Tag: food

Restaurant Review – Levant Cafe & Grill (Cedar Park, TX) – Part 1

I find my thrills…at Levant Cafe & Grill! 🙂

Spice or no spice, I love Middle Eastern food – so much flavor, so many healthy, yet tasty ingredients and yes, the spice of course! Late last year, I inadvertently discovered this gem of a place not too far from my house and have been back several times since. Unfortunately, due to Covid, I’ve had to rely on DoorDash or Favor to provide me with my fix in recent months; But the good news is that my food arrives just as warm and fresh as if I was sitting right there by their kitchen!

I love Levant’s location – it’s tucked away in an off-the-beaten path part of Cedar Park, TX – a far north Austin suburb, almost exurb. On one hand, it’s not a place where you can people watch, but on the other hand, it’s a great place to go and have a relaxing lunch or dinner. Calm and peaceful, you can either eat and peacefully collect your thoughts, or bring your laptop or a nice book to read, and regardless, get away from the madding crowd. And the owners are such friendly folks!

Now, onto the food. What I really love about Levant (apart from the spice, which I will get to soon enough!) is not only the quality and perfection of their food, but also the diversity that Levant offers. Most Middle Eastern restaurants have the usual offerings (vegetarian and non-veg) – the falafel, the gyros, hummus, etc. Nothing wrong with that – in fact, I love that! But what I love about Levant is that they go a step beyond. Their Middle Eastern cuisine does include the usual staples, but also offers things from different regions in the Middle East – offerings you would typically not find in most restaurants.

For instance, as a vegetarian, I love the Syrian Moussaka, the Turkish cabbage, the Makafel pitas with an Israeli twist, the zesty Iraqi amba that comes with their sandwiches and bowls and my two favorites, from a spice perspective – the Palestinian Mhammara bread and Jalapeno hummus. Basically, you cannot go wrong no matter what you get there. Vegetarian, vegan, or carnivore, your taste buds and your stomach will be happy! If you order any of the bread (including the Palestinian Mhammara), they will heat it up for you right then and there so it tastes fresh baked.

Moving on to the spice…my two favorites I referenced earlier – the Palestinian Mhammara bread and Jalapeno hummus. The Mhammara bread is a warm pita bread layered with red-pepper paste – so much so that the entire bread has its own unique shade of red! Don’t believe me – see my pics below! The red pepper paste is evenly spread so that it provides the spice all around, but is not so overwhelming that you can’t use it to dip and scoop up the rest of your food. Likewise, the Jalapeno hummus – good spice evenly spread with fantastic flavor. And I maximized this spicy experience by using my Mhammara bread to scoop up my Jalapeno hummus!

But throughout all this, the piece la resistance of their spice is their homemade chili sauce. It’s not on the menu, and as I’ve said in one of my key earlier posts, you will find some of the best spicy food out there (be it sauces, dips, salsas, and even entrees) simply by asking and not taking the menu at face value. At Levant, I simply asked for extra chili sauce on the side, and they were very generous. A spicy addition that went with my already spicy Mhammara bread and Jalapeno hummus, but they gave me enough where I had plenty left over for my Syrian moussaka!

And the best part about all of this? This isn’t their only homemade spicy sauce! Although I didn’t get it, I was informed that they have a spicy Jalapeno cilantro sauce also made in-house! Several trips to Levant, and I was ignorant about this, so can’t wait to try that and create my part 2 review!

Details:

Spicy Flavors:

  • Palestinian Mhammara bread
  • Jalapeno hummus
  • Homemade spicy chili sauce (not on the menu – you have to request)
  • Homemade Jalapeno cilantro sauce (not on the menu – you have to request) – once I try this, I will create part 2!

Personal Faves:

  • As long as it’s vegetarian or vegan, I love it! This place is Middle Eastern perfection!
  • Tried twice the Makafel sandwich with Iraqi amba (didn’t I say the place was diverse!)
  • Recently tried vegetarian Syrian moussaka
  • On my low carb days, I go for one of the bowls versus sandwiches
Hot bread, hot sauce, hot d*mn!
Jalapeno hummus with the perfect blend of olive oil and spicy peppers!
I love how generous they are when I simply asked for “some hot sauce” on the side!

Spice on, my friends!

Texican’s Spicy Salsa

I’ve always been a firm believer of the adage “It ain’t bragging if you can back it up!” And yes, I know I can be a tad ostentatious about my spicy feats and seemingly limitless tolerance, but every now and then, I find something that challenges and humbles me.

Enter Texican Cafe – El Paso Style Mexican Food. BTW, to us locals, it doesn’t rhyme with “Mexican”, but rather, it’s pronounced “tex-uh-CAN” as opposed to “tex-uh-CAN’T!” It’s always been a favorite of mine since moving to the north Austin suburbs in 2006, and on average, I eat there at least once a month.

Not in the mood to sit down at a restaurant, I did the usual curb-side pickup tonight, which we Americans have gotten so used to during our COVID-19 quarantine. As always, I get my favorite – the Queso A La Parilla with no meat or seafood, of course. It’s not as good as it is in-house – fresh-out-of-the-oven in a cast-iron skillet, but still tasty and full of flavor. To complement this awesome cast-iron queso, I got myself a tub of their spicy salsa.

I don’t know what it is about this salsa – maybe there’re hidden ghost peppers, maybe it’s the Jalapenos that are just so finely chopped up (with or without seeds) or maybe it’s an inordinate amount of cayenne pepper, but no matter what it is, this is one salsa with which I have to take a pause after a few spoons, or at least gulp a few sips of water!!!

My tub of Texican spicy salsa – just look at those finely chopped Jalapenos and seeds! Aren’t they amazing!

In any case, it’s delicious and a perfect combination to go with whatever you order, for all you fellow spice lovers out there!

But just remember: It’s not on the menu. And it’s not even advertised, so you have to request it – wink wink! 🙂

Spice on, my friends!

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