When my buddy recommended heading to a place called Mantee in Studio City, I was really excited to eat a sea cow and hoped the manatees were farm-raised (because we all know they are endangered in the wild). But he quickly corrected me, saying that the restaurant was lacking that all-important second “a” and was actually Mediterranean. And one look at the menu showed this was not your typical Mediterranean. There were no schwarma wraps to be seen here and instead items like that were replaced by unique Lebanese, Turkish and Armenian delights.

We decided to go big and started off with a nice round of appetizers. A couple had vegetables and I did not partake in such things, but the others were nothing short of delicious. The first was the Hummos Cocktail, which came topped with filet mignon and pine nuts. This was a great way to start things up and was quite tasty. It wasn’t too oily like some hummos can get, but was not at all dry and had great flavor. Plus, it never hurts to have meat on top. Next was the labne, which is a thick yogurt dip flavored with a little mint and olive oil. It is awesome with pita and while not as popular as hummos in general, it is definitely awesome.

The third appetizer I got into was simply called Mantee’s “Traditional.” Here’s where things got pretty interesting. This dish fell under the category of Hot Appetizers and consisted of oven-baked boat-shaped “ravioli” (really more like dumplings), filled with ground beef and topped with a garlic yogurt sauce and some sumac. I’ve got to say that this is a must-eat at Mantee. The dumplings were decadent and the garlic yogurt sauce struck a perfect balance of garlic and tart. This appetizer really had it all. I really could have made a meal out of this and the other appetizers and I would have left Mantee a happy man. Yet, I did not stop there, and I still left Mantee a happy man, just a more stuffed one.

I followed up the trio of appetizers with their Yogurt Kebab. I hadn’t seen a yogurt kebab anywhere since visiting Turkey nearly three years ago, so I was really happy to see it again. Until seeing it on the menu, I didn’t even realized I missed the thing, but I knew it had to be mine. And it was a wise choice. This kebab consisted of seasoned beef that had been removed from the stick and doused in that same delicious yogurt sauce as Mantee’s “Traditional.” In this case, though, the yogurt sauce not only held its own, but served to temper the strong seasoning of the meat. It was bliss on a plate and I was one happy unvegan.

So would I recommend Mantee? Oh hell yes. Just be sure you’re ready to spend a bit of money. It’s not overpriced and not really expensive for LA, but things can add up and you don’t want to miss out on their delicious offerings. I’m looking forward to returning one day for lunch and bringing any adventurous eater who wants something more than your typical Mediterranean fare.

In North Hollywood there is a deli unlike any I had ever seen before. Rather than being filled with cold cuts, pastrami or Italian sandwiches, this deli has food with more of a Greek and Armenian flair. It is called Noosh Deli and although not the usual deli, I figured it had to be worth a try. Scanning the menu, I decided any Greek place had to have some good gyros, so I ordered their Beef Gyro Sandwich (with fries and a drink for 6.99). It came with lettuce, tomato, onion and yogurt sauce. I ordered without the veggies and waited 7 or 8 minutes until the sandwich was prepped and ready to go.

I opened up the bag and was immediately disappointed with what I found. No, there weren’t any vegetables, but there was still plenty of reason to be upset. In my pita I found not one, not two, but three whole strips of gyros. Is there a meat shortage somewhere? Even if I was inclined to eat vegetables I would have felt that the sandwich was lacking in protein, but without the veggies it looked even worse. Then I noticed that the other end of the sandwich was a whole lot heavier than the one I had opened up. Could there be meat hiding in there? No. Instead, what I found was enough yogurt sauce to cover a few sandwiches. The sauce easily outweighed the meat and also required use of a fry to be evenly distributed.

Despite the odd quantities, nothing would matter if these gyros were awesome. So were they? Sadly, the answer is no. The meat was strangely rubbery and relatively flavorless. The lack of flavor could be due to the amount of yogurt, but whatever it was, it was a sandwich not worth ordering again. The best part of the meal was definitely the fries. They were crinkly, crunchy and perfectly salted. I’d go back for the fries, but for meat I will definitely look elsewhere.

Heading into Noho Royal Garden in North Hollywood, I kind of expected to find myself in a typical Middle-Eastern style restaurant. But no, there were no rugs on the wall, no decorative lamps or beads. Instead, it felt like I had just walked into a Mexican cabana. Part outside, part inside, with umbrellas, trees and stones, this was a perfect place to escape from work…well as long as the food was any good.

Outside the place was a big sign promoting their $7.99 lunch special, so even though they had some tasty-looking shawarma sandwiches, we asked the waitress what their lunch special was. It turned out that this wasn’t some sort of special lunch menu, but a single dish that was on special today. It just so happened that on this day, it was their Chicken Shawarma Plate. The plate was regularly priced at $9.99 and came with onions, roast peppers, roast tomatoes, salad and basmati rice. I was enticed despite the fact that it came with multiple vegetables, but ordering it without all those would require me to get more food. I opted for the hummus, which was $4.99, but looked quite good. Then I ordered the lunch special, but without the vegetables.

The hummus came out first and looked unlike any hummus I had ever seen before. It was quite white in color and looked really runny. Then I dipped some pita in and found it to be pretty amazing. It was the creamiest hummus I’ve ever had and still had great flavor. Plus, there was plenty of it.

While eating this delicious hummus, I realized tat in my haste to order my main course with no vegetables, I neglected to order without the salad. No sooner than I remembered, my dish appeared. Although the salad was on the plate with the real food, It was pretty well separated from the rice and chicken. The chicken was unlike any shawarma I had ever seen.

Most shawarma I’ve had has been shavings off of a spool of meat, but this was more like chunks of chicken that had been marinated and grilled in a pan. Although surprising, I didn’t hesitate in eating. I found the chicken to be quite flavorful. How ever it was cooked, the cook had chosen some great spices. I used the meat, pita and leftover hummus to make myself some delicious mini-sandwiches and by the time I exhausted my plate of chicken, I was one stuffed and happy unvegan.

Despite having a lot of vegetable options, Noho Royal Garden cooked up some delicious and unique Middle-Eastern dishes. I figured the Persian and Armenian influences that the menu purports to have were the reason the food was so unique. Aside from the veggies, the only downside was the price. Even though I got the lunch special, I needed to spend another five bucks to make it a whole meal. This isn’t a lot of money in general, but for lunch I feel like I can find something a bit cheaper.