This is another installing of “lunching adventures with co-workers!” Man, I think I need a catchier name than THAT. This time around we went to a place pretty close to our office, called Hanna Garden off Miramar Rd. (behind the McDonald’s). They have a small menu, specializing in Mediterranean and Lebanese food. Here’s some photos of the menu (which are slightly cut off – blogger fail): Pages 1-2, Page 3
I decided to try something new that I never had before and got a plate. My plate came with a salad, which I assumed would be a little salad on the plate. NOPE. I got a big bowl full of very fresh, very lovely salad with a mix of herbs and tomatoes on top as well. The dressing was a bit tangy but provided a nice base for the salad. This was a fairly big salad, too… I only ate about half of it!
[koufta kebab plate with rice, salad and hummus / $9.99]
I got the Koufta Kebab plate. This koufta was a mix of charbroiled ground beef, parsley, onion, and spices. It came with some rice and a side of hummus. Matt also got a plate and he got some pita bread with his, so I’m not sure if this comes with pita or not (or if we were supposed to share). The hummus was good, a little plain tasting, but I still liked it and ended up smearing it on my koufta.
The koufta is incredibly flavorful and juicy – almost like little mini burgers but with way way more flavor! The mixture of spices, onions and herbs made this very delicious. It was moist with a nice char on the outside. Every bite, the juices were running through it. So good!
[beef shawerma – $5.99]
David ordered the beef shawerma sandwich. He said he liked the piece of koufta I gave him more than the shawerma, haha.
[chicken shawerma – $5.99]
Jose got the chicken one! It looks good, I didn’t try it.
[beef shawerma plate – with rice, salad, hummus and pickles / $10.99]
This is Matt’s shawerma plate which he enjoyed.
[koufta sandwich]
I went for a return visit by myself and decided to get the koufta sandwich with a side of fries. The meat was not as super crazy juicy as the first time I had it, but it was still good. The sandwich had hummus as the “sauce” and they put PICKLES in it, which it doesn’t say that on the menu because I would have definitely asked for none of that. I preferred the plate rather than the sandwich as I think I prefer to control the bites of food I have and I kind of wished for a better sauce than the hummus… but I still liked it, but next time I’d stick with the plate or try something new.
They have a few appetizers that sound really interesting to me that I might just try out next time! On my second visit I actually ordered a side of fries (even though you don’t see it available on the menu, they do have fries which are only offered with their Mediterranean Hhamburger – on the menu it says “hamburgers”). Good stuff!
Hanna Garden
7160 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92101
858-537-0888
That’s not too far from my office… I may have to round up some co-workers one day and check it out!
Nice! It’s pretty reasonably priced, too. A cute spot for lunch!
Ooh looks yummy. I like that they give you a big side salad! 😀
I was surprised by the salad! Especially since the photos on the window showed the salad on the plate, not in it’s own bowl. It was a nice surprise!
Mmmm, juicy meat! I really like the flavorings in the meat kabobs (beef not lamb) at these types of places.
Wait, you don’t like pickles?
Mmm, me too! I’d eat lamb, too, but I like lamb not like you hehe. Pickles… no. I don’t like any kind of pickle, at all. I dislike the flavor and I’m not a huge fan of lots of vinegar.
Oh your dish looks so good! I can’t believe they give you a side of hummus like that – pretty generous I think. The places I go to give you a side of yogurt dip or something.
What herbs do they use in their salads? That sounds really light and refreshing right about now.
I hate reading your blog when I’m hungry 🙂
I used to work around this area and never saw this place – so your post was helpful !
The salad mostly had parsley as the herb, I think that was the only one. But it gave it a nice, refreshing taste (that, along with the dressing). Haha, I have a problem with reading blogs before lunch, which always just makes me extra hungry!
How funny, I just noticed this place the other day when I was inside the plaza, and was wondering why I had never noticed it before. I was wondering how it is, so this post is perfect timing.
I only knew about it because I had seen it on Yelp – it’s in a weird little spot, hard to see and easy to miss! It’s a cute little place, hope you get to check it out sometime.