Alqud's Middle East Grocery Restaurant

During the 70's and 80's, small convenience stores with gas stations like 7-11 and Circle-K gradually displaced full service gas stations like the Texaco station shown in one of the early scenes in the first Back To The Future movie. (I don't remember ever seeing that many people providing service at once at a real station.) The United States passed its peak oil production and the Yom Kippur war in 1973 and the accompanying oil embargo caused gas prices to skyrocket and people were less willing to pay extra for "full service".

In the last twenty years, though, most of these small locations with just a dual pump island have abandoned as gas stations in favor of newer, larger facilities that can handle eight or more cars at once. But the buildings survive in a new guise as stores for a variety of products such as fireplace inserts, pellet stoves and spas. Or, as in this case some of them have become small restaurants.

Alqud's has been operating for a couple years as a small grocery/convenience store specializing in Mediterranean food imports with a small dining area to enjoy the baked on location pita bread and Middle Eastern food specialties such as kabobs, shawarma and tawook. Shawarmas are roasted from a variety of meats and shaved into strips for serving. Tawook (according to Wikipedia) is the English pronunciation of taouk or tavuk, which means chicken in Turkish. These are cut into cubes and grilled on a spit, hence the "shish".

The formula has proven successful and since our last visit several months ago, they have expanded the dining area with a second small area of seats and these have been lined with hanging rugs that add to the Middle Eastern atmosphere as well providing extra insulation against the late autumn and winter chill.

Original Dining Area, now Redecorated

Expanded Dining Area

Lamb Shawarma with Hummus and Tahini Salad on the side

Beef Kabob Platter with Rice, Hummus and Tabbouli Salad

Fresh Baked Pita

Honey wanted something that wasn't easy to find and opted for the lamb shawarma platter with hummus with a tahini salad on the side. I chose the beef kabob platter with tabbouli salad served with rice on a large plate. Both meats were seasoned wonderfully and the hummus has a nice texture and flavor that makes it better than at another similar restaurant we have tried.

Of course, we took home a bag of pita from the bakery window to make our own sandwiches at home. We seasoned chicken with shawarma seasoning from a previous visit, but skipped the traditional roasting process and just broiled it in the oven. It still tasted good!

We poked through the aisles shopping, but will have to wait for a later visit to try the gyros!

Cajun Crab and Shrimp Boil

Cajun Crab and Shrimp Boil

Cajun Crab and Shrimp Boil

This was inspired by a couple visits to Joe's Crab Shack.
This is an almost nationwide chain of slightly upscale seafood restaurants (they're not in New Mexico or several other states) that offers a more extensive menu than Red Lobster, for instance, with the emphasis on the "fun atmosphere" which the Google Maps entry refers to.

Joe's in Amarillo, Texas

Fun Atmosphere ??

 In this Garden Grove location, the staff put on a little group dance to entertain the guests during our evening meal.

Joe's in Garden Grove, California

One of the prominent additions to the usual seafood restaurant menu is their Steampots, which offer a variety of ingredients boiled up in a pot. You get plenty to eat, but I thought they failed a little bit in the execution, providing seafood, whole potatoes, corn on the cob, etc. without pulling it all together into a satisfying whole.

So, after finding some snow crab clusters on sale for a reasonable price, I decided to try my own version and came up with my version. It uses the classic Cajun vegetables of onion, celery and bell pepper with coarsely chopped potatoes still in the skin for quicker cooking and easier eating. The shrimp bouillon powder combined with cooking the shrimp in their shells gives the broth a wonderful seafood taste. Start easy on the cayenne and add a little to season to taste so you don't overwhelm the flavor of the crab and shrimp.

For a less hands-on presentation, shell the crab and shrimp and add the seafood back into the broth before serving.

Ingredients

2 Snow Crab clusters, about 1 pound
Whole uncooked shrimp, about 1 pound (28-32 count)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp shrimp bouillon powder
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
 1 red bell pepper, cut into medium length slices
1 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes
4 red potatoes, washed and cut into chunks
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
4 cups water

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes, until the onions soften and start to brown.

Saute onions in oil with garlic

 2. Add the celery and saute for 2-3 minutes.

Add celery

3. Add the bell pepper and saute for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and 2 cups of water, using some water to rinse the can of tomatoes. Heat to a boil, add the potatoes, reduce heat to medium and boil for about 15 minutes.

Add bell pepper, tomatoes and 2 cups of water

Add potatoes and boil for about 15 minutes

 4. Add the snow crab clusters. Add more water, turn up the heat and boil for five minutes.

Add snow crab clusters

 5. Add the whole shrimp, stir into the mixture and boil for another 5 minutes, just until the shrimp turn pink and are done. Don't overcook the shrimp or they will get tough.

Add whole shrimp

6. Serve the crab on the side with some shrimp in the soup.