This post isn’t about a restaurant as a whole, but about a very specific food occurrence: lamb shank night at the Byblos Cafe in Orange. I stopped there once for a breakfast pita-type thing that was cheap, light, and good, but that’s really not enough information for me to fully recommend the place in all its glory.
Maybe for that reason, it was not a contender when my stepmom came up to visit for dinner, and we toiled over the decision of where to eat. Byblos is a Mediterranean restaurant (I think mainly Greek and Lebanese), and my stepmom decided when we were walking past that they must have good lamb, and so we should eat there. She must have some special lamb-sense, because when we walked in the door there was a large whiteboard sign advertising the lamb shank dinner for around $17. We both ordered it.
The meal started with pitas and a small salad, with a dressing full of fresh garlic that I was dipping pita into long after the veggies had been consumed. The only word to describe the actual lamb shank is, “perfect.” It was perfectly cooked, buttery and almost falling off the bone with the brush of my fork. It’s served on a bed of rice pilaf that is also delicious, but woefully inadequate when trying to sop up every last lamb meatlet and drop of lamby juice.
I heard a rumor that there is a lamb shank call list, to be alerted when they are offering it as a special without having to badger the restaurant staff. I signed up, but I have yet to receive the call and must resort to stalking.
Byblos Cafe
129 West Chapman Avenue
Orange, CA 92866
(714) 538-7180
Try their spaghetti served on Thursday and sometimes Friday. Greek/Med style with Feta cheese. It is terrific!
Thanks for the recommendation! We love them. I’ll be sure to check it out.