All it took was one bite for balilla addiction to take hold.
It lurked on the bottom of the menu at Ya Halla Restaurant and Grill in Denver, the only item on the menu I had never tasted. So I went for it.
The soup’s ($3.49) chickpeas were soft; the broth, lemon bright and olive unctuous, punched with garlic and gently charged with notes of cumin.
I began slurping the balilla and didn’t stop until nothing but a sheen remained in the big bowl.
I would return to Ya Hala for the balilla alone, but fortunately the little slip of a place in a frayed Colorado Boulevard strip mall offers much more.
We ate there early one Sunday night, after a weekend in a tent with my two young daughters. The girls were starved, on the brink of meltdown due to barren bellies. We needed service – quick. Didn’t happen.
Eventually someone came to the table. We got water, a bowl of complimentary pita bread, and a plate of hummus, which held a shallow pool of olive oil and was sprinkled with brown sumac powder. We dove in. With blood sugars all back in place (and tastebuds ecstatic) we could concentrate on the meal.
First came the drinks, a non-alcoholic strawberry cocktail ($2.49) and mango juice ($2.49). The frigid concoctions came in tall glasses and were downed with abandon.
My wife ordered the vegetarian combination ($9.49), which came with samples of just about everything on the appetizer portion of the menu.
The baba ghanouj – a mash of eggplant, tahini (sesame seed paste), garlic, lemon juice and other ingredients – stood out. It was smoky and strong, and in the top tier of the hundreds of variations on this Mideastern classic that we’ve tasted.
The garlic dip also wowed. A blend of mashed potatoes, garlic and lemon juice, it was full of kick. If you need a quick palate-refresher, try Ya Hala’s garlic dip.
I’m a full-blown carnivore, so I chose the mixed grill ($12.49), a skewered chicken kabob, skewered shish kabob, and skewered kafta kabob.
The chicken kabob was tender and bursting with a charred-lemon flavor. Delicious.
Attempting to chew the meat portion of my shish kabob (beef fillet with onions and green pepper) exhausted my jaws. I won’t order it again.
The kafta kabob? Worthwhile and interesting. It’s ground lamb mixed with onion, parsley and spices, formed into something approximating a sausage, and grilled. I would have liked it a touch moister, but I appreciated the full-on lamb flavor.
For dessert, we scarfed down a large, flaky and very chewy slice of baklava ($1.49). I’m a big fan of baklava, and picky. This one was good.
Staff Writer Douglas Brown can be reached at 303-820-1395 or djbrown@denverpost.com.
Ya Hala Restaurant and Grill
Middle Eastern|2100 S. Colorado Blvd., 80222 303-758-9376|$3.49-$12.49|11 a.m. to 4 a.m., Thursday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Wednesday; Visa, MC; off-and on-street parking.
Front burner: Flavor-forward food in a charming space.
Back burner: Service, while pleasant enough, isn’t especially attentive.
