This is the second Mediterranean/Middle Eastern/Turkish, etc. restaurant that Suzanne has mentioned to me.  The first, Urban Turban, was great and I have visited several times and the food is consistently good.

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My first visit was for lunch on Saturday.  I had the Kefta Kabob (beef & lamb), rice, tabbouleh salad, bread and iced mint tea. (Menu)  The older gentleman, I guess the owner, came out to my table to explain what was on the menu.

I loved the “shtick” and wished that the Turkish Grille in Fayetteville would mimmick the Desert Chic (Sheik).  The atmosphere was everything that pleased.  And now my review goes south.  I just didn’t like the flavor of the kefta kabob, nor the tabbouleh, and the rice (supposed to be a neutral flavor), added to the disappointment.  The iced mint tea was delicious and refreshing.  The bread, fresh out of the oven, warm and soft was good also.

Now, I don’t have broad experience in this type of food, but having tried several items at the Sherefe Mediterranean Grill, over several years, in Fayetteville, and the Urban Turban in Cary, and lunch at the Turkish Grille, I have come to think of myself as “liking” this type of food.  *I really, really like the tabbouleh salad at the Urban Turban.  I like the rice at the Turkish Grille, and they make a good Greek salad.  And, I like the Doner Kabob and salad at Sherefe.

Perhaps it was not having condiments or sauces to add to the flavor.  A squeeze of lemon for the tabbouleh salad “just didn’t make it.”  *The analogy would be the difference between a good, home-made spaghetti sauce and what you get out of a Chef Boyardee can.  The flavor just wasn’t there for me.

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NOTE [03/20/23]: Apparently, I did not mention anywhere above that Marrakesh (Facebook, Wixsite, Menu)is located in Jacksonville, NC. The Urban Turban has been closed for several years now.

A few weeks ago, on Sunday, the day after we celebrated the life of James Frederick Sharpe, Jr. “Jim” a group of us, including Mary Ann, Jamie, Danny, Si, Si’s girlfriend, Ray and Jacquelyn (who was celebrating her 50 birthday) went to Marrakesh for lunch. Mary Ann had kept the location a secret, and I didn’t realize they were going to be celebrating Jacquelyn’s birthday also. I wasn’t looking forward to going to Marrakesh again because, as I had said above the food was bland.

But, to my surprise, what I had for my entrée turned out to be very flavorful. I did not enjoy the appetizer, spinach in a philo dough pastry, which was pretty flavorless… but I had ordered the Gyro Platter, with rice and a Greek Salad. The shaved lamb was delicious. The rice had good flavor and the salad was also good.

I’m going eMobile from my EVO.

A little over a month later, I ate at Sweet Tomatoes again, choosing to sit at the same seat, next to the entrance to the bathrooms and kitchen.  There were two families sitting at the opposite end of the isle, that were sitting in the same booths during my previous visit.

I also tried this lentils, basmanti rice, onion, parsley & curry soup.  It was good.

I’m going eMobile from my EVO.


http://www.flickr.com//photos/billg2/sets/72157627152462145/show/


I woke up, and after a shower, dressed. I walked outside and walked down the hill a short distance to a Cracker Barrell Restaurant. I had my usual, an Uncle Hershel’s, with country ham, two eggs over medium, potato casserole, biscuits and hot tea. My usual, but just never at this restaurant.

I had the good fortune to have a young waitress, “with a playful mind”. Her name, from the receipt, was Rachel L. She and I were both talkative. She was from Tennessee, and was taking drafting classes, wanting to become an architect eventually. Because I ordered hot tea, she mentioned that there was a tea shop in downtown Asheville called “Dobra”. I thought she said dobro, which I equate to a type of steel guitar, or maybe how to play one with one of those steel rods that you run up and down the strings.

Dobra Teas, as you will see below was a very enjoyable experience!

After I finished breakfast, I walked back up to my room at the Red Roof Inn, packed up everything and left.

I drove over to the WNC Farmer’s Market in Asheville. I bought these yellow cherry tomatoes. They had a good tomato flavor and an almost florescent green flesh.

