Grill Xpress

After three and a half years and 521 blog posts, I'm now going to write my first restaurant review. The reason I've never written about a restaurant before is that, as a sometimes restauranteur, I'm not a big fan of this culture of grassroots criticism and digital Marxism, where anyone who has had a restaurant experience that didn't meet expectations can go online and spew vitriol.

Most restaurant reviews assume that restaurants should exist, first and foremost, to meet the needs of their customers. I'm fully aware that no restaurant can stay in business long unless it meets its customers' needs, but restaurants also fundamentally exist to express the vision of their proprietors, and to provide these hardworking folks with a livelihood. No single eating establishment can please everyone. Restaurants that survive are able to find a critical mass of customers' who appreciate their offerings enough to support them over time.

The process of setting up a restaurant involves making difficult choices. Most likely you won't be able to do everything just the way you originally envisioned because even basic building blocks like ventilation and plumbing can cost tens of thousands of dollars. You'll find a space that seems like it can work, and you'll most likely sign an extended lease before you figure out how all of the pieces are going to fit together because if you wait until you work out all of the details, someone else will jump at the opportunity if it's a space worth having.

There's a little Mediterranean place in a strip mall by my house where I often go for takeout, especially after very long market days. It has a definite strip mall feeling, with flourescent lights and strip mall tables. But the food has heart and the proprietor clearly works very, very hard.

I actually wasn't thrilled with the food the first time I ate there. I ordered falafel, and the garlic didn't taste right and there was far too much of it. But it was an interesting sandwich, one that had clearly been conceptualized by someone who was paying attention to detail. And there were so many other things on the menu that I wanted to try.

I regularly order the tabouli, which always comes with far more parsley than bulgur. I appreciate that. I also get a lentils and rice dish that's subtly flavored with cinnamon, and topped with chopped tomatoes and cucumbers, as well as a tahini sauce. It fills me up and makes me happy. I also order the hummus and the foul medamas, a rich fava bean dip. They all come with pita that's been warmed and tucked in ziplocs.

The spot is open long hours, and the owner has been there personally every single time I've been there. Of all the fast food places close to home that I frequent, it's the only one where I haven't ever shown up ten minutes before closing, tired and hungry, only to discover that it's closed early. I've been there on days when it's snowing and sleeting, and Easter Sunday and Superbowl Sunday, when business is clearly very, very slow.

As a sometimes restauranteur, I fully understand the impulse to close early when you haven't seen a customer for hours. I'm grateful for this guy's dependability, and he's earned my profound respect. It's a tough business, and he does a great job.