Going Bonkers for GBanzos

Last week on my way out of town for a few days, I met a friend at GBanzos Bar and Grill to try out the Israeli food restaurant for the first time after hearing great reviews about it by others for a few months now.

The small and unassuming place sits in the shopping center at the corner of Country Club Drive and Monterey Avenue. A brightly smiling and attentive young staff welcomes you to the restaurant, which is warm, full of interesting art, and boasts a clean counter where you can see and smell the chefs cooking up the goods.

At lunchtime on a Friday the place was packed. Once I tried the food, I understood why.

A freshly fried flat laffa bread, hot and similar but chewier that Indian naan, arrived atop a basket with a plate of freshly made hummus. Hummus has entered the American conscious over the decade as an everyday dip, but this stuff is the real deal. Creamy, non-grainy and swimming in the center with a pool of olive oil and herbs, it is also served with small bowls of pickled cabbage, a mild salsa, and a semi-spicy salad mix. This is all free as part of the meal.

The restaurant goes beyond offering traditional shawarma meats, kabobs and vegetarian salads by offering grilled meats including exotic dishes like bream and foie gras and chicken liver kabobs.

I ate a shawarma salad which was enormous and filled with artisan greens and copious amounts of the meat, bite sized and a refreshing cucumber-based dressing.

Washing it all down with a Mythos Grecian beer and I was on my way, satisfied, full, and dreaming of what I will order on my next trip there.