I also bought a wedge of onion & chives cheese and some fresh cherries.

After I left the Farmers’ Market, I turned and went up on the Blue Ridge Parkway, travelling a short distance and then turning around. It was a foggy morning in the mountains.

I tried to time my drive into town so that the shop would be open  when I got there.  It was still about 10 minutes before it opened when I parked my car and walked across the street.  Dobra Tea Shop is on N. Lexington Street in downtown Asheville. They open at 10 am on Saturdays.

The shop was closed, so I stood on the sidewalk, first reading some info on the door, then peering into the closed shop through a large pane window, and then checking my phone.  A few people walked by, and two were standing a short distance up the sidewalk, talking, in front of what I surmised was a coffee shop.

I then heard a rustle from within the tea shop and turned to see a clerk who apparently went through the morning routine of unlocking the large paned, hinged window along the sidewalk, folding it up to open the tea room to the outside air, placing several potted plants at each end of the open window, and then unlocking the front door to welcome me in.

He suggested that I could sit anywhere.  I chose the back corner of the front room.  The shop has three themed tea areas.  I told him, “I know nothing,” to which reply he became most helpful.  He handed me a tea book, through which I could look and determine which tea I might want to try.

He returned a short time later, and I asked for a pot of hot Assam Brahmaputra tea.  Assam is a black tea (I know now.), and the River or Region is Brahmaputra.  The summer morning was still cool, about 65 degrees F, so the hot tea was very enjoyable.  Surprisingly, I drank the whole pot without asking or adding sugar or cream, and it was very good.

Before leaving I bought a few teas to take back home. One tea was a PU EHR. It was formed into a heavy compressed tea leaf brick. The brewed tea has an earthy aroma, and just a small portion expands greatly as water seeps into it.

On the way back to Fayetteville, I stopped for lunch at Tumeric Indian Restaurant & Bar in Winston-Salem. They have a nice buffet.  Pictured here was some good chicken curry, goat curry, rice, hummus and cabbage with naan.

As I neared Greensboro on I40, I stopped at the Piedmont Triad Farmers’ Market. My first visit. I bought a couple German Johnson and Cherokee heirloom tomatoes from this stand. A walk down the other end and I bought a bunch of aromatic basil.

I do not recall ever having a Cherokee tomato. It has a deep red thick flesh, a red bottom and an almost purple top near where the vine attaches.

ADDENDUM [05/28/21]: Several years ago, the Tumeric Indian Restaurant & Bar in Winston-Salem went out of business. I had eaten at this restaurant several times as I passed through Winston-Salem. I just looked at the Dobra Teas site, and several of the images are as I remembered it… because I see that they were last updated in 2012 (a year after my first visit).

Day 2 of testing out my iPad at various locations, where I would normally not be using it.

I just had an “All American” Combo, with curly fries and a root beer.

Today went fairly quickly. I had to go back home to get some documentation for the SharePoint 2010 training that I went to back the week of May 23rd – May 27th in Cary, NC. After that, we had our weekly Blackboard UNC-G/FSU conference call to rehearse outstanding issues with our system. The problems are growing fewer, but there are still a few problems.

The Blackboard Mobile Building Block is now working. Apparently, it was a firewall issue.
I was successful at using the Bb Mobile app on my Android phone and my iPad this morning.

I have been trying to get back to working on an install of WordPress on my USB stick, but other things keep taking priority. I can’t find my 8GB stick that had a working instance of multi-site WP. I recall it slipping off the counter into a grocery bag of “stuff” and I didn’t reach down to get it then, and now I can’t find it.

Well, the music here isn’t enjoyable.

Sent from my iPad

I was in Cary, NC for the week of May 23rd through May 27th, 2011 for SharePoint 2010 Training at the Comfort Suite on Ashville Dr. (near the hospital).  Training was over by 11am, and I was doing some last minute work for Blackboard, before leaving the hotel.  I was talking with Suzanne on the phone regarding some announcements that needed to be posted on both Blackboard systems, when she mentioned the Urban Turban on Hwy 55 near Apex.  Suzanne and her husband had visited the restaurant a few weeks prior and said that it had good food.

