Sababa

Steph and I found ourselves heading to Thornhill, so she recommended Sababa for dinner:
Pickled beets, pickles, pickled peppers, and olives
I will be the first to tell you that I do not know the difference between Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food. Like, to me, they are the same thing. Maybe there's a difference in the spices they use, but I wouldn't be able to tell you what they are. Shish kebab and souvlaki? One and the same to me. So, I wouldn't be the person to go ask about authenticity of said food. (This may be like a non-Asian person saying that sushi is Chinese food or something. I understand that ignorance now.) That having been said, the food at Sababa was thoroughly enjoyable, at least to my amateur palate. We got a couple of mango juices to start, and then they presented us with a plate of pickled goodies (my favourite are the beets), followed by a basket of warm pita bread (though I do wish they had given us something to dip it in), and then our salads (which come as sides to our entrées). Oh, there you go, I could definitely see and taste a difference in the salads. Whereas Greek salad comes with Greek dressing, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese, and olives, this salad came with... a different dressing and parsley (okay, so I don't know exactly what was in it, but it wasn't Greek, okay?). 

"Moroccan Cigars"
To start, we shared the "Moroccan cigars," which is their name for delicious, golden, crispy deep-fried dough stuffed with spiced ground beef, and served with tahini. You really can't go wrong with these babies — they're high in calories and high in fat, so they're a crowd-pleaser by default. While Steph opted for the tilapia, I decided to get the lamb shish kebab upon her recommendation. Again, it could be the same thing as souvlaki for me, but the meat was perfectly cooked, tender, and flavourful. I like lamb, but they offer beef, pork, and chicken as well. The one skewer made me full, but the menu also has an option for a two-kebab platter if you're feeling particularly peckish. As a side, you get your choice of fries or rice or, as our waiter offered, half rice and half fries. No room for dessert, sadly, as we both had food babies by the time we finished our entrées. Didn't want to have twins, you know.
Lamb shish kebab
The restaurant itself was clean and organized with some Middle Eastern touches in the decor. Our waiter was super friendly and attentive and quite efficient for the most part, though by the time we finished our meals, he was nowhere to be found (I think he might've been on dinner break, actually). So, we had to get another girl to get our bill, and she was not friendly at all. Kind of rude, actually, like we were doing some great disservice to her by asking her for our bill. Both Steph and I were using cards to pay, and I swear I could hear her sigh before saying, "I have to go get the machine." Maybe my food baby and I were just feeling sensitive that night, but I just got hostile vibes from her. I just hope the tip we gave ended up going to our original waiter. Anyway, I probably wouldn't go out of my way to go there, but it's a great place to go for Middle Eastern (or Mediterranean?) food if you're in the area.

Sababa 390 Steeles Avenue West Thornhill, ON L4J 6X2 (905) 764-6440