Sanaa's 8th Street Gourmet
401 East 8th St. Suite 100
Phone: 605-275-2516
Hours: Monday-Thursday 10:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Friday 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday Lunch Buffet 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Cost: Main dishes, served with fresh baked pita; many with rice and salad. $8.95
Fatayer is pita bread dough filled or topped with a variety of stuffings, brushed with olive oil
and baked in a stone oven. It is similar to a calzone in appearance.
Fatayer with spinach and walnut filling $3.25 with rice and salad $6.25
Choose from about a dozen fatayer varieties in a range of prices.
Side orders: Salads, mostly $3.75, including tabbouli and house; hummus, olive tapenade and
Muhammarah $3.00.
Desserts: Beautiful stuff, don't pass them up. $1.00 to $3.00
Rating: Four stars
Alcohol: Beer and wine
All non-smoking seating.
Wheel chair accessible: Yes
Vegetarian options: A vegetarian's Mecca
Eating at Sanaa's is always an adventure. Changing daily features make for fun and variety. One frequent diner said he spends most of his money eating at Sanaa's almost daily. I should mention that he has an office in the building.
Not only is the huge assortment of tasty and unusual dishes a reason for eating here, but also the ambiance. Former U. S. Senator Jim Abourezk holds court daily at his round table near the pastry cases. The table fills quickly with his friends from the medical community, lawyers, and active and inactive democrats in all walks of life; all of them expressing opinions, often at the same time. The whole place, in fact, is full of familiar faces. Locals that one has seen or known for years.
At a recent lunch we did manage to find a table and go on to order at the counter. We checked the "chalkboard" for features and looked in the cases before ordering. As usual, everything was tempting.I always inquire about the soup and was delighted to see it was my favorite, lentil. Thick, rich and flavorful with lots of lentils, tomato and onions, it was hearty and satisfying. With it I had a feta cheese fatayer with tomato, mint and mozzarella mix. Soup and "pie" combo was $6.25.
My wife had one of my favorites, the Mezza Sampler ($8.95) The platter has generous mounds of hummus (Garbanzo-tahini puree), Muhammarah (pureed red bell pepper with walnuts, onion, wheat germ, pomegranate molasses and olive oil) green olive tapenade and stuffed grape leaves with pita bread. This savory melange is usually an appetizer dish, but with lots of pita bread it makes a great lunch entree and is generous enough to share.
My daughter had another favorite, the spinach and walnut fatayer ($3.25). The golden brown oven baked pita bread was folded over a filling of chopped sauteed fresh spinach with onions, walnuts and olive oil. One gem of a dish.
One can eat very well at Sanaa's. Check out the "recession specials": Soup and bread for $3.75 and Soup and Sandwich $6.25. Saturday lunch buffet is $9.95 and features salads, meats, vegetables and desserts. Friday night buffet is $12.95, a bargain for exceptional handcrafted specialties.
On my next visit I plan to sample more of the Fatayer choices including Chicken Mussakhan, a mixture of breast pieces sauteed with carmelized onion, roasted sweet bell pepper, sun dried tomato and cilantro. Also tempting is broiled eggplant with roasted bell pepper, carmelized onion, red bell pepper , tomato and feta cheese. Remember, this low-fat food is healthful and good for you.
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