Evanston Lunch Group 5/18 Olive Mountain

Based on discussion at our April lunch and a review of the Evanston Lunch Group history, it appears that we have not visited the cuisine of the Middle East for almost 2 years. We'll try to address that oversight this month at Olive Mountain in downtown Evanston. Come one, come all--the more, the merrier!

Date: Monday, May 18, 2009
Time: 12:30 pm
Place: Olive Mountain
610 Davis, Evanston
847/475-0380
http://www.olivemountainrestaurant.com/

Cya there!

I'll be there, +1.

I may have opened my mouth about Mondays a little too soon. I am off every Monday except that is the Monday of the NRA Restaurant show. Everything is subject to change, however I plan on being at olive mountain. Sadly, anything can happen.

Oooh. The NRA is having a restaurant show? I will certainly NOT be sending my food back to the kitchen. Sounds like a tough room.

Shoot. I forgot about the NRA show. I'll be at Olive Mountain anyway.

Sorry,but I will be at Evanston Hospital for major surgery. Catherine

Mondays can be crazy for me, but barring some unforseen weekend meltdown, I will be there. It has been quite a few years since I ate at the Olive Mountain. When I worked in Evanston, I used to eat there quite alot (I liked the lamb), but I think I have only been there once since they were forced out of their old location to make way for Evanston's downtown "renovation" and Wofgang Puck's. I thought it had gone downhill with the move. It is high time I gave them a chance to redeem themselves.

chapulin wrote:Sorry,but I will be at Evanston Hospital for major surgery. Catherine

Sorry to hear that, Catherine. Our thoughts will be with you.

I know this is right around the corner and I should have posted, but unfortunately things are looking a bit dismal for me as well: May is a tough month. Unless things change last-minute, I won't be able to make it.

I work on campus and would love to join the lunch group. See you all then,

Hwa

The list for Olive Mountain on Monday so far includes:

nr706
ChgoMike +1
Heather22 (unless she is held hostage by the NRA)
d4v3
einberliner (glad to have you join us!)
tarte tatin

I'm sure we have room for more, so please post if you'd like to join us.... I plan to call Olive Mountain over the weekend with our count.

MHays, we'll hope for a last-minute reprieve so you can join us! And Catherine and Robert--we'll be thinking of you and hoping all goes well!

I am sorry to say that I will miss this meeting. Working from home today. Enjoy your lunch!

Hwa

It was a relatively small group at Olive Mountain, which seemed in some ways appropriate - it was a Monday, after all, and in retrospect, Olive Mountain is not among the area's best Middle Eastern restaurants.

At least for lunch. I'd been there previously for dinner several times, and with its relatively low prices, large portions and BYOB status, it's not a bad option for downtown Evanston. But the lunch menu seemed somewhat more bland and dumbed-down - particularly compared to the relatively nearby Larsa's or Basha in Skokie, or GNR Sahara Kabob in Rogers Park.

Nevertheless, it was relatively crowded. And the service was friendly and enthusiastic (even if they did forget the Diet Pepsi).


I started with the "Arabic Yogurt Drink" - a decent rendition of a salt lassi. Others started with an unusual lentil soup - pureed smooth. Reportedly it was somewhat bland - the pepper shaker got a good workout in response.


A Cold Combo appetizer was ordered for the table. Clockwise from top: hummus, falafel, babaganouj, and tabouleh. All were a bit on the bland side. The falafel had a somewhat thick, crisp crust, and not in an especially good way (although it worked well in sandwiches, where the moisture from other ingredients softened it up a bit.


Spinach Pie with Feta was also okay, although the crust was rather short for my tastes.


interior


As mentioned, the falafel worked better in the falafel sandwich with eggplant.


The little bit of lamb I had from the lamb shishkebob sandwich was decent, toothsome, though might have spent a bit more time in the marinade. I'm not not sure the bite marks from d4v3 helped the sandwich's appearance.


Alice seemed a bit skeptical of her combination plate, with beef, kifta, chicken, peppers and rice. Her companion, ChgoMike, ate most of it.

Again, Olive Mountain does a nice job at a good price point if you're in downtown Evanston, but you can do much better if you don't mind driving a couple of miles.

Thanks for arranging the lunch, tt. We had fun, even if not the greatest examples of standard middle eastern fare. I appreciate everyone's patience with the occasional outburst and food throwing. I also appreciate everyone putting up with Alice.

See you at Al's.