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Interurban (Closed) 6100 W. Memorial Rd. Oklahoma City, OK My latest visit to Interurban came as a result of hearing that the Memorial Road location is closing permanently on September 27, 2020, and wanting to go back “one last time.” … Continue reading
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One goal of this blog is transparency–I try to review every restaurant I visit and give the good and bad features I find at each one. There are various reasons why I am unable to write a timely review of … Continue reading
Karam’s has been around for so long it is one of the few restaurants I can say I have gone to for more than 30 years. I also think it is one of the best examples of Tex-Mex food there is. So far, in fact, it has turned out to be the restaurant by which I judge Tex-Mex food. Many restaurants in Austin came close, and some had specific items that were better, but Karam’s seems to have captured the essence of Tex-Mex cooking to a point that it is almost equal in quality to other styles of Mexican cooking.
Known for its Cheese Enchiladas, I think they are some of the best I have had that are not New Mexico or El Paso style. They are interesting because the tortillas are soaked in a sauce that turns them the signature red of true Tex-Mex style.
Although the enchiladas themselves are good, a combination dinner is even better– there may be no better examples of Tex-Mex style Tamales than at Karam’s. These have a masa that is soft and seems to break away the moment a fork touches it, with a flavor that I could almost imagine all the times I had fast food and TV dinner tamales while on a student budget, but which even most Tex-Mex restaurants in Austin could not duplicate.
Karam’s is popular enough to have required building a parking lot across the street. In addition to the restaurant, Karam’s Catering, a separate portion of the building dedicated exclusively to take-out orders, does a brisk business. With the mild weather found in south Texas, the outdoor patio with a fountain is an added attraction.
I think that unless you are specifically hungry for meat items such as the fajitas at Mi Tierra, you really owe it to yourself to make Karam’s your one special San Antonio Tex-Mex meal. It is a San Antonio institution for a reason.
RATING: 24
Cuisine: Mexican Tex-Mex
Cost: $$
Alcohol: Beer
Special Features: Catering
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Most Recent Visit
Jan. 6, 2005
Number of Visits: 4
Best Items
Cheese Enchiladas, Tamales, Tacos
Special Ratings
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Cheese Enchiladas |
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Chicken Tacos |
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Tamales |
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Refried Beans |
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Chips |
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Salsa |
Menu (Date Unknown):
Menu courtesy of Eugene F. Michael El Paso Menu Collection, MS499, C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections Department. The University of Texas at El Paso Library.
Note to Readers:
This review is reprinted from my original web site (Steve’s Gastronomic Home Page) and the newer site (OK Gourmet). By putting it on Steve’s Food Blog I hope to keep it accessible to readers and to preserve the information as something that I think is of historical importance for Tex-Mex restaurants.
Karam’s was quite possibly the best Tex-Mex restaurant I ever found in Texas (there were a couple in Austin that were close). Unfortunately when I discuss Tex-Mex restaurants I often have to refer to ones that are now closed (of which Karam’s joined the ranks in about 2005). I wrote a blog post about why I do not think the Tex-Mex food served now is as good as it was at these former restaurants which were considered leaders of the Tex-Mex restaurant world:
Why Does Tex-Mex Not Taste the Same as I Remember Growing Up?
The Karams’ daughter wrote a very informative comment about the restaurant, and it is certainly relevant to this review as well as a discussion of Tex-Mex food in general.
Pamela Karam’s Comment (Dec. 10, 2015):
Dear Steve,
Karam’s Mexican Dining Room of San Antonio had the absolute best Tex-Mex in the country.
My parent’s invented the style that chefs tried to copy without much luck.
All over the country to this day when I say I’m from San Antonio, strangers will ask me if I ever ate at Karam’s. Of course they go crazy about the food when I tell them who I was lucky to be.
My dad started me in the kitchen and I know the secrets to the taste of our food.
I miss a Deluxe Dinner as much as the next person.
Thank God I can whip one up when necessary..
I’m glad you enjoyed our place.
I loved it and miss it every day.
Sorrento Italian Restaurant
The one thing out-of-town visitors should know about Sorrento is that it is an old style, red checkered tablecloth type of Italian restaurant. I understand that it was started in 1951, and that it is now owned by the original owners’ daughter who carries on the tradition that people in northeast El Paso remember while growing up.
My own relatives used to take my family and I to Sorrento when we would come to visit, and along with Great American on Alabama and Leo’s (which used to be in the northeast), this is one of the few restaurants still operating which I can remember from the first few times I visited El Paso.
