Mediterranean Cafe - Blue Island

My parents, who eat out more frequently since their retirement, have been raving about this new middle eastern restaurant in, of all places, Blue Island, for a couple of months now. According to my mother, the owner and chef is Egyptian and owned a restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin for several years. He moved his family to Bridgeview to be closer to the Arab community there. The owner was working at Maple Tree Inn in old Blue Island before opening his own restaurant. He and his wife run the restaurant together.

Mediterranean Cafe is in a very tiny space on the strip known as "Old Blue Island". There are several Mexican restaurants there, an Irish bar of sorts (that I have never been in) and it is also the home of Maple Tree Inn, a cajun/creole restaurant that I am also quite fond of -- but that would be another post. . .

Last night my parents took us to Mediterranean Cafe for dinner. By the time we got to the restaurant it was nearly 8:00 p.m. and the tiny space was mostly full. There is maybe room for a dozen tables in the room. The owner's wife accomodated us by pulling a small table next to a booth so the six of us could sit there comfortably.

I was a little nervous about finding something on the menu my kids would find acceptable. While they are fairly adventurous eaters, my older daughter does not like anything spicy, while the younger one has been having an aversion to all things with meat, unless it is a hot dog, sausage, or bologna.

After a few minutes perusing the menu, both my mother and my older daughter ordered the spinach pie, my father and husband ordered the kefta kabob, my younger daughter ordered the mousaka and I ordered the mediterranean combo platter, which came with hummus, baba ghanouj, tabulah, falafel and grape leaves. We also ordered two plates of fried calamari to share. The kids were fascinated as we waited for our appetizers by the sight of two diners sharing a hookah that the owner's wife provided them after their meal.

Within minutes, we were provided with two complimentary plates of hummus and pita bread. The pita had been sprinkled with a small amount of oil and zataar. The hummus had a small amount of what I only know as "harif", some type of green hot (as in spicy) stuff in the middle, which was easy for my oldest daughter to avoid as she ate around the edges. Our fried calamari came next. My children LOVE fried calamari. Their very favorite is Big Bowl's version, but they will order it any time we see it on a menu. We were all favorably impressed with the large plates we received. My mother remarked that she doubted any of us would have room for our dinners. HA! What does being full have to do with eating???

Before our dinners were served we each received a small Jerusalem salad which had been sprinkled with fresh dill weed. While my daughters initially treated the salad with suspicion, they polished them off right away.

Finally, the main courses arrived. I don't mean to imply that we waited forever for our food -- the courses were arriving in a timely manner, each seeming to arrive just as we finished the previous dish. I watched, my mouth watering, as my mother and older daughter started in on their spinach pie. My youngest daughter than was served her moussaka, which was still bubbling hot. My dad and husband got their kefta kabob plates, which had 3-4 good sized sausages, served with a choice of couscous, rice or grilled potatoes. My husband chose the couscouse and my dad got the rice. There was a very impressive array on the table before I got my combination plate, and my family is very much into sharing. We all tasted from each others' plates. Everything was very fresh and delicious. It's been a long time since I've had such a good middle eastern meal.

I thought the spinach pie was outstanding -- and a little different than what I've eaten in Greek restaurants. The layers of phyllo were very flaky and crisp, while the filling appeared to be fresh spinach layered with spices and cheese. The moussaka was also very different -- my daughter ate as much as she could hold, but brought some back "for breakfast" today. She also tasted her dad's kefta kabob and said it was great -- she would order it the next time she ate here. The kabob plates came with grilled fresh vegetables, sweet peppers and onions, which I did not try but my husband proclaimed them delicious. And my combo plate was fabulous. The baba ghanouj was among the best I've ever tried. The falafel did not taste as if it was made from a mix and was slightly different. I love felafel and can't wait to go back and try their felafel sandwich at lunch some day soon. I never got a chance to try the stuffed grape leaves -- my husband and children snatched them off my plate before I got to them. I kept stealing "just one more" forkful of the couscous from my husband, who just sat there, rolling his eyes. Nearly everything disappeared from the table, despite the fact that we had several appetizers and salad before our main courses arrived.

My parents urged my daughters to split an order of baklava, but my youngest also seems to have developed an aversion to anything with nuts in it. She's not allergic, just doesn't like them. So we passed the baklava around the table. It was also different -- I thought I tasted a little apple in there, but I might be wrong.

