Can you imagine being a restaurateur hosting a group of personal chefs for dinner? Thursday evening our Carolinas Personal Chefs chapter of the USPCA decended upon The Kabob Grill at its location off Rea Road in Stonecrest.This was an exciting experience for me because Lebanese food is not something I am at all familiar with. The closest I've gotten is lamb grilled on a skewer, or baba gannouj, or teboulleh salad.
The first thing I always do when I know I'm way out of my league with a menu is have a serious conversation with the server who, in this case and by the best happenstance, was one of the owners. I asked him if he would mind choosing my dinner for me and I told him there were no restrictions. (I was pretty sure they didn't serve anything moving on the plate or having six or more legs!) What he delivered was a real "meat and potatoes" manmeal...Lebonese style. I guess that's what I get for leaving the ordering up to a man! I have to say that it was really tasty, though, and a good representation of kabobs at their finest. (Note: There are many vegetable and even vegetarian selections on the menu.)
I should have gotten a picture of Reid's teboulleh salad. It was beautiful....deep verdant green with diced garden-ripe tomatoes gracing the top. I learned this evening that I've never added enough parsley to my teboulleh salad! If you really, really searched, you could find the grains in Reid's salad. Did I say if you really really searched? My body fairly screamed, "This is so healthy; this is so healthy!"
The next logical question was what wine to drink with all this grilled meat and bold flavors. Now, I have to tell you that I was familiar with most of the wines on the wine list, but it's always a good idea to at least try a wine that is created near where the food originates. (That's a rule of thumb to remember...they generally pair well together.) "We do have a Lebanese wine and it's delicious," I was told and so I jumped at the opportunity to try that, my first Lebanese wine!
Out our host came with my glass of Chateau KSara "Le Prieuré!" Deep purple, dark berries, spice, balanced acid and tannins enough to stand up to the grilled meats and olive oil. Yummy and perfect! I will never understand those people who insist on drinking only one variety of wine....they miss so much! If you never thought of wine being made in Lebanon (I never did!) and would like to pay a virtual visit to this winery, by all means click here.
A wonderful evening all around....good friends and colleagues, great food, wine, and service that was welcoming and friendly. I highly recommend a visit to The Kabob Grill in Stonecrest.
I should have gotten a picture of Reid's teboulleh salad. It was beautiful....deep verdant green with diced garden-ripe tomatoes gracing the top. I learned this evening that I've never added enough parsley to my teboulleh salad! If you really, really searched, you could find the grains in Reid's salad. Did I say if you really really searched? My body fairly screamed, "This is so healthy; this is so healthy!"
The next logical question was what wine to drink with all this grilled meat and bold flavors. Now, I have to tell you that I was familiar with most of the wines on the wine list, but it's always a good idea to at least try a wine that is created near where the food originates. (That's a rule of thumb to remember...they generally pair well together.) "We do have a Lebanese wine and it's delicious," I was told and so I jumped at the opportunity to try that, my first Lebanese wine!
Out our host came with my glass of Chateau KSara "Le Prieuré!" Deep purple, dark berries, spice, balanced acid and tannins enough to stand up to the grilled meats and olive oil. Yummy and perfect! I will never understand those people who insist on drinking only one variety of wine....they miss so much! If you never thought of wine being made in Lebanon (I never did!) and would like to pay a virtual visit to this winery, by all means click here.
A wonderful evening all around....good friends and colleagues, great food, wine, and service that was welcoming and friendly. I highly recommend a visit to The Kabob Grill in Stonecrest.
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