Wine bottles decorate the ceiling at Sorrento
There is a collection of wine bottles hanging from the ceiling that I think was there from the time of my first visits here. To me this is one of the great pieces of restaurant nostalgia that is locked in my memory.
The restaurant continues the tradition people would expect by providing red checkered tablecloths, and by having a menu with all of their favorites, mainly pasta dishes. I have seen reviews on the Internet that indicate that the best dishes are the ones with seafood, but I have to say frankly that I have never tried these. I seem to be like many other people that I am pretty much stuck on the dishes I have always ordered.
I will say a little bit about the old style Italian restaurants such as this one. This is especially important to me since Sorrento is one of the few that I remember from the time I was growing up which is still open today. Based on the new Italian restaurants, which I really enjoy, I do not think the “red sauce, checkered tablecloth” restaurants are authentic. For one thing, many of the dishes at Sorrento and other old style restaurants are made with ground beef, and I do not think this is a staple of Italian cooking (I say this never having visited Italy, but I think this is a pretty safe statement to make).
For every Italian restaurant it seems that the main draw is its sauce which is made from a “family recipe.” This is probably true, even at the old style ones, but the new restaurants seem to have a lighter tasting sauce while ones such as Sorrento seem to be heavy on the herbs and spices. I think the only thing anyone can really judge is how they like the flavor. I like the sauces at the new restaurants better (such as Monteleone), but the one at Sorrento is still pretty good. At least the sauce here tastes home made, unlike the ones at some of the national chains.
Salads and Appetizers
The biggest negative I found on a recent visit was the Salad, which consisted of some iceberg lettuce with a garlic and vinegar sauce. This type of salad can be very good, but I thought the one at Sorrento was a big fail, especially since you have to pay extra for it. This is one area where I think a lot of people would appreciate an update to the restaurant’s traditional menu (I am not sure, but I think they also have some other types of salads on the menu which I have not tried–I am just saying that I think the house salad could be better).
Some people make much the same complaint about the garlic bread, but I think there is no reason to change something that has worked for over half a century, and to stay with nostalgia on this one. These are buns which have been split in half and covered with garlic butter. The trick, though, is that they were cooked just right to make them crispy around the edge but soft in the middle.
Pasta Dishes
Lasagna
If I am able to make more visits to Sorrento I will mainly be working my way through the pasta dishes on the menu. I was able to order the Lasagna at a time when it worked out to make this selection, since the menu includes the warning that it takes 25 minutes to cook.
Probably its key is that it is baked with ricotta cheese, but the sauce is also very good (this is the part that contains the ground beef). I really do not order lasagna very often at any restaurant, but it is always good when I do, as it was here.
Pizza
I remember the Pizza as being very good, but I have not had any in a while. I think I have pretty much decided that this will be on the list for next time.
Dessert
Spumone
The Spumone used to be my favorite dessert here as well as the best I have tried anywhere–now it is number two on both counts. Monteleone’s has one that I thought was better, so it is now the best that I have tried (not that I have tried spumone at a lot of restaurants, but it has been a few). What causes the one at Sorrento to still be classified as one of my favorites is that it is house made (as are all of the desserts). I think they are using a traditional recipe, and they have all of the ingredients necessary to make this a special dish. This is like having ice cream at Baskin Robbins or one of the premium ice cream stores, but with a much better flavor combination than I find at many of the stores.
As far as the best dessert at Sorrento–I think it is the Tiramisu. My dining companions ordered it and I tried a sample, leading me to conclude that like the spumone, this is one of the best I have tried anywhere. It did not have the variety of flavors that the spumone had, but its flavor was excellent and was something I will remember for a while.
A Summary
The tried and true formula Sorrento uses is resonating with people, because the restaurant was almost completely full on a recent visit I made. For this to happen, it always has to be a combination of good food, reasonable prices, decent service (the service I got was more than decent), and feeling comfortable to come back.
The recipes here are what I would call old style Italian, but the food is fresh and prepared very well. Unlike some restaurants there was not such a large serving that I had to take some home, yet it was filling and I got a good dinner for the money.
There was a time when I thought the quality of the food at Sorrento went downhill, but this is now many years in the past. It is now like I remember it from the old days.
I do not really have any tips about what to order, because I am re-exploring the menu myself and finding out what I like now as opposed to what I liked in the “old days.” I will probably order the lasagna again, but I would also like to try some other items on the menu.
