Drive by Kabob Station and nothing tips you off that you’re approaching one of the metro area’s Middle Eastern gems.
There are no cute awnings, no al fresco tables, no white lights strung in trees. You might not see the place at all, considering a brick health- care facility obscures the restaurant. But turn at the light where Pecos intersects West 120th Avenue, wind your way around the gas pumps at the 7-Eleven and there it is, a small family-owned restaurant serving unexpectedly delicious Syrian fare.
Hummus ($3.95) is the first item on the menu, and it’s where I always begin my meal. Yes, a dollop of hummus comes with every entree, but Kabob Station’s version is so decadently creamy that you’ll want an appetizer portion as well.
“People ask if there’s sour cream in it,” says owner Ronda Saleh. There’s not. Nor are there sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers or pesto, found in so many versions.
Here it’s just a silky purée of chickpeas, tahini, garlic and lemon juice. Scoop it up with pita bread baked fresh daily in a brick oven in the back, and you’ve just set the bar for any future pita and hummus.
A long list of appetizers, soups and salads follows, but you can sample the best of them in the vegetarian combination ($8.95), either as a meat-free entrée or a side dish.
Small plates also include smoky baba ghanoush (an eggplant dip), crisp falafel, grape leaves, fatoush salad (lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes tossed in a minty dressing), and the palate-cleansing tabbouleh, light on bulgur and heavy on parsley.
Meatlovers won’t go wrong with the Kabob Station combination ($10.95). In addition to chicken, lamb and kafta (meatball) kabobs, there’s chicken, lamb and beef shawarma (thin slices of grilled meat) served on a bed of rice. Meats are marinated, the beef and lamb with a seven-spice powder and the chicken shawarma in a yogurt sauce fragrant with coriander, vinegar and garlic.
If possible, save room for dessert, particularly the honey-drenched baklava ($2) and the sentimental favorite riz b halib ($2), a Syrian rice pudding flavored with orange blossom water.
“My mom made it on holidays for us,” recalls chef Fadi Aswad. The recipe, along with several others on the menu, came from his mother. Others hail from from restaurants he worked at in Syria.
If sweets aren’t your preferred way to end a meal, go next door to the hookah bar. The drinks-only establishment opens at 5 p.m. and serves tobacco flavored with raspberry, mango, guava and other fruits. As for me, I’ll stay put and order another round of baklava.
Gretchen Kurtz is a Denver freelance writer.
Kabob Station
Middle Eastern|12041 Pecos St., Westminster; 303-451-1595
$1.65-$11.95|11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Friday-Saturday. Visa, MC, no checks or AmEx|Parking lot.
Front burner: Everything is homemade, including about 400 pitas a day.
Back burner: With Syrian tourist-office posters on the wall and clear plastic over the fabric tablecloths, the atmosphere doesn’t live up to the food.