It was around 11:30 am when I left the hotel.  I put the Urban Turban into my phone’s GPS and found that it was only about 12 minutes away.   I hoped that I would be able to get to the restaurant before the “lunch rush” crowd.  The GPS talked me through my turns and I finally arrived in a strip mall.  I did not see the restaurant at first and began to curse the GPS for leading me astray.  As I drove deeper into the parking area, I finally saw the sign for the Urban Turban.

I went inside and was pleasantly surprised.  The walls were colorful and there was plenty of seating.  The buffet counter was serpentine, behind glass,  and wound from the cash register near the front door toward the back of the restaurant where the drink machine and bathrooms were located.  I recall that the order of items were salads, bread, humus, meat entrees, and soup.

As I filled my plate and bowl with selected items, other customers began to trickle into the establishment.  There was a woman, seated in front of me that had something to do with books & publishing.  Another woman and then a couple (man & woman) came in and joined the woman.  One had published a book.  I’m not sure what it was about, but it appeared as if it were a “self-published” tome.  (Maybe not.).  As the man talked, I noted that his right hand was deformed.  Their discussion centered around writing and writing experiences and suggestions.

I normally do not like hummus, but this was good.  I do not recall the meats that I selected, but they were good.  The bread and salads were delicious.  The soup was hot, but relatively tasteless.

Before I had finished my meal, most of the seats had been filled.  As I left, it had begun to rain and I walked briskly to my car.  I backed out of my parking space and turned the auto in the direction of the restaurant so that I could get a picture of the outside.  I flipped the switch for my sunroof to recede and took the picture quickly before the rain drenched me.

As I headed down US1 toward Pinehurst, dark, black clouds approached from my right.  There were several flashes of lightning and a brief bout of heavy rain, but it did not last long.  *When I arrived home, later that day, I saw several weather reports that said there had been a great amount of rain that had come through the Chapel Hill & Cary areas.

I stopped by the Raleigh Farmers’ Market this morning. There were some red tomatoes, and I tried a slice, and it had good flavor so I bought 3 medium sized.

I saw some white radishes at Lees Produce which looked good. I took out my knife and sliced off a small amount of one that was already broken and it had a good mild flavor. *I just tried one that I bought and it was very hot. I also bought a small bunch of fresh basil for $2.

The radishes had tall tops which were beginning to look old and blanched out. They did not look appetizing, so I decided to cut them off. I walked over to a trash can that was in the middle of the walkway and pulled out my knife.

As I started to cut off the tops, I felt a child wrap her arms around my left leg. It happened so fast, that I hardly had time to react. That’s not actually the case. I didn’t even look down to see who the child was. It just felt so natural, and I was totally aware that a child had mistaken me for their parent. I just continued to throw the radish tops away. I saw a woman that I thought was the child’s mother, and I looked down to see a little girl. I bent down and said to the girl, “I’m sorry, but I’m not your daddy,” and then I stood back up. I really did not look at the little girl’s face. As I stood up, I looked into a tall man’s face, thinking he was the child’s father. He looked back blankly. I then heard the little girl start to cry and realized that she had walked away from me a few steps and apparently had realized that she had lost her dad. As the girl cried, the woman, that I thought was her mother, walked up to the little girl asking if she had lost her father.

About that time, the girl’s father walked up and took the little crying girl away.  I turned away and went over to buy some tomatoes. I then went to another stall and bought some fresh basil. But, I then thought that it would be cute if I could get a picture of the little girl and her dad, in case I wanted to tell this story.

I walked down a few stalls and saw the little girl and her dad. She had already stopped crying. I did not introduce myself, but just took a few pictures of them. *Her dad never even knew what had happened. I was the only one who was aware of the entire incident.

Now, couldn’t this be Bill from the back (except for the straight back)?  *I just noticed that the woman in blue, is the woman that asked the little girl if she had lost her daddy, and the tall man (apparently her husband) with the little boy on his shoulders, the tall man who looked blankly back at me.  He didn’t have the little boy on his shoulders when he looked at me.

I definitely see why the little girl would think that my leg was her dads;-)