Vegetarian Dining at Steve's Shish-Kabab [non-veg, too]

Vegetarian Dining at
Steve's Shish-Kabab


After earning at least several more decades at my time-share in Purgatorio at Laschet's on Thursday, I got back to the Lenten fast and, as if to say to whomever might listen "Now I shall prove I still have some some self-control and discipline," I suggested to the rest of our gang of three that we lunch on Saturday at Steve's Shish-Kabab on 63rd Street. We went there and I smelled meat, saw meat, read of meat on the menu, and yet still resisted and ordered things that had no meat.

We got a large order of baba ghanooj to share, I ordered a falafil platter, Amata, pagana, ordered a beef shawarma sandwich, and Lucantonius claimed not to be "hungary" but ended up enjoying part of Amata's meal.

The baba ghanooj was excellent and the falafil were no less admirable: freshly made, with very nicely balanced seasoning. Add to this the gratis plate of pickled vegetables (olives, turnips, and a jalapeno/ celery/ carrot/ pepperoncino mix) and wonderfully fresh and puffy pita and this was an especially pleasing meatless repast. Other meatless offerings on the menu also caught my eye but for this first visit, I thought I'd stick to the most basic and common and widespread vegetable dishes of Middle Eastern restaurants.

I must say, the outside of this place looks about as inviting as the front gate of the Abu Ghraib Hospitality Centre but inside it was quite pleasant and attractively decorated and immaculately clean. I only mention the cleanliness because they keep the place rather dark (so much so I had a little difficulty reading the menu) and I have been in dark places that are not dark for purely aesthetic reasons. I loved the quiet classical Arabic intstrumental music in the background.

Excellent food, friendly and efficient service, good prices, nice music... I really enjoyed this meal and intend to return there. I hope that they have achieved the consistency that seems to elude all of my usual spots to visit in Albany Park; that seems to be the case, judging from VI's report about Steve's on Planet Leff from a couple of years ago.

Amata or Lucantonius ( ) should write in about the beef shawarma; all I can say is that it looked damn good...

Antonius

Steve's Shish-Kabab
3816 West 63rd Street
Chicago, IL
773-581-8920

Moderator Edit
Now relocated to
Steve's Shish Kabob
10719 S Roberts Rd
Palos Hills, IL 60465
708-974-3530

I've been back to Steve's several times since that report on Leffistan. I cannot think of a single time I walked away from there less than very satisfied, and if I have ever been dissapointed with Steve's, it is only when they, ever so often, run out of hot sauce. That and what to order, between the shwarma, the daily specials, the kefta, too many choices. I cannot, however imagine forsaking meat there.

Gosh, I just wish it was a bit closer to the bungalow.

Rob

Vital Information wrote:... That and what to order, between the shwarma, the daily specials, the kefta, too many choices. I cannot, however imagine forsaking meat there...

Rob:

Thank you; your words may help me when it's time to cash in the chips and face the wages of sin... It was hard to resist all those beautiful meat options...

It's a great little restaurant and it does seem they have some stability that is absent from a number of other Middle Eastern places.

I'm looking forward to going back in about six weeks or so.

A

P.S. To add to the problem of too many choices, Steve's stands next to La Quebrada #5... We almost went there, when first confronted with the not so inviting fa

Antonius wrote:Amata or Lucantonius ( ) should write in about the beef shawarma; all I can say is that it looked damn good...

Antonious,

Steve's mensef is nothing to sneeze at either.



Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:Steve's mensef is nothing to sneeze at either.

More temptation...

He's a cruel man, but fair.*

A

*Reference is to a Monty Python skit, the name of which evades me as my brain is addled with thoughts of kebabs and mansef.

Stig O'Tracy, talking about Dinsdale Piranha nailing his head to the floor, of course.

Full text of Monty Python skit, which is being quoted.

Antonius wrote:Amata or Lucantonius ( ) should write in about the beef shawarma; all I can say is that it looked damn good...

L's only comment was "I love it," so let me amplify that by saying that the spicing of the beef was excellent, with a good allspice flavor, there were plenty of browned, crispy bits, and the pita (as Antonius said, wonderfully fresh) was as full as could be with the delicious beef. Quite a filling lunch at $3.95, even sharing it with a small person who had re-discovered his appetite, and if I get a chance later today I'll mention it in the "If you had $10..." thread.

And if you all go down there don't waste time like we did, parked across the street wondering if the place had gone out of business. Just march on in and get to that great food!

Amata

I've been to steve's a handful of times, and really love the place. The service is familial and the food is always cooked with great care, if not passion.

