by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
The Casbah is on my list of late night bites, since they serve food until 2AM. That being said, because options are limited that time of night in Jacksonville and because the Casbah serves excellent eats, it can be packed after midnight, particularly on weekends, so expect a minor wait, even if you do opt to sit outside. It’s an established hookah hangout, so you can anticipate sweet clouds of hookah smoke. Unlike cigarette smoke, it isn’t disturbing to the meal, and is more like a light, sweet incense than anything else.
Inside the Casbah, you’ll find lacquered tables embossed with the Eye of Horus and on those tables: live Peruvian Lilies. The walls are painted to resemble old faux plaster and are adorned with art of a Middle Eastern flair. Belly dancers, bearded men in turbans and old movie posters of Cleopatra (starring Vivian Leigh and Claude Rains) are some of the subjects of the pictures on the walls. Next to the bar is a display of decorative sheathed Middle Eastern knives and swords. The hookah lounge itself is slated to be remodeled soon, with screening and lower tables.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday Nights, you can catch live belly dancing. Also, the last Wednesday of each month, the much vaunted belly dancing teacher, Simone, gives free, basic lessons to willing patrons.
Like most Middle Eastern-style restaurants in the U.S., the Casbah has items on their menu for those less attracted to exotic seeming selections. That means if you like to try different types of food, but all your friends are more apt to hit up Bennigan’s, then the Casbah is actually an apt compromise. I like taking friends who are shy about trying something new to a place like the Casbah. They end up ordering something like the Caesar Salad and I order something like the stuffed grape leaves or kibbie. By the end of the meal, they’ve usually tried a bite or two of whatever I’m having. Middle Eastern-style cuisine is a lot less exotic than people believe it is. Most selections at the Casbah aren’t spicy and some items (like the stuffed grape leaves) can also be found at a Greek-style restaurant. If you’re unsure of what you’ll like, the Old City Sampler on the lunch menu or the Casbah Combo at dinner will give you a sampling of some of the more popular appetizers.
At the Casbah, the stuffed Grape leaves, also known as a dolma, are stuffed with spiced ground beef and rice. The leaves themselves are a little tart, so they have a bit of a savory tang to them. Falafel, in the Middle East, can come in a variety of guises and the Casbah has the most common variant, a deep fried garbanzo bean patty mixed with parsley, sesame seeds and spices. My favorite appetizer will always be the fried kibbie, a deep fried football-shaped snack stuffed with beef, onions and pine nuts. Both the falafel and the kibbie are great with the fresh and creamy tahini sauce. The standard dipping spread for pita is fresh hummus, made largely by puréeing garbanzo beans (also known as chick peas) and topping it with olive oil and spices. I sampled the fool, which is made in the same manner, only with fava beans, resulting in a thicker, heartier pita dip. If you’ve tried hummus before and want to try something a little different, go for the fool.
As far as salads go, at any Middle Eastern restaurant, you can bet I’m going to order the tabouleh. This is a salad that’s hard to make badly, unless you’ve veered too far off course or you aren’t using fresh ingredients, which are essential to this salad. It’s a mixture of finely chopped parsley, mixed with cracked wheat, a little tomato and a little cucumber, bound together by olive oil, salt and lemon juice. The Casbah has always had a superior tabouleh.
Another popular choice with patrons is the Casbah Pizza. While I can’t promise that this is a traditional Mid-East dish, it does employ traditional ingredients, though they’re presented in an Americanized manner. The base of the “pizza” is pita bread, and the tomato sauce is replaced by your choice of hummus, baba ganoush or fool. The toppings are olives, tomatoes, marinated artichokes and feta cheese. I could taste why this item is a favorite of Casbah regulars.
A hookah lounge might seem an unlikely place to get some of the most sought after desserts in town, but the Casbah gets the majority of their sweets from the same local pastry provider as Biscotti’s, which has built its rep as one the best places to end a meal. The Casbah also has organic coffee to sip with whatever sweet confection you choose. While the majority of the desserts aren’t traditionally Middle Eastern, they are delectable. I sampled the Oreo cake, which tastes as though someone had magically transformed an Oreo cookie into a cake. Also popular on the dessert menu is the strawberry shortcake, the luscious berry cheesecake (looks beautiful, tastes beautiful) and the chocolate mint and the brownie explosion, which is something any chocolate lover may swoon over. Your waiter or waitress can tell you what’s currently in the dessert case, but I think there is just nothing like sauntering over to the case myself and having a private drool-fest as I gaze into the mini landscape of desserts, hypnotized by chocolate-covered strawberries.
The Casbah can be found at 3628 Saint Johns Ave in the Avondale neighborhood. Call them at (904) 981-9966 to make a reservation for Valentine’s Day.
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