasting the hummus, this was delicious as well, and this coming from a guy who is not a big fan of chickpeas. The hummus had a nice tahini seasoning, and some other middle eastern seasonings, a tad of lemon juice, and it made for a gorgeous app! I opted for the gyro, rotisserie broiled, sliced in nice chunks of fresh beef, and this too had a nice medley of Mediterranean spices. This was served with a nice sauce, tomato, and romaine lettuce. I could have ate 5 of these things they were so good, and by the far the best gyro I have eaten on the East Coast. This was awesome, and served in the same fresh, thin, homemade pita! YUM! Zelda went with the falafel sandwich, served in yet another fresh baked pita with lettuce and tomato. Again, not being a huge fan of falafel, I was pleasantly surprised at the gorgeous aromatic taste of this dish. More chickpeas with nice spice and vegetables made this dish incredible, and it is something that I would have no problem eating. Add a few Coke's to the tab, and we got in and out of there for around $22. For the quality of food, with the nice aromatics and spices that went into these dishes, this was an absolute bargain! I look forward to going back soon! 77 South Union Street Lambertville, NJ Phone: (609)397-7777