Cafe' Mediterranean

Cafe' Mediterranean
4347 Perkins Rd
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
(225) 336-4501

It's always interesting to me when one of my favorite poor-student-food campus haunts grows up and moves out into the city. Generally, they get bigger and better looking- but sometimes, they lose their identity and fail to satisfy like they did back in the salad days. One of my regular stops at LSU in those days was Cafe' Mediterranean, then located on Chimes Street. For a broke fan of Greek and Lebanese cuisine, this old hole-in-the-wall was a gold mine, featuring big plates of great fresh fare for a song. Since then, Cafe Med has led, appropriately perhaps, a nomadic existence- moving downtown for a stint before landing in the Southdowns Shopping Center on Perkins Road, next door to another of Eat Baton Rouge's favorite chow spots, Thai Kitchen.

One wonders if the new Cafe' Med might get a little overlooked in strip-mall anonymity... a shame, as on a quiet Saturday afternoon there were few diners to enjoy the spacious, artistically painted interior that is a reminder of Cafe Med's Chimes Street beginnings.
We got started this day with a spinach pie, which proved to be a heftier offering than what you'd find at most B.R. Greek and Lebanese eateries. Big triangles of buttery, flaky phyllo dough were stuffed with a better-than-average spinach filling- oniony, garlicky, and delicious. Washed down with ice-cold sweet Lebanese heavily perfumed with rosewater, it appeared we were in for a treat.

Next, we were treated to an order of extraordinarily fresh hummus... it seemed to have been just-made, with a coarser texture than one usually encounters, and redolent of raw, freshly chopped garlic- almost spicy, with a peppery finish and lemony tang. For garlic aficionados such as yours truly, this was right in my wheelhouse. For lesser fans of the stinking rose, this dish may be a bit much.
Along with the hummus, we ordered a pair of kibbi which arrived nicely cooked with a golden brown exterior and a flavorful ground lamb filling which was tasty, if a bit too dense.



We also tried the Chicken Shawarma Salad, which arrived at the table as a huge bowl enough to feed two, even though we ordered a small. It was piled high with chicken and yogurt sauce atop crisp iceberg lettuce tossed in a tangy lemony dressing. This was tasty and satisfying even though the chicken was a bit dry. We also sampled some of Cafe' Mediterranean's meat-stuffed grape leaves, an order of six wonderful little tubes of goodness. We were surprised to find the filing of these to be more of meat than rice, with a texture almost akin to a meatball. Topped with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a dollop of cool yogurt sauce, these were a real home run.

So, it seems- despite it's slightly more uptown digs- Cafe Med still delivers... in atmosphere, in service, in mouth-watering food, and even (college students rejoice!) in value... we escaped after such a feast for only $32 including tip! Too good to be overlooked.