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photo by Olaf Growald
A sampler of Nish! Mediterranean Grill’s offerings
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photo by Olaf Growald
Nish! Mediterranean Grill’s Greek Salad and Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie
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photo by Olaf Growald
Nish! Mediterranean Grill’s Nish Family Feast
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photo by Olaf Growald
Nish! Mediterranean Grill’s Double Chocolate Milkshake and Rice Pudding
There has been a lot of talk about the River Oaks area lately. While no one is ready to call it the River Oaks “Renaissance” or the River Oaks “Rebirth” just yet, this long-forgotten stretch is catching its second wind, thanks to all the growth on nearby White Settlement Road.
As you drive past aging strip malls, you might miss the new Nish! Mediterranean Grill that popped up last April on Ohio Garden Road.
With a few buckets of wine-red paint, woodwork, and a lot of elbow grease, owner Anwar Khalil transformed the former Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Store in eight months to an attractive diner.
From the moment you enter Nish! Mediterranean Grill, Khalil will greet you as if you’re a long-lost friend; the owner greets everyone personally with a warm smile and a hearty, “Welcome, my friend,” then follows up with each table throughout their meal. It’s worth the drive just to make the acquaintance of this Palestinian immigrant from Silwad — which lies north of both Ramallah and Jerusalem.
Marrying his own family recipes with regional nuances, the Middle Eastern fare is on point. Kahlil’s daughter came up with the name Nish!, which is Arabic slang for roasting and grilling meats — or what we might refer to as barbecue.
The lunch buffet ($12.98 including a drink) is a great place to start your exploration, but the full menu is vast.
Classic dips like creamy hummus and baba ghanoush (roasted eggplant) are excellent. The tabbouleh is mostly parsley with a hint of bulgur wheat and plenty of lemon, just as it should be. The Arabic salad is called fattoush, which is similar to fresh chopped pico de gallo dressed in olive oil and lemon. The cucumber and yogurt salad was wonderful as well, with just enough fresh mint.
An interesting collection of appetizers had its hits and misses. Arrayes is meat-stuffed pita bread cut into triangles and served alongside tzatziki sauce. It was bland and underseasoned, saved only by the garlicky sauce. Dolmas, or stuffed grape leaves, were basic, as was the kebba (or kibbe), which is seasoned meat molded around bulgar wheat dough and fried in a torpedo shape.
The nanakeesh and the falafel, however, were great. Manakeesh is crunchy, baked pita dough dusted liberally with a fluffy topping of olive oil and zaatar spices. The falafel were crispy fried discs with perfectly seasoned, pillowy interiors, and amazing floral notes. I also loved the fried eggplant, which simply melts in your mouth.
The traditional sliced gyro meat was tender and flavorful. But I was disappointed by both the chicken and beef kabobs, which are ground, seasoned, and formed around traditional metal skewers to roast. The seasoning was missing, leaving the beef tasting like boring hamburger meat. The kabobs were a disappointment for the same reason.
Perhaps in an attempt to Anglicize the menu and make it more palatable to Americans, Nish! decided to go sparingly on the spices.
While the garlic, lemon, and mint were present and prominent, some of the other telltale flavors of Middle Eastern cuisine were simply missing, like cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and allspice. That spice mix is what makes nearly every meat preparation so mouthwatering, and when I eat Arabic food, I want those spice concoctions to hit hard.
So, ramp up the spices; we can handle it. In fact, for those of us who have lived in or traveled to the Middle East, we are constantly in search of a good kick. We want to eat what your grandmother is cooking, not what you think our grandmother is cooking.
For dessert, the thick rice pudding blended with sweetened condensed milk and topped with pistachios was just as anticipated. My favorite finale by far was the awama, which are bite-sized balls of fried dough soaked in rose water and lemon juice syrup.
Nish! Mediterranean Grill
Location: 4913 Ohio Garden Road
What We Liked: The falafel is heavenly with floral notes, and the awama dessert has a heavy dose of rose water and lemon juice syrup.
What We Didn’t: Many of the meats lacked the telltale flavors of Middle Eastern cuisine: cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and allspice.
Recommendations: The lunch buffet is fun to explore, but some of your favorite dishes may only be available when you order off the menu.