The prices at Mediterranean Cafe are very reasonable. The most expensive items on the menu was a mixed grill at 16.95. Most entrees are in the $8.95 - $12.95 range, and their luncheon menu is even more reasonable. My parents first went there with a 10% off coupon from our local paper and had the lentil soup, which my dad is still raving about, and a falafel sandwich. The bowl of soup, which my dad said was enormous and delicious, is $4.50, and the felafel sandwich at lunch time is only $2.75. My dad said it was stuffed so full he could hardly eat it.

I'm looking forward to returning to this little gem in the southern suburbs soon.

Mediterranean Cafe
13337 Old Western Avenue
Blue Island, IL
(708) 597-3301

This place sounds great. It also sounds like the answer to the question of where to find Egyptian food in Chicago.

S:

You mention that the moussaka was different from what you've had in Greek restaurants. Could you elaborate? Also, was the falafil made with the usual chick peas or with favas or some combination of the two?

In any event, thank you for the detailed and very informative post. We're rarely out that way but as the weather gets better, this sounds like a great place to keep in mind for part of a weekend outing with the whole family.

I wonder whether I ever ate at their place in Madison...

Antonius

The moussaka was brought to the table in an ovenproof tureen, with a thick layer of cheese melted all over the top. We got the feeling if we took it out of the tureen, it would just have oozed all over the plate. There was a lot of sauce, a lot of egglant and other vegetables, and a lot of cheese.

I'm not sure what was in the felafel that made it taste different to me, but I don't think it was fava beans, only because I'm not that fond of foul and I would have detected that flavor if it was present. I didn't ask the owner's wife, but on my next visit I will try to find out. It was rather late when we left and I was in more of a hurry to get the kids home and in bed than to ask what ingredients they used.

By the way, I wasn't kidding when I said my youngest would have the rest for breakfast. She came downstairs, heated it briefly in the microwave and ate it along with a vanilla yogurt. Said it was one of the best breakfasts she had in a long time.

We ate at the Mediterranean Cafe in January, with a group of four. We just bought a house about 10 blocks from there, and if we hadn't just spent all our money on the house, we would eat at Mediterranean Cafe at least once a week.

The cafe is modestly decorated, with white lace curtains and simple decor. The server offered immediately to refrigerate the beer we'd brought (place is BYO), and was perfectly attentive all evening without being the least bit cloying.

Absolutely everything we ordered was lovely. We had hummus (just as described in the first posting) and loved the sauce in the center, as well as the warm, fresh pita. We also ordered, and devoured, the delicious calamari. For entrees, we tried the Moussaka, a chicken dish, and a lamb shank with nicely tender broiled potatoes. Of the three, the chicken was the least fantastic, but still not bad. The bill, when it came, seemed very reasonable.

All of us love Mediterranean food and discussed, as each dish arrived, the discernible influences in the flavors. Some seemed Lebanese, some Turkish, even vaguely Moroccan. One of our group, who lived briefly in Egypt, thought some of the flavors seemed Egyptian. Our server described it as "Pan-Mediterranean."

We will return every chance that we get. Fellow south-surburbanites: Keep this place in business. It is an oasis in a sea of pizza. We need it.

While I swore I ate enough for the entire weekend at last night's LTH dinner at Chuck's, I found myself craving a falafel sandwich this afternoon, so we loaded the kids in the van and drove to Mediterranean Cafe. A very simple lunch -- bowls of lentil soup all around, a steal at $2.50 per bowl, and 2 falafel sandwiches and 2 gyros sandwiches. The soup was delicious. Along with the lentils it had a lot of large chunks of garlic, some noodles and really hit the spot. The sandwiches were huge. We originally intended to split them so everyone had a half falafel and a half gyros, but we all kept to our original orders and had a couple of bites of the other sandwich. The falafel sandwiches were $2.95 and the gyros was $3.95. Hot and delicious, we were all content when we left.

I spoke briefly with the owner's wife. They may be moving the restaurant because they only took an 8 month lease, but they intend to keep it in the southern suburbs. Since I knew they came from Madison, Wisconsin I inquired as to the name of their restaurant when they lived in the land of cheese. They were the owners of Cleopatra. The owner is from New York by way of Cairo, and he needed to be closer to a big city. So far, they are very happy in the Chicago area. I sure hope they stay -- this place is a real gem.

Suzy