RATING: 20
Cuisine: Italian
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily except Sat. lunch & Sun. lunch
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: Beer and Wine
Most Recent Visit: Apr. 13, 2019
Number of Visits: 10+
Best Items: Lasagna, Spumone, Tiramisu
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Lasagna |
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Spumone |
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Tiramisu |
Jerusalem Grill
Jerusalem Grill joins a long list of El Paso restaurants that has made an effort to reinvent itself to reflect the changing dining scene, while keeping many of the features of the old restaurant that people liked. Jerusalem Grill was formerly located in the same building as the Market (5360 N. Mesa), but the restaurant has now moved to 5680 N. Mesa while Jerusalem International Foods (the market) is still in the original location.
Photo showing the original Jerusalem Market and Jerusalem Grill, which used to be next door to each other
As I understand it, Jerusalem Grill is now operated by one of the children of the original owners, and it has become more upscale. I think there is really no difference in the food from the original restaurant, except that they have added a few items including a new hot tea that is very good. There is now a lunch buffet, which to me seems to be the best feature of the new restaurant.
Because the food is basically the same but is just packaged differently, I am fairly confident in merging the review of the old restaurant into this one.
Lunch Buffet
Lunch buffet
The lunch buffet is definitely the best way to try the most items at the cheapest price (the buffet currently at $12.99 is not cheap but is very competitive with lunches at other restaurants).
I served myself hummus, salad, rice, kofta, roasted chicken, and moussaka
I should first make the comment that there are not a lot of selections on the lunch buffet, but I found every one of them to be very good. Two items were really the best, one of them being the Roasted Chicken (I have also had this from the dinner menu). The Moussaka was also excellent. The only other place I have found moussaka in El Paso was at Casa Pizza, but the one at Jerusalem was vegetarian and had an excellent sauce that really made it my favorite.
The rest of the plate really reminded me of the combination plates at many Mexican restaurants–there are usually several items that I would not want to order on their own but were excellent as part of the combination. The Kofta is something that many would want to order on its own but I happen to like the chicken better.
Fruit salad
The Fruit Salad served for dessert was the only choice available, but I thought it was very enjoyable and went well after the meal.
Vegetarian Dinners
Veggie sampler plate
Officially called an Appetizer Plate, the “Veggie sampler plate” from the new restaurant and the “Veggie combo” from the old restaurant mostly include the same items. This is enough to make a meal, and most importantly to me it includes Falafel which is probably the best example of it I have tried. Although the flavor is very good, the most important element of it is that it tastes fresh and not from a mix (I don’t know if it is made fresh, but it tastes that way).
While at most Middle Eastern restaurants the Hummus is my other favorite item, here it is not. I found this one to have an ordinary flavor compared to the restaurants in Oklahoma City, although I still like the one here. The sumac on top gives it some spice and a good flavor, but I prefer the ones that have more olive oil.
In contrast, though, the Baba Ganoush was quite good compared to ones I have tried at other restaurants.
The Grape Leaves are the only item that I have found to be not as good as at the old restaurant, although it is something I would want to try again to be sure this was not a fluke.
Veggie combo from the old restaurant
The vegetarian platter has changed a little bit from the old restaurant, but the most important thing to me is that the falafel is still served.
Lentil soup
Lentil Soup is not part of the vegetarian platter (appetizer plate) but it is flavorful. It is also on the spicy side.
Chicken Shawerma
Chicken shawerma from the old restaurant
The Chicken Shawarma is an item I liked at the old restaurant but I have not tried it since Jerusalem Grill moved. Still, I think I can say it is one of the best items here
Lebanese Oven Roasted Chicken
Lebanese oven roasted chicken
The Lebanese Oven Roasted Chicken from the dinner menu is the same as the “roasted chicken” on the lunch buffet, but presented with more garnishes. It also would have been too much to eat, but in this case it was shared by three people (along with with the vegetarian appetizer plate). My feeling in general about the dinner menu is that the items are too large for one person, although the restaurant does not make it difficult to share and the concept of family style meals seems to be part of the Middle Eastern culture.
Tea
The Middle Eastern style tea is made with loose leaves and was very good, although it was not a mint style tea. For the lunch buffet I found the iced tea to be good and a lot cheaper.
Other Comments
I have long considered the falafel here to be the best I have ever tried. Even so, the outstanding dishes at Jerusalem are probably the chicken dishes.
