Key West goes Mediterranean

Key West goes Mediterranean - A piece of cake sitting on top of a wooden table - Treacle tart

Al Maidah menu filled with delightful dishes

“Al Maidah” is Arabic for “A table filled with food” and the new Mediterranean restaurant on White Street lives up to its name. Featuring dishes from Morocco, Turkey, Uzbek, Russia, Greek, Italy, and other cuisines, Al Maidah has a menu filled with delightfully different dishes veering from the usual southernmost fair.

The menu can be described as healthy or decadent, dependent on the diner’s appetite.  Mediterranean food is often hailed as one of the best diets, rich in vegetables and olive oil. The perfect example at Al Maidah is the eggplant salad. Even if you don’t love eggplant, something about this dish is completely satisfying. The eggplant is roasted until tender, then mixed with balsamic vinaigrette, tomatoes, basil and oregano and makes a perfect appetizer or side dish to share.

A more unusual starter is khachapuri, a native Georgian dish.  Khachapuri is a homemade bread bowl with cheese baked into it and filled on top with a runny egg. It’s a satisfying, unusual take on the American favorite combination of egg, cheese and bread.

Lamb is a Mediterranean staple. Al Maidah has the more common dishes such as Gyro or shawarma, but try the Turkish dumplings called Manty. Manty are delectable steamed dumplings filled with a tasty seasoned mixture of lamb and onions served with a yogurt dipping sauce. And finish the meal with traditional homemade baklava, a heavenly crisp pastry filled layered with nuts and syrup.

Al Maidah’s menu is packed with options, from the obvious like falafel, tabbouleh, and kebabs of all kinds to the hard-to-find like a good Borscht or Lamb Doner. But Al Maidah also offers traditional American fare like pasta and New York-style pizza, making it a dining experience for everyone, including the kids.

Taking over the former Bistro Solé space, 1019 White Street, Al Maidah is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sit shaded in the large outdoor area or at the bar, off the beaten path of Duval and enjoy the flavors of some of the world’s best food.

 Al Maidah

1019 White St.

www.almaidahkeywest.com

(305) 922-2177

 

Hays Blinckmann is an oil painter, author of the novel “In The Salt,” lover of all things German including husband, children and Bundesliga. She spends her free time developing a font for sarcasm, testing foreign wines and failing miserably at home cooking.