Well finally, University of Miami grad student Annalise Iraola, wants you to try her pick,
which offers diverse Mediterranean dishes and traditional American
fare. It's located in Hollywood, and it's called "Shabo's Mediterranean Barbecue".
Hello, my name is Shabo Emara. I'm the owner of Shabo's Restaurant in Hollywood, Florida. Every
chef have dream to open his own restaurant, so I used to work for one of the corporations for
a long time. So it was my dream to open my own restaurant when I move here in Hollywood. So I
figure out this really good area. So beautiful. So I decide to open my first location here in
Hollywood. So we open it since 2014. We are Mediterranean, kind of, but not Mediterranean
in the same time. So we use the Mediterranean names, but I use my own recipe for everything.
The ambience we create here, actually, I want to make everyone come into Shabo's to feel home.
So we, that even the decoration we use here, it's kind of like simple and at the same time,
charming, just to make everyone feel home. Shabo's Mediterranean
is like home. We cooking like you eat at home. We treat all our customer as a VIP.
So can you tell me a little bit about the location of Shabo's?
Yeah, so it's located in downtown Hollywood, so it's super easy to find and easy to get to.
It's in, you know, a hip, like, cool area. So I feel like it's a great place to walk around.
Lovely. Okay. Tell me a little bit about walking in for your first time, Keith.
Walking in, it was like a Moroccan decor,
I would say. And it definitely fit the theme of the restaurant. I mean, I looked around, and
when I went on a Sunday night, so it wasn't really crowded inside, so I elected to seat outside.
What did you think about it? Had you been there before?
I had never been there before. Actually, my son had, and he was, he said, "Oh, I love that place."
[Michelle] Oh, that's great!
Which is great. No, very welcoming. We had made a reservation, and it was a Saturday night. It was a
little hard to park, but we found a garage, and indoor parking, no problem. And they seated us,
and it was beautiful inside. We felt like we were like in a little Middle Eastern palace .
Tell me about your main course. I believe you had chicken kebab with couscous?
[Annalise] Okay, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, so the chicken kebab, I mean,
I tend to be picky about where I order chicken from,
so it was exactly what I expected it to be. It was done just the way I like it.
Tell me about your molokhia. I've always wanted to try that.
I have never had anything like it before. It was so good.
[Michelle] So tell me a little bit about it. So it's braised leg of lamb, I'm guessing.
[Keith] Yeah, it's braised leg of lamb. [Michelle] Or is it shank?
[Keith] Yeah, it's braised leg, and it was absolutely, I keep saying things were
cooked to perfection, but I've had lamb many, many times. This was unbelievable.
[Michelle] Was it a pastry over it of some type?
[Keith] No, not at all, not at all.
[Michelle] Just stewed.
[Keith] Yep, just stewed. And it was fabulous. And the whole dish,
I ended up taking like, half of it home. I had to get it home and it was
[Michelle] It was probably better the next day, almost, right?
It was almost almost better. It really, really was.
Yeah.
It was so good. It was one of my favorite lamb dishes that I've ever had, for sure.
Wow.
For sure.
That's so nice to hear. I love that. Stephanie, tell me about your dishes.
Well, this restaurant was so much fun because there were so many things I had never eaten before
and I was excited to try them. So we initially started off with the Meze platter, which had
everything and anything on it. I think it had grape leaves, and tzatziki, and tabbouleh, and
[Michelle and Stephanie] Falafel.
[Michelle] Baba Ganoush. [Stephanie] Yes!
[Michelle] Fresh pita bread, oh my goodness. Did it ever end?
[Stephanie] No, and it was all delicious. Especially the falafel. I remember that,
specifically . That was really good. And then I ordered, our server was fabulous,
and she was trying to explain all the specials, and I ended up ordering a lamb maqluba.
Which is what? Am I pronouncing that
[Michelle] Yeah, you're saying it beautifully.
Okay. [Michelle] I just don't know what it is.
Her pronunciations are amazing. It's insane.
I know.
I agree.
So, the lamb maqluba, basically it means, I guess "maqluba" means "upside-down",
so they cook it in like, a clay pot with
[Michelle] But it's a rice dish.
[Stephanie] It's a rice dish with stewed lamb and vegetables, and Middle Eastern
vegetables. I'm not quite sure what some of them were, but they tasted incredible.
[Michelle] Was the rice a little crisp?
[Stephanie] A little crisp.
[Michelle] Yeah, so they actually cook it in like, a heavy skillet to get it caramelized and crispy.
[Stephanie] Oh, okay.
And then when they flip it, you get that caramelization, and that crunch from the rice.
[Stephanie] They flip it right at the table, so
Oh, how yummy! Wow.
So it was an experience, tableside.
Wow. That's awesome.
It was. The presentation was gorgeous and it tasted just as delicious. I mean,
it was really, really wonderful. And my husband and friend, they actually got the
[Michelle and Stephanie] Shabo's Grill.
[Stephanie] Yes. And so that was sort of like a little charcoal
hibachi at the table. And that was fun, as well.
[Michelle] Was that different meats, or
[Stephanie] Chicken, meat, shrimp, gyros
Wow.
Yeah. [Michelle] A lot of food.
A lot of food. Oh, my gosh. Almost too much, but we took it home, as well.
Well, Annalise, Shabo's was your pick. Sum it up for me, please.
If you're looking for a cool combination of Mediterranean and American barbecue,
this is the right place for you.
[Michelle] Stephanie?
For a fun experience where you can try all kinds of new Middle Eastern foods
and walk around Hollywood a little bit afterwards, Shabo's is perfect.
[Michelle] Keith?
The food was outstanding. It's great Mediterranean barbecue.
I'm so glad that you picked it. It was fantastic.
Thank you for bringing that to the table. Well, you can enjoy a barbecue platter and
a kebab at Shabo's Mediterranean Barbecue, located at 1814 Harrison Street in Hollywood,
open daily for brunch, lunch, and dinner. Reservations are accepted,
where the average price for dinner without drinks is about $40.