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Neighborhood Eats: A peek inside of the Kababchi Grill by Shisha Cafe

Majeed Alobadi had his share of character developing activities over the span of his life. All of them directing him back to his family business in Iraq. He like those before him opened a restaurant.

Majeed Alobadi had his share of character developing activities over the span of his life. All of them directing him back to his family business in Iraq. He like those before him opened a restaurant.

"Because this was my dream," he said.

Majeed is from Bagdad, Iraq. He came to the United States to attend college. In fact, he earned his degree in accounting. The need to earn some extra cash put the future restaurant in a unique situation.

"I started with Dunkin Donuts," he said. “I was a baker at Dunkin Donuts for three years."

In the winter of 2003, Majeed bought Shisha Cafe. He moved into the 900 square foot space hoping his food would bring a touch of home to San Antonio.

"It's Middle Eastern with Iraqi flavor," he said.

Majeed started changing the menu and the decor. Over the past 14 years, his restaurant has become a hotspot for Middle Eastern food. In fact, he's expanded to 140 tables. They even rebranded the place as Kababchi by Shisa Cafe.

"Shisha means the hookah. The water pipe," he said. "Kababchi means the chef who made the kabob."

The menu boasts 50 plus items from which a customer can choose. These meals are supposed to be more about bringing people together to socialize than food. Honestly, there's a whole lot of food for socialization. It's deemed as lifestyle positive.

"It's 100 percent healthy," he said. "90 percent grilled---nothing fried."

Neighborhood Eats munched away on a laundry list of dishes. Here's our list of appetizers:

  • Fatoush: Lebanese salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions and toasted pita chips
  • Baba Ghanouj: Roasted eggplant with a sesame paste, yogurt and garlic
  • Tabouleh: Parsley, cracked wheat, tomatoes, lemon dressing on leaves of lettuce topped with olives
  • Hummus
  • Tandoor (Iraqi flatbread)
  • Mix dip plate (Four popular dips including Iraqi eggplant salad)
  • Grape leaves stuffed with rice, tomatoes, onion and mint
  • Lentil soup

Each one of them fresh and delicious from the hand of Majeed. The allure of the table deepened with Masgouf. It's carp that must be ordered 24 hours in advance. Yep, one entire day before you decide to come to the restaurant.

The fish comes with quite a few bones but it is absolutely worth every bite. Que Rico!

Next up, the grilled chicken soaked in a pomegranate molasses marinade atop of a bed of rice. Delicious!

The family kabob plate is supposed to be shared. Neighborhood Eats selfishly ate the chicken and beef kabobs as well as the chicken and tikka dipped in a wonderful sauce. Que Rico!

There was no room for dessert. However, we did clear our digestive track with Iraqi Chai Tea.

Of course, one side of the restaurant is dedicated for those who love to hookah. Majeed stocks more than 150 flavors.

That's this week's edition of Neighborhood Eats. If you have a suggestion for Marvin, send him an email (Mhurst@kens5.com), tweet (@mhurstkens5) or the KENS 5 Facebook page. #KENS5EATS

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