Photo courtesy of Holy Land Grocery & Bakery Facebook page
The restaurant inside Holy Land Grocery & Deli (2755 W.Ramsey Ave., Greenfield; 414-817-1959) doesn’t necessarily specialize in fast food. But the half-hour spent waiting for a recent lunch there was rewarded with a masterful meal. Served without skewers, Holy Land’s shish tawook makes for a light chicken meal that nonetheless packs a panoply of flavors. Cubed white meat soaked in yogurt-based marinade are grilled, drizzled with a tahini sauce after being placed atop long grains made sweet and savory with spices and fruit in a pilaf akin to a Mediterranean parallel to Cajun dirty rice. Above the bountiful entree in the Styrofoam serving container are a white cabbage/cucumber tomato Jerusalem salad and compartment of hummus with a pool of golden olive oil at its center.
If the accompanying steamy hot pitas don’t complete the repast to one’s satisfaction, add an appetizer. Chickpea aficionados are advised to try musabaha, which is essentially hummus with whole garbanzo beans mixed amid the dip’s customary puree. Hot Arabian tea, of a type available in the adjoining grocery, is just sweet enough to make for a dessert beverage.
