If you ask me on any given night what I would like for dinner, I will undoubtedly say Thai or Middle Eastern. Tony would say pizza. Shish is a bit of a happy medium, as it is not the authentic traditional dive that I am craving, where the servers yell at you for taking too long to order and a rousing game of soccer is playing on the T.V. in the corner, but it is delicious, fresh, and convenient, so we end up there much more frequently than we do anywhere on Central Avenue.
Let's get the negatives out of the way first. For one thing, it's way too clean. For another, the patrons tend to be more of the white, rich college kid type (it's across the street from Macalester College) who say annoying things like, "I'm so hungry I'm going to have two guy-ros!". Then there is the fact that there are no printed menus. One is forced to stand in line with said college kids and scour the menu board frantically. The menu board, by the way, is a giant black board set to the left of the line, with some menu items inexplicably written in blue chalk. And the menu is extensive, which is good if you are looking for variety on a quiet Sunday afternoon, not good if you have no idea what you want and there are only two people ahead of you in line and eight behind you. Half the time I get to my table having no memory of what I've just ordered because I was so rushed in doing so. Having said that, what ever ends up on the plate in front of me has always been wonderful.
Shish serves breakfast items as well, which are far less successful than their dinner menu, with a couple of notable exceptions. The crepes are decadent and filled to the brim with sweet cream cheese. Leave your Weight Watchers Point Tracker at home. They also serve a horchata (a creamy rice based drink) that rivals any served in Spain, according to my husband, and he knows his horchata folks.
The lunch and dinner menu, as I've mentioned, is huge. Step out of line and take your time, there is a lot to take in. We always marvel at the freshness of the vegetables in their salads and sandwiches, and I have to admit the hummus at Shish is some of the best in town. It's served the way Abraham intended, on a small plate and has a deep channel filled with olive oil, and sprinkled with parsley and paprika.
We tend to err on the side of caution and order the gyro sandwiches or plates. The plates come with a generous portion of their bright yellow signature saffron cardamon rice, gorgeous sauteed vegetables (usually a variety of squashes) and a side salad adorned with barely a spray of lemon juice, light and lively. The Greek salad is ample and heaped with creamy bricks of salty feta and sprinkles with just the right amount of dressing. The children's portions are also generous, which reminds, note to self: Millie can eat off my plate next time.
There are no over-powering flavors at Shish, so as to not offend young Midwestern palates, which may be why I don't consider it as authentic as Holly Land, where everything, including the servers, is overwhelming to all senses. Also not very authentic, the huge dessert case displaying red velvet, German chocolate, and at least half a dozen more cakes and cookies. But hey, who needs authentic when you can have lemon bars with your lamb kabob?
Really, really good hummus. If it doesn't come with your meal, order a side. It's a must.
Gyro (Yee-ro) plate.
Gyro sandwich.
