Nuba - My Second Crack at Lebanese Dining

Nuba is a rising star. Now with three locations, this day I dined with my two lunch companions QN and DS at the Main street 'Cafe Nuba' and enjoyed me some authentic baba ghanooj and lamb kibbeh. With an array of healthy and cheap offerings, I was able to fill up with a variety of foods, spices and tastes and not pay a pretty penny for it. I would definitely recommend this place to all those healthy souls out there but if you're looking to get down and dirty with some hearty, greasy grub, this place is not for you.

In conclusion, I'm going to vouch for some better Lebanese home cooked food by my friend RHM (if you can recall reading a previous post on her delicious meal). Also, call me crazy but I much prefer the pre-packaged baba ghanouj and hummus you can get at your local supermarket. For example, Summer Fresh's pre-made baba ghanouj paired with Stacey's pita chips, are a killer combo!

A Lebonese Meal ... Made with Love

Now what kind of Lebanese meal would this be without fresh finely chopped parsley? We embarked on another one of our cultural themed nights and my friend RHM truly outdid herself. How? By slaving away over the cutting board, slicing and dicing the fine particles of tabouli ingredients you see above so that we luvas could enjoy the true authenticity of our first Lebanese meal in.

While us hungry hippos waited on the main, we stuffed ourselves silly with fresh black olives (the best are from the Parthenon Supermarket I'm told), two types of pita bread, AHM's delicious fresh hummous (RHM's momma whom I had the pleasure of meeting and watching MJ's 'This Is It' with!) and the refreshing tabouli I mentioned above.

Sizzling in the oven was RHM's roasted paprika covered chicken drumsticks. Yum!

Nicely plated and paired with roasted potatoes, and dipped in RHM's special garlic 'toum' sauce (and when I say garlic, I mean 10 cloves of garlic spicy-ness) and with a bit of ketchup, we were well on our way to experiencing a night of wonder and intrigue for our tastebuds.

For dessert, I whipped up a simple and crunchy apple pear crumble. Diced and doused in cinnamon, rolled oats, flour, and brown sugar, my crumble came out of the oven crispy and ready to serve. We also had the privlege of pairing our dessert with Thomas Haas' famous 'sparkle cookie' (the bakeable version). PY picked up this delicious delight from Urban Fare and we popped them into the oven and they came out resembling mini lava cakes. Deemed the world's best cookie, this truffle, dessert, or whatever it is, is rich in chocolate and perfect with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream.