A MIddle Eastern Luncheon

My Co-workers Barbara and Carmen

The Administrative staff of the Los Angeles office of our engineering firm enjoys a luncheon once a year with our boss, Eugene.  It was especially poignant this year as he is leaving the company to go on to bigger and better things.  He will truly be missed!

Me and Eugene

I feel like we should have taken him out to lunch, not vice versa.  However, the company is doing a big luncheon tomorrow, so that will have to do.

Eugene drove us up to Glendale where we had a Middle Eastern feast at the Shiraz Restaurant.  The Shiraz Restaurant is an Armenian establishment and one of the oldest Middle Eastern restaurants in Glendale.

The Shiraz Restaurant

This (above) is actually the rear of the building.  We came in through a shady walkway from the back parking lot.

The rear entrance to Shiraz

It was a very warm day in Southern California yesterday!  And very windy.  When they asked if we'd like to sit inside or outside, we all hesitated.

The lovely interior of Shiraz

When we discovered the outside seating was in a fully covered patio area, we said, "Yes!"

The garden seating area had ceiling fans and a beautifully peaceful atmosphere

This was truly a lovely and peaceful setting for a meal. We came early, so there were no other diners sitting outside. We were able to talk and laugh in private.

The office staff.  We make KOA tick.

I love Middle Eastern food.  Shiraz has, as their claim to fame, wonderful kabobs.  When I saw the Filet Mignon kabob on the menu, I knew that's what I wanted!

By the way, I usually spell it Kebab, but I see they spelled it Kabob on their menu.  When you are dealing with a foreign language and a non-English alphabet, who knows?  Right?  Translated: they are delicious...

The Shiraz menu

We had a little trouble deciding what to order.  Everything looked really good.  But we ended up going for the Kabob entrees.

Barbara and Carmen perusing the menu.  They chose the Filet kabob too!

The service was excellent.  The first course arrived quickly.

Barbara chose a garden salad.  Eugene had Ash-Mast soup.  He let us try some.  It was a vegetable soup with cilantro and yoghurt.  It was tasty.

Ash-Mast soup

Carmen and I chose the lentil soup.  I've always liked lentils.  These were wonderfully seasoned and just a little spicy.  Nice!

I'm not used to eating a great deal for lunch.  The lentils filled me up just fine.  

But then came the main course:

The Filet Mignon Kabob

Oh, Yum.

The meat was tender and juicy and the veggies were grilled just right.  I loved this dish.

They served a platter of fresh greens as condiments.  There were fresh basil leaves, radishes and onions. There were also some lemony green leaves that I felt I should be able to identify, but couldn't.

I tried it all.  It was all good!

Eugene ordered the chicken.  It looked every bit as good as our filet chunks.

The chicken kabobs

We discovered somewhere along the way that we were perfectly color coordinated for the restaurant's garden decor. It made us laugh.

To end our meal, we were brought fresh oranges and strawberries.  Terrific!

It's nice to work with good people you also consider friends.  I'm glad we had one last luncheon with Eugene.  He's been one of the best bosses I've ever had.  What a good man!  I wish him well.

Anyway, I would heartily recommend this restaurant if you're ever in the Glendale, California area.  They are located on Glendale Avenue.

For more information, visit their website at www.shirazrestaurant.net