Boca Skewers / Boca Raton
Important: This article was last updated on February 13, 2009. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.
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Mizner Plaza, 130 NE Second St., Boca Raton
561-347-9961
Cuisine: Mediterranean/
Armenian
Cost: inexpensive-moderate
Hours: lunch, dinner Monday-Saturday
Reservations: yes
Credit cards: DC, MC, V
Bar: beer, wine
Sound level: quiet
Outside smoking: yes
For kids: high chairs
Wheelchair accessible: yes
First impression: Warm burgundy walls and dim lighting draw you into this humble storefront. A friendly greeting affirms our hunch that there's more going on here than meets the eye.
Ambience: Cozy, but nothing fancy. Walls are covered in black velvet paintings, candle wall sconces and mirrors. A refrigerated display case and a counter-top cash register divide the kitchen from the 9 tables in the dining room. The restaurant has been open just 15 months.
Starters: A very good appetizer combination plate ($10.99) includes almost every starter: tabbouleh, vegetarian grape leaves, baba ghanoush, hummus, falafel and chunky roasted eggplant with garlic dressing. The falafel balls are nicely seasoned. There's just enough garlic in the tzatziki ($4.99). Instead of pita, Boca Skewers serves warm lavash.
Entree excellence: Entrees come with lentil soup, house salad with garlic dressing and a choice between white rice or barely savory sweet rice with lentils. It's a big meal with enough for leftovers. Lamb soltani ($18.99) is a combination of boneless lamb and well-seasoned ground beef. There's also a beef kebab ($14.99), chicken kebab ($14.99) and whole lamb shank ($12.99).
Eating for less: Pita sandwiches include grilled chicken ($7.99), eggplant ($6.99) and serviceable gyro ($7.99).
Liquid assets: The wine choice is simple — glass of house merlot, cabernet or chardonnay ($6.99). Otherwise, cold Bud ($3.99), Heineken, Becks and Corona ($4.99).
For vegetarians: As with any Mediterranean restaurant, there's a lot here. Consider eggplant stew ($11.99) — eggplant, onions, tomatoes and spices.
Sweet!: Baklava ($2.99), Armenian sugar cookies known as Khurabia ($2.99) and shamali or honey cake ($3.99) are all great endings.
Service: Oddly efficient, even if we had to ask for water refills.
— John Tanasychuk