Dining Pick of the Week: Fresh Kabob

1405 E. Sunset Road at Escondido Street, 702-868-9096

Halal foods are foods that Muslims are allowed to eat under religious dietary guidelines. Most often this involves meat, and Fresh Kabob is halal. Not only that, there are no heat lamps or microwaves, so each dish is made fresh to order. "We make everything from scratch and even cut and marinate our own meats," owner Hamid Ashraf said. Persian-style taftoon bread is made in the clay oven and served with beef, chicken or lamb shish kabob platters. Among the shawarmas and wraps are beef and lamb, falafel and french fry. Popular sides are tabouli (bulgur wheat, tomato, olive oil, lemon juice, bell peppers), baba ghanoush (eggplant), dolmeh (stuffed grape leaves), hummus and two yogurts: mast-o-khiar, made with yogurt, cucumber and mint; and mast-o-musir made with yogurt, shallots and mint. The Original Feta Salad includes four dolmeh. Two desserts are baklava, that delicious combination of phyllo dough, nuts and honey, and ice cream (saffron, pistachio, rosewater). Ask about the mix and match kubideh kabobs (ground beef, chicken or lamb) for $9.99. Kabobs start at $6.99. Fresh Kabob is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday. - Jack Bulavsky