S&H Kebab House

[KatieLoeb]

Ever so coincidentally, I tried lunch today from the new S&H Kebab House on Passyunk Avenue just below South Street. It's in the old Overtures location. Great menu of lots of Turkish and Middle Eastern specailties. And a banging $7.95 lunch special that includes soup or salad. Craig Laban also likes it andwrote about the Ishkender kebabs just today. But for once I made it somewhere independently without being led...

I tried the Lamb Doner Kebap and a cup of the red lentil soup. Everything was delicious! Loved the subtle spicing in the soup and there was a ton of lamb for the money. This is so going to be in my regular lunch rotation as it's conveniently located right on my way to work.

Owner Sal could not have been nicer and talked to me about the menu and Turkish cuisine in general. I have a good friend that's a native of Istanbul, and I'll certainly be taking him here next time he and his family visit Philly. It seems there's belly dancers on the weekend nights, too, an added bonus for those of you that enjoy undulating abs during your dinner. Looks like it's BYOB too, so that is also a value added proposition for those of you that keep your own cellar. Lots of vegetarian choices on the menu too, for our non-carnivorous friends.

Anyone that would like to go scope this out with me on one of my nights off is welcome. I will certainly be exploring more of the menu in the near future.

[philadining]

Yeah, we liked the Doner Kebab and the Adana Kebab quite a lot. We had the Tarama as an app (thickened yogurt with red caviar) which was a little blah. Way too dark for pictures.

They're open pretty late (10pm weekdays, midnight friday and saturday) so I'll surely be heading back for more.

[Andrew Fenton]

I had lunch there soon after they opened. The shish kebab was very good, as I remember, and the baba ganoush wasn't bad either. I really ought to go back soon. Katie, you have my number...

[rlibkind]

We had the Tarama as an app (thickened yogurt with red caviar) which was a little blah.

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They make it with yogurt? First I've heard of that. Usually the tarama (roe) in taramasalata is emulsified with oil, like mayo, then thickened with either softened white bread or cooked, mashed potato.

[philadining]

We had the Tarama as an app (thickened yogurt with red caviar) which was a little blah.

←

They make it with yogurt? First I've heard of that. Usually the tarama (roe) in taramasalata is emulsified with oil, like mayo, then thickened with either softened white bread or cooked, mashed potato.

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The waitress, who was very nice, was a little confused about that. We weren't expecting it to be yogurt-based either, but it seemed a little cheesey, so we asked. And first she said just olive oil and lemon, then came back and said yogurt. I tend to believe the yogurt story, it had that kind of mouth-feel, but I'm not completely sure.

[KatieLoeb]

I think it's strained yogurt with lemon juice, olive oil and taramas (caviar) whipped in. At least that's the ingredient list as I know it to be for this appetizer in Greek cuisine. I can't imagine the Turkish version is terribly different.

On their menu it says "Tarama - Whipped Caviar red caviar spread blended with olive oil and lemon." Not sure what that means in terms of whether there's yogurt or not. Important for the dairy intolerant to know, but otherwise, if it tastes good, who cares?