Photo by Allie Appel
Unless you were taking a drive down East Boyd Drive, you’d probably overlook Almaza Café.
The building that houses this gyro mecca isn’t anything spectacular to look at, but the food is so impressive I wanted to write about it in all caps.
The key to a good meal here is trying everything. Unfortunately, that’s unrealistic, so here’s a look at a few items from Almaza’s menu.
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While the salad is the usual spring mix, topped with an oil-and-vinegar dressing, olives and feta cheese, more impressive is the falafel, which could be easily split between two or three people. The falafel appetizer comes with six pieces, a plate of hummus and several slices of pita bread.
Foodie tip: If you get an appetizer that comes with hummus (or hammus, as they spell it), don’t order it with your entrée or you’ll be faced with a lot of chickpeas.
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For my entrée, I had the koubideh sandwich. Traditionally, koubideh is a Persian minced meat. It’s made of ground lamb or beef, parsley and chopped onions. This sandwich comes dressed with lettuce, tomato and Grecian sauce—yogurt mixed with chopped mint leaves and various spices. The chicken shawarma sandwich comes the same way and is just as satisfying. Both plates have tons of food and are just under $10.
The restaurant is family owned and has a slow-paced, casual atmosphere. The food is brought in flights, so you can relax and enjoy each course. The restaurant also serves American food, such as po-boys and burgers. Almaza is located at 623 E. Boyd Drive and is open Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
—Amanda Capritto