I still think the shwarma is the best I've had in the city (they have been out of shwarma on one of my trips, it almost broke my heart, so maybe call ahead if that is high on the list).

Vital Information wrote:I've been back to Steve's several times since that report on Leffistan. I cannot think of a single time I walked away from there less than very satisfied

I have been to Steve's once, and was extremely disappointed--it was their one day a week to be closed (Wed?). That there is a Taqueria Oaxequena practically right next door saved the day, however.

Apparently, Steve's Shish Kebab has gotten some nice press as has our own GWiv. Steve Dolinsky mentioned it Wednesday on his Hungry Hound segment crediting "his friend" Gary of LTHForum.com for alerting him to it.

The pat on the back comes from watching the video clip as the text article doesn't include LTHforum.com.

Thanks for highlighting this.

Regards,

Had to pick up the daughter at Midway on Friday, so the Bride & I decided to go dine at Steve's to await her call. The Mensef was excellent. They were out of a number of things the Bride tried to order (she wanted a sampling of salads/appetizers) but she was quite satisfied with the food and experience - this was her first visit.

Not much new to add, but it has been a few months and a reminder seemed appropriate. Though if anyone is looking for good food near Midway, Steve's is hard to beat for its combination of quality, price and convenience to the airport.

An essential, if you ask me, maybe even a GNR??

I missed my chance to comment on this on the GNR board. I had never been to Steve's before today, but thanks to VI's GNR nomination--Piggy and I had a Middle Eastern lunch that was as good if not better than anything we've had to date in the city. We had the beef combination (half beef kabab, half beef kifta kebab), baba ghanooj, hummos, and falafil. The falafil! Wow, it was really fresh, and perfectly seasoned, with a nice thick crust on the outside. The hummous and baba ganoush were good--they use a lot of tahini paste which some find appealing, but for me, I like mine with a touch less than Steve's uses. I dug the addition of carrots, celery and jalepenos in the pickle bowl--and the hot sauce was a particularly appealing spicy, thick, oily version. Can't wait to go back for the shawarma.

More Vegetarian and also Carnivorous Dining at
Steve's Shish-Kabab, new suburban location

A couple of weeks ago, en route to a destination further to the southwest in Illinois, we had the chance to visit the new Steve’s Shish Kebab. Now that this restaurant’s GNR award is up for renewal, it seems a good time to post at some length about it. Of course, there haven’t been many posts about Steve’s over the last couple of years, in part because the restaurant was simply closed for a time before the owner decided to reopen in the new suburban location and in part because that new suburban location, well to the southwest of the city in Palos Hills, is rather off the usual LTH beaten track.

I’ll keep this fairly short and start with my overall assessment: the new Steve’s Shish Kebab, judging from this one visit by Amata, Lucantonius and myself, is just as good as the old Steve’s: each of the dishes we sampled on this occasion were prepared in the same manner and with the same success as the ones we had enjoyed at the old location on 63rd Street.

The new location is somewhat characterless – a small strip mall:

The interior is decorated in a similar fashion to the old location but seems very different on account of the fact that, whereas there were no windows in the dining room in the old restaurant, the new one has a very large window:



The same style torshi is served, which includes slices of jalapeños, which I rather enjoy eating along with other items for a little added zip:

We had a very nice Jaffa salad, which would have been better had the red cabbage been a little less prominent:

Fine hummus:

Outstanding baba ghanooj, with a very good level of smokiness:

One of the best kefta kebabs in Chicagoland, at least to my taste:

I can say the same about the shawarma, the spicing of which I find especially pleasing; both this and the preceding dish featured nicely juicy meat:


Not pictured (my food photography on this day was not at its best but then, I’m a little out of practice; apologies for the fuzziness of some of the above pictures) was a falafel sandwich that featured absolutely beautiful little falafel balls.

Again, I thought Steve’s was producing food just as it did in the old location and, though I regret very much that I won’t often have the opportunity to get down to visit them in Palos Hills, I certainly wish I could.

Antonius

Steve's Shish Kabob
10719 S. Roberts Rd.
Palos Hills, IL 60465
708.974.3530

Wonderful post, Antonious! That shwarma photo is really calling to me. We do get down as far as Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center fairly often. I can see that this would be a wonderful stop when we're in the vicinity.

As they say, the devil's in the details. Posts like this go a long way in helping to inform and illuminate. Thanks, Antonius, for taking the time.

Steve's is a long way from my usual stomping grounds but I'm grateful for the scouting report. As it turns out, I have a customer whose office is very nearby this new location and I'm suddenly feeling like I should pay that customer a visit, very soon.

