Food Blogging

Last night, I attended a funeral mass for a woman who was diagnosed with wide-spread, inoperable cancer in May. She didn't even get use to the idea of cancer before she was incapacitated. But, thankfully, she didn't have to linger long like many others do.
She, mercifully, passed away Thursday.

After the service, I felt the need to comfort myself...as fat people often do...with food.
We were in Galveston and there are no end to wonderful restaurants and living this close to the Island, I've eaten at a lot of them.
Being a recent vegetarian, I have to stop and think about what places serve and how things are cooked before I can eat there.
I knew Mosquito Cafe had wonderful vegetarian offerings but I totally forgot that they are closed on Mondays. I remembered as we drove up to their empty parking lot.
The Original Mexican Cafe is just down the street and even though their refried black beans are what dreams are made of, I wanted something different.
I remembered I had always wanted to try the Courtyard Cafe on 25th and Market so we drove back up Market Street to find that they are also closed on Mondays (and Tuesdays!).
At this point I was too hungry to care anymore and I knew Mediterranean Chef was around the corner so that's where we ended up.
I can remember eating at this place when they just had plastic chairs and everything was served on disposable dinnerware.

They've come a long way with beautiful tiled floors, a huge bar, lovely tables and chairs and real dishes!I tweeted that the only thing that could ruin such a lovely bar was Creed playing on the flat-screen TV.

We started with tzatziki sauce and soft warm bread. I can't help but compare every tzatziki to Olympia Grill (also in Galveston). I've yet to find better but this was pretty close. It had a sharp, almost bitter taste to it that I attributed to too much garlic. However, I really REALLY like garlic so I didn't mind so much.
The bread was amazing, soft and tender, still warm.

There were a lot of choices for vegetarians and one of my favorite things is falafel. Once, years ago I tried the falafel here and I was disappointed. It was terribly overcooked, almost burnt and I've held it against them all these years.
They made it up to me, however. This falafel was PERFECTLY cooked and seasoned. I couldn't have asked for better.
It was served in a piece of pita bread that was as soft and tender as the triangles of bread that was served with the tzatziki.
Tahini sauce was drizzled inside and strangely the falafel was served with pickles. I've never had it with pickles but I liked it!
My first mistake was to slightly unwrap the paper at the end. As I was talking, I wasn't watching and suddenly I realized that tahini was dripping down the edge of the table and on my pants.
I looked like I just returned from an Oval Office visit with Bill Clinton. I didn't get a picture of that!

I chose the grilled Greek potatoes as my side. They didn't seemed grilled as much as roasted but what the hell do I know?
I loved that there were thinly sliced carrots mixed with the potatoes. They were a little crispy and sweet. Normally, I don't like cooked carrots but I could definitely get down with these!

Needless to say, I felt deliciously comforted after my meal.