Pomegranate, Evanston

Pomegranate is a Greek and Mediterranean joint that opened up a few weeks ago. I finally had a chance to give it a try last week.

The staff was friendly and service was fast. Since it was lunch, I did not order too much. An order of kibbeh, 4 pieces of falafel, and a chicken shawerma sandwich.

I love kibbeh. There are places that make it with ground beef, but this one was lamb. And I hate lamb... But I like the kibbeh... Wierd...



Not greasy, still crispy after walking back to the office. The pinenuts were prominent, and the lamb was mild....



Falafel was again nicely fried, and retained its crispiness. But I thought the tahnini sauce was a little too tangy. But the falafel did not really need the sauce IMHO....



The chicken sharwerma was decent. I found the meat a little too tangy, but it was moist. Vegetables were fresh, and the onions had some kind of seasoning on them, which was interesting.

All in all, a decent place to grab lunch (or dinner). I will definitely be back to try some other stuff on the menu...

Pomegranate
1633 Orrington Ave
Evanston, IL 60209
(847) 475-6002

The kibbeh looks great. Do you think someone who loves lamb would enjoy it?

I rarely eat lunch in Evanston these days, but I might be tempted to walk across the street for that. I, for one, love the little wee lambs.

Cynthia wrote:The kibbeh looks great. Do you think someone who loves lamb would enjoy it?

Hahaha.... Well, I don't like the strong smell and taste of lamb, and I really liked it! The lamb was really mild, so I guess if you do like the lamb flavor, you might be disappointed?! =)

I am not a big lamb fan myself - but I did get a chance to stop in at the Pomegranate and try it out. The lamb was great, actually. I also had rice and hummos - I was impressed with both.

I am easily suggestible, so I got lunch from Pomegranate today.

First, I learned that either I have been spelling that word wrong my whole life or they are. (I just checked the dictionary - apparently "pomegrante" is an alternate spelling, so I am only about 75% wrong. Oh well)

I ordered the shawerma and kibbeh because, um, I didn't have a menu and so ordered what was on my computer screen (really suggestible. Really). I placed the order for pickup, then realized to my chagrin that the long-awaited door the insurance company finally put up would not lock. Or shut. So I called them up and asked pleadingly if someone would mind running it across the street because I was a prisoner in an open cage.

They didn't mind a bit, so hooray for them. The sandwich was delicious, although I agree it was oddly sour. Fresh-tasting tahini, bread, and meat. The kibbeh was tasty too, though as I ate it I wondered if it really was lamb, or perhaps lamb product or something.

Had some appetizers there last week.

Babaganoush was excellent, great flavour.

Spinach pie was terrible a little bready triangle (not phyllo) with a strangely flavoured veggie mix inside that brought to mind soft and off nori for some reason. I kept thinking "bas maki" when I was eating it, and after three bites I called it quits.

The Kibbeh was ok but mine was a little undercooked; Iwill have to try another one to make an informed decision.

All in all, a decent place, pricier than Pita Inn, e.g. they charge you for tahini or hot sauce, .50 cents a cup which seems unreasonably steep but in keeping with UberBurgers overpriced sauces around the corner.

For a qucik little snack in the area, I am not likely to find anything that beats the squid salad at the sushi place on the corner of Church and Orrington. It's something like 4 or 5 bucks and is just about the perfect snack size for me. Fresh tasting, with some heat, nice cucumbers and great squid. Healthy too.

LTH:
I have now had lunch three times at Pomegranate and I walked out with a smile on my face everytime. The hummos is right on: really good (ask for it without the "oil" they put on top). Also, the falafel sandwich is excellent: freshly fried, with good tahini sauce. I had the yogurt salad which was refreshing with mint and a hint of garlic and also the grape leaves they make are good. The kibbeh is ok, the burgul they use seem to have a slightly undesirable taste (may be they should wash it more). They also sell a "pocket skirt steak sandwich" which I have not tried.
All in all a good addition to the Evanston lunch scene and a destination for good middle eastern standards this side of the city (the tastes remind me of Al-Khaymeh-- which I prefer). One slight negative is that prices are a bit higher than say pita inn or Basha...
Elie

I've also eaten here several times now.

I agree about the babaganoush -- nicely smoky and chunky (though unfortunately topped with cheap, lousy olive oil, which seems to be a common problem in these types of places).

The kibbeh was decent, but mine did not look like the above photo; it seems like they may have started mixing in something like Vegeta into the shell. I would have preferred what CrazyC had.

Kifta sandwich was fine -- how can you screw up kifta, really? (I know, there are ways.)

I'll probably try the falafel next. I'm fairly demanding of my falafel, though, and the notion of paying extra for hot sauce really rankles.

I'm not sure I'd agree that it's a destination -- not with Olive Mountain around the corner. But it's a decent choice for take-out. It's also fairly packed around lunchtime.

We carried out lunch today from Pomegranate and I was somewhat underwhelmed. First of all, the kibbeh was 86'd. Considering that it was only lunch time, that was annoying (yes, I know it's Monday but still).

The 'steak in a sack' sandwich was positively awful. The meat, billed as tenderloin on the menu, was dry and chewy. The 'tongue tingling' sauce was not really present and the meat tasted of worcestershire sauce, which didn't exactly fit the motif, IMO. Neither did the sweet-tasting mayo on the sandwich, which was bordering on Miracle Whip.

The chicken shawerma (plate) was ok but the meat was dry and somewhat bland. There was a nice little skewer of grilled vegetables included but what I really wanted was some lettuce and tomato, so I could make a couple little sandwiches from it. I thought the accompanying rice was excellent. The tahina was a bit thicker than I'm used to but tasty.

The babaganooj was definitely smokey. It almost tasted like it had bacon in it. The hummos was tasty but I didn't like it as much as other versions served nearby. The falafel, on the other hand, was very tasty, and still crispy after a 25-minute drive back to the office.

Service was friendly and the order was ready at the appointed time. But, I specifically asked the person who rang me up if we needed any sauces. She told me that all the sauces were already in with their respective items. But, when we unbagged it, there was no hot sauce present at all. Now that I understand they charge for sauces, this makes a bit more sense to me but it's no less annoying. Luckily, we keep a jar of harissa at the office.

I could see myself trying Pomegranate again but I don't really feel compelled to do so. With Pita Inn and Larsa's both between my office and Pomegranate, I'd have to drive past a lot of proven, great food to get there. It's been years since I ate at Olive Mountain but I remember liking it much more than Pomegranate, too. But again, this was all carry-out. Maybe their hot food is substantially better when eaten right after being made.

=R=

Went yesterday and had almost the exact same experience. The chicken was dry verging on sawdust and the fabled "steak in a sack" should have been billed as "gristle with watered down A-1...in a sack"
That being said, I thought the soup was quite tasty and have had luck in the past with their baba gannouj and salads. And the service was friendly and accomodating.
Yet, with Olive Mountain close by and Dempster Street middle eastern a quick ride away, I find this somewhat pointless.
By the way, a quick shout out to Basha's veggie sandwhich which is a nice mix of eggplant, cauliflower, other veggies and tahini for under two bucks.

Don't get the chicken shawerma!! It's so dry eating sand would have been more refreshing!