The vegetarian appetizer plate (veggie combo plate) makes a good meal from the dinner menu which is not too expensive. In general, though, I consider the vegetarian items at Jerusalem to be the weak point of the restaurant compared to other Middle Eastern restaurants. Of course the exception is the falafel.
The lunch buffet is not cheap but I definitely think it is a better deal than in many other restaurants. While some restaurants give you their cheapest stuff in order to have a good price, Jerusalem seems to include their best dishes at a price that is lower than ordering from the dinner menu.
RATING: 25
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: BYOB
Special Features: Lunch buffet M-F; Sunday brunch
Most Recent Visit: Mar. 12, 2018
Number of Visits: 9
Best Items: Lebanese Oven Roasted Chicken, Moussaka, Falafel, Chicken Shawerma, Pita
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Chicken Shawerma |
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Lebanese Oven Roasted Chicken |
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Moussaka |
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Kofta |
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Falafel |
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Baba Ganoush |
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Spinach Pie |
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Hummus |
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Grape Leaves |
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Lentil Soup |
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Pita |
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Fruit Salad |
International Delights
When I came to International Delights I was not particularly hungry, but with Middle Eastern food being one of my favorites I knew I could have a snack at the restaurant and take the rest home. This turned out to be fortunate, because as much as I liked the food for dinner it was even better the next day as leftovers.
The restaurant is somewhat international, but mostly Middle Eastern. The items I ordered are common in the Lebanese restaurants which I enjoy in Oklahoma, but I think they could be associated with a number of countries in the region. I do not remember the items that are from other regions of the world except for the gyros, but I do remember that some other regions were represented.
It was actually difficult to order because there is not a complete menu of all the items. Instead some items were listed on a board above the cash register while there was a smaller board near the entrance that seemed to include their specials and seasonal items. For many items I did not understand either what they were or whether it was a plate, sandwich, etc. I had to stand at the register to see the menu, and this was while other people were waiting in line.
Because of the awkwardness of ordering I probably got too much food, but it turned out to be enough to provide two excellent meals instead of one. Also for my readers, of course, it allows me to give descriptions of more items.
Salads and Appetizers
Salads here are included on dinner plates such as the one I ordered, as are some side dishes such as hummus that could also be considered as an appetizer. The salad was fresh and had a good flavored dressing.
The Hummus met my expectations in terms of flavor, and in texture was really one of the best I have found anywhere. I think this was because it was not ground into a paste as I find in many restaurants.
Soups
Lentil soup
The Lentil Soup was excellent, and was better than any I have found in El Paso so far (and I assume it is also the best in Las Cruces). As the photo shows it is very thick, and possibly more filling than many others.
Chicken Shawarma
Chicken shawarma
My first comment about the Chicken Shawarma is that the meat was excellent–it had the type of flavor I find in Halal meat although I do not know for sure that the meat here is Halal. This was combined with a very flavorful seasoning, and was one of the reasons I was very impressed with this restaurant.
The tahini sauce was one of the best I have ever tasted, and went well with the meat. They also give you some local style salsa that I did not eat with the chicken, but it was great with the chips I had at home for a snack.
Moroccan Tea
Moroccan tea
Although the Moroccan Tea was good, it was not like ones I have had in Oklahoma made with mint and sugar (thus this was what I would call a disappointment). In the future I would still order the tea, though, rather than another kind of drink.
Desserts
Lemon cake
They also have a number of desserts available such as this Lemon Cake. Although it was good, I still had the memory of the wonderful desserts at Le Rendez-vous which are the ones I would really recommend if you are able to go there.
Other Comments
The Pita was as excellent as the other items, and I really do not know of another Middle Eastern restaurant in the Borderland which is as consistently good all around.
At first I thought the prices were a little high but this was before I knew how much I would enjoy the food. I still question, though, whether the cake and the Moroccan tea were worth what I paid.
I think the restaurant describes itself as Mediterranean (which covers a broad range of cuisines), but really I thought the Middle Eastern dishes were a standout here. I do not know about their gyros, etc., but for anyone who loves Middle Eastern food I think this is a must try.
RATING: 24
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily (breakfast Fri.-Sun.)
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: No
Most Recent Visit: Jan. 5, 2018
Number of Visits: 1
Best Items: Chicken Shawarma, Hummus, Lentil Soup
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Chicken Shawarma |
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Hummus |
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Lentil Soup |
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Moroccan Tea |
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Pita |
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Lemon Cake |