Shish Kabob House

We sure have our quota -- OK, probably more than our quota -- of Mediterranean restaurants in the Las Vegas Valley these days.

And it's kind of the great melting-pot genre of our time. I know of Mediterranean restaurants that are owned, in turn, by those who are ethnically Iranian, Afghan, Lebanese and Arab, and there are plenty more out there. While most add a few national-favorite dishes to their menus and all seem to slightly tweak (some more slightly than others) the food that they serve under the Mediterranean umbrella, it generally includes an array of kabobs, some variation of gyros, hummus, tabbouleh and baklava.

The roots of Shish Kabob House are Armenian, but you won't find many Armenian foods on its menu beyond the Armenian salad and the dolmas. There's no kanachi plate of mixed greens and herbs, no khash soup, no lavosh. But the fact that the menu sticks pretty much to the "Mediterranean" basics is understandable because they appeal to a much broader audience than, say, expatriate Armenians (although there seemed to be a party of those in the restaurant during our visit, judging from the conversation).

So what distinguishes Shish Kabob House from the rest? An almost obsessive -- and in this context, that's rarely a bad thing -- attention to detail.

Consider the salad that's included with combos. In lots of restaurants in this price range, Mediterranean or not, the promised "salad" doesn't amount to a hill of greens.

That's not at all the case at Shish Kabob House. We were extremely gratified to find that our quite generously proportioned combo plates contained a large portion of crisp torn lettuce tossed in a light vinaigrette and topped with an array of yellow bell pepper, red onion, ripe-ripe-ripe tomatoes, cucumber and a prodigious amount of cilantro. The colors were a feast for the eyes, the flavors a feast for the palate. Armenian cuisine is known for the quality of its fruits and vegetables, and that certainly was reflected here.

But they didn't stop there. Each plate also included a roasted and peeled half tomato and a roasted pepper. All of those vegetables represented a lot of variety and contrast in both flavors and textures -- and what a way to work on your five a day.

And I haven't even gotten to the main event. We wanted the pork kabob but an emissary from the kitchen said they were off, and added that the pork chops were better anyway (and this was no upsell, as they were the same price, $8.95), so we bit. What we were served: two thick, meaty, big chops on the bone -- really nice chops, seasoned thoroughly to accent their flavor without adding fire, grilled to a light char and served with onion on top. We thought they were just a tad dry around the edges, but the center was quite moist, almost pink.

Combos include rice or fries; the rice was basically plain, but the seasonings and juices from the pork chops served atop it and the cilantro and vegetables that drifted in from the salad gave it plenty of flavor and interest.

Moistness definitely wasn't a problem with the beef lula and chicken kabob ($8.95). The beef, similar to Lebanese kafta, was finely minced and mixed with onions and seasoning and formed into a sort of oblong, then grilled. This is a dish commonly served in local Mediterranean restaurants, rarely turning out as flavorful and juicy as this was.

And that extended to the chicken as well. The meat had been carefully trimmed -- which must be more difficult than you and I might think, judging from some of the chicken chunks I get in restaurants -- and marinated to augment its flavor and help keep it juicy, then grilled lightly. It was very, very good.

The fries were fries -- OK, but the rice was better.

We'd started with a plate of the dolmas ($3.95), which the menu also called sarma, but which at any rate were vine leaves rolled around herb-flecked rice and drizzled with oil and yogurt and served at room temperature. You can get plenty of these around town -- some hot, some cold, some with meat -- and these were definitely better than most, with an assertive vinegar tang.

Hummus ($3.95) was a workmanlike rendition, served with warm pita bread.

As we ate, the nearby kitchen door banged open now and again, and we could see a couple of Armenian mamas at work. That no doubt explains the attention to detail and quality of the food; this is clearly a labor of love.

And it extended to the dining room as well. Shish Kabob House is a tiny little storefront with only about six tables and seems to do pretty well as a takeout place, as we saw stacks of boxes being taken out for delivery. Yet the tables in that tiny room are topped with linen cloths and napkins, the walls are in serene shades of blue, there are interesting light fixtures and what we presume is the Armenian version of MTV plays on a flat-screen. There's no beer or wine but plenty of juices, soft drinks and a yogurt drink, and our bottled water was served in nice, substantial glasses.

And when it came time to deal with those generously proportioned plates, we knew they had takeout containers.

Las Vegas Review-Journal reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Contact Heidi Knapp RInella at 383-0474 or e-mail her at hrinella@ reviewjournal.com.