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 the quest to finally find some good schwarma in LA, I made my way to a little Lebanese place called Sunnin Cafe. I have fond memories of delicious Lebanese food back in Michigan, so I hoped that this place would be at least a little awesome. Getting there was a little confusing, though, as it appeared as though there were two Sunnins, right across the street from each other. On further inspection, it looked like the larger of the two is unopened and the small place will be moving in there soon.

The inside of the little cafe gave the appearance of a generic diner. There were seats

at a counter and no more than ten small tables. The big difference, though, was the strong smell of the Middle East and the rotating spool of meat where a deep-fryer might typically belong. I also loved that they made no effort to hide the fact that the cooks were Hispanic. It’s a pretty widely known fact that kitchens of ethnic restaurants all over LA are filled with Hispanics, despite the fact that waiters and such fit into the ethnicity. It was refreshing to see that Sunnin didn’t hide that aspect of their business.

We ordered some “hommos” (love the spelling) to start things off. There were a lot of great-looking appetizers, but I find hummus to be a great gauge of how good a Middle-Eastern restaurant is going to be. Luckily, the hummus was awesome and made me excited for my main course. It was a tough choice between the chicken shawarma platter and chicken shawarma sandwich, but the sandwich eventually won out. To be safe, I asked our waiter, who also appeared to be the manager and maître d’, what came in the shawarma. He said it came with sauce, lettuce and other vegetative matter. I couldn’t let me meal be ruined by such veggies, so I ordered with only sauce and chicken and hoped it would turn out well.

When my shawarma sandwich arrived, it was fully free of veggies. The chicken looked a little yellowish, but I didn’t let that stop me from digging in. Every bite was delicious, greasy and garlicky. It was even better when I dipped it in hummus, but the dipping wasn’t necessary. If I’ve had better shawarma, I couldn’t tell you where. Sunnin is now officially my number one Middle-Eastern place. I only hope that when they move into their larger location, they hang on to at least some of their quaint little diner mentality.

Having heard a lot about Zankou Chicken from my friend who bewilderingly never invited me there, I finally got up the gumption to go myself.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Middle-Eastern fast food, but it turned out to be just like it sounds. The place was set up similar to any other fast food place, except in place of grills, they had rotating spools of meat.

I had to choose between getting straight-up chicken, a plate or a wrap, most of which involved vegetables in some way. In the mood for a wrap, I decided to order the Schawerma. At Zankou, the schawerma consisted of steak, with onions, tomatoes, sesame sauce and hummus. I asked for mine without onions or tomatoes, and since the wrap was so cheap, I ordered a side of hummus and pita.

Within a few minutes, my meal was ready. It was a little discomforting to see a little bowl filled with beets and some sort of bright green pepper, but I was thankful that they had been quarantined into their own bowl and hadn’t touched my real food. My wrap had followed in the footsteps of every other fast food joint in looking alarmingly better in pictures than in real life, but I began eating and was pretty happy to find that the look hadn’t really affected the taste. For fast food, it was really good, but the wrap alone was not enough to fill my stomach. The hummus was great and really made up for the minute size of the sandwich. In all, it was a pretty good place to get Middle-Eastern food in a hurry.

A friend of mine recommended Gaby’s Mediterranean in Palms, so I thought I would check it out. They have a great outdoor seating area, so I was sure to grab one of those tables to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather we’ve been having in LA.

When I arrived and took a look at the menu, I was a little taken aback. Despite having many countries along its coast, I have always associate Mediterranean food with being predominantly Greek. Of course, Mediterranean could cover anything from Spanish to Egyptian, and in this case, I found the food to be quite Lebanese. I was surprised because I typically consider Lebanese food to be Middle-Eastern, but I was also happy because I’ve always liked Lebanese food. Did I say Lebanese enough in the last few sentences?

I ordered the Chicken Schwarma Sandwich, and since the menu fails to mention any ingredients besides the chicken and the “distinctive dressing” (supposedly a garlicky sauce), I asked if it came with any other vegetables. She said it came with salad and pickles inside, which I promptly told her I didn’t want. Such a shame when the menu fails to include all the ingredients, especially when they are as vile as pickles and salad. I also got some fries to accompany my sandwich.

When the sandwich came, it was just as I ordered it, but I found that the dressing was extremely light, if it was there at all. The chicken was yummy and meaty, but more sauce would’ve really helped the sandwich along. I took some comfort in the fact that my friend ordered her schwarma with vegetables and felt like there were very few. Thank you Gaby’s for not overdoing the vegetables. It’s nice to know that if I had made the mistake of forgetting to order without veggies, it would have been a relatively easy picking job. The fries, by the way, were great. For my sake though, next time I’ll be sure to get more sauce to make the experience as tasty as possible.