Middle Eastern served with a side of sex appeal
By ARIEL SHEARER | May 6, 2011
A few doors down from the Brighton Music Hall, there's a new Middle Eastern food stop grilling kabobs with sex appeal. The fresh interior of the Boston Kabob Company immediately drives you to blurt out "For here!" after ordering — if only because it's the cleanest place to grab a bite on a budget in Allston. Décor may be lost on hipsters, but prices and portions are on point for students and the frugal. The only dishes more than $10 are lamb kabobs for $10.99 and lamb chops for $11.99. Meat plates come grilled with red and green peppers and onions over a rice pilaf (sub for fries), and Boston Kabob serves a hefty side portion of Middle East salad with diced cucumbers and tomatoes marinated in lemon and olive-oil dressing ($3.99 as an appetizer).Other kabob plates ($8.99) come with your choice of kafta (spicy seasoned ground beef), beef kabobs (tender steak), chicken breast (marinated and cubed), or chicken pargeet (tender boneless thigh meat). Sample beef and chicken skewers with the mixed-grill plate ($9.99), or choose either in pita or roll-up sandwich form ($6.99). Falafel sandwiches are $5.99.
The dining area includes four tables, each seating four on purple benches complementing warm yellow walls — aesthetics are an obvious priority in this Israeli eatery. Food arrives at your table on rectangular white platters, making the color of veggie chops pop. Pita is made fresh on site, and two puffy pieces are big enough to finish dual servings of baba ghannouj and creamy lemon olive-oil hummus ($4.99/appetizer) that come with the signature veggie plate ($7.99/appetizer sampler). This platter includes eight crunchy-outside, moist-inside, two-bite balls of falafel drizzled with tahini sauce, and portions of tabouleh ($4.99/appetizer) and Middle East salad.
Their baklava is $1.99, more than a little steep for a tiny cut (baklava needs to be at least three bites if it's more than $1). But baklava like this is rare. Its wet shine winks seductively from the counter as you try to leave, and it's physically adapted to ooze nectar-thick sticky sweetness. With dessert enough to inspire food blue-balls, Boston Kabob raises the bar for cheap eats.
Boston Kabob Company, located at 164 Brighton Avenue, in Allston, is open Monday–Thursday, 11 am–11 pm; Friday–Saturday, 11 am–3 am; and Sunday, 11 am–1 am. Call 617.254.BEEF (2333)
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