=R=

Ann, Ronnie --

Many thanks for the kind words. I do hope you get a chance to visit there if and when you're in that neck of the woods and I'll be interested to see what you think.

A

.
Steve's Shish Kabob for Sunday lunch sounded a good idea, but given the distance wanted to make sure they were open. No answer from 11:30 to noon at which point I assumed they were closed Sundays. Not true, they open at 1pm Sundays.

Steve's Shish Kabob
10719 S Roberts Rd
Palos Hills, IL 60465
708-974-3530

Hours as of 3.2.08
Tuesday - Saturday 11am - 9:30pm
Sun 1pm - 8:30pm
Monday closed

I made the trek to the new Steve's Shish Kebob for lunch yesterday. I'm happy to report that, for the most part, the new location is as good as the old.

One of the few negatives was that the torshi, served as soon as we sat down, was merely pickled turnip and jalapeños. There were no olives served, though judging by other pictures that have been posted recently, this was an anomaly.

Steve's Torshi


We ordered a few salads as appetizers, including the Gaza Salad, described as HOT! HOT! Although it wasn't all that hot, it was still a good salad and is something I am looking forward to trying again once tomato season hits. I'd recommend anyone thinking of ordering this salad to wait until summer is in full swing because good tomatoes are what would really put this salad over the top.

Steve's Gaza (HOT! HOT!) Salad


Also ordered was Steve's very good Hummos (which seemed extra rich with perhaps a bit of extra tahini added), an order of Ful (which paled in comparison to that served at Semiramis) and some Falafel (truly outstanding).

Steve's Hummos


Steve's Ful Madamas


Steve's Falafel


Our mains were the super kebob combo, consisting of a beef, kefta and a substituted lamb kabob for the usual chicken. All of the kebobs were very good, with the lamb and kefta particularly delicious.

Steve's Super Kebab Combo


Also ordered was some of Steve's really outstanding Mensef, which as been mentioned by other as a great dish. It really is.

Steve's Mensef


My only complaint about Steve's (other than the fact that it is very far away from my usual stomping grounds) is that it is vastly overpriced. The bill for this meal topped $80 including tax and tip. For that kind of money, I could have probably eaten the same meal at Salam 3 times. Still, considering it's location and the lack of alternatives, I'm sure Steve's will do quite well. Leaving aside any pricing issues, Steve's is really a great restaurant and deserves to keep its GNR!

My only complaint about Steve's (other than the fact that it is very far away from my usual stomping grounds) is that it is vastly overpriced. The bill for this meal topped $80 including tax and tip. For that kind of money, I could have probably eaten the same meal at Salam 3 times...

Steve,

I think you're right there and it was perhaps an oversight on my part not to mention in my previous post that I thought the price was a bit high. Maybe I wasn't quite as shocked as you but then again, we didn't order main dishes such as the kabob platter and mensef as you all did. I also think it quite legitimate to compare it to places serving similar food as far off as Albany Park, though -- as you indicate -- the pricing needs also to be judged in terms of the area in which Steve's is located: How do the prices stack up against other places in that southwest suburban zone? Of course, I have no idea what the answer to that question is...

That mensef looks very tempting!

Antonius

stevez wrote:Leaving aside any pricing issues, Steve's is really a great restaurant and deserves to keep its GNR!

Steve,

Agree on all counts, terrific restaurant, if slightly expensive, and two thumbs up for GNR renewal.

In particular I enjoyed the mensef, tender lamb shank, tangy rich yogurt sauce slivered almonds adding crunch to the rice, which was a shade mushy and tender lamb kabab. I was fairly taken with the falafel, crisp outer layer yielding to moist aggressively, yet well balanced, interior.

Steve's Shish Kabab - Falafel


Lengthy drive and slightly higher prices be damned, I will be back soon for mensef and falafel.

Enjoy,
Gary

Bad news (but not surprising)...

Steve's Shish Kabob
10719 S Roberts Rd, Palos Hills
(708) 974-3530

... has closed.

I was going to stop in and decided to call before and the phone was disconnected and a drive by confirmed. It looks recent as the tables, chairs and many of the decorations were still in place but the sign was down and a for lease sign was up in the window.

Not surprising due to the quality and success of the other spots in the hood. While their food is excellent it cannot match the chef's touch that Steve could impart.

Al Bawadi Grill (where we ended up and had a great meal)
7216 W 87th St, Bridgeview
(708) 599-1999
http://www.albawadigrill.com

Almawal
10718 S Harlem Ave, Worth
(708) 361-5100

Life goes on