On San Pablo a few doors south of University -> Middle East Market. Excellent assortment of dry, bottled and tinned ingredients. Nice cheese selection, dazzling pastries. Very helpful and cheerful service. Among the stash I inadvertently brought home: a kilo Moghrabiah couscous @5.99, 6 oz. Alleppo pepper $2.99, Husband amused himself with a single serving size pomegranate/chocolate chip ice cream. Other tantalizing flavors. Will definitely return with malice of forethought. This was just an investigative walk-through.
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They are well known for their friendly and warm service! We love their version of a Napoleon. I think there was an earlier thread on MEM, but it was last year sometime.
Happy to hear they’re still open and doing okay!
Middle East Market segment starts at about 17:36 mark:
Middle East Market
2054 San Pablo Ave
Berkeley, CA 94702
Tel: (510) 704-8800
https://www.memberkeley.com/#!/
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I’ve come to love their bean and noodle soup, the thick greenish one at the front of the steam table. I think one of the panelists in the video had some, over rice. Garbanzos, pintos, lentils, and greens that taste like grape leaves, but the clerk said it was just spinach. Maybe a Persian variety? And once when I was there they did have the tadig, a real treat.
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I got a large container of that soup today, and noticed the braised lamb shanks in the next pan, so I got one of those as well. It’s got great flavor, a little chewy though. I’ll simmer it in a little stock tonight to soften it up, and I’ll probably get three meals out of it.
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The soup, for lunch today. I added in some of the lamb shank and crumbled some feta over it. Nice and warming on this chilly East Bay day.
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How’s that couscous? My source for couscous doubled/ tripled in price a few years ago and I haven’t had a whole lot of cous cous since then. If this is any good, I will just bring a few kilos home.
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