As I inventoried the buffet, I was taken aback by the vegetarian spread that lay before me. | Photo by Douglas Imbrogno

By M. James Street

When I think of Middle Eastern cuisine, the first thoughts that come to mind are lamb, lamb and more lamb. You can imagine my surprise when a friend of mine who’s a vegan (that’s a vegetarian who doesn’t consume eggs, butter or dairy) suggested we go to Sahara’s Restaurant, 189 Summers Street, for the lunch buffet.

As I inventoried the buffet, I was taken aback by the vegetarian spread that lay before me. I happily piled green beans with cabbage, fava beans, carrots with potatoes, and eggplant atop mounds of fluffy yellow rice. One of my favorite features, however, was the endless supply of hummus and pita. Exotic spices were used in just the right amount to flavor the food — in fact, they weren’t so overpowering that I couldn’t taste the vegetables beneath them. As delicious as the dishes were individually, the combined flavors proved to be even better. The eggplant, for example, was just tangy enough to help out the blander flavor of the potato carrot dish.

Before leaving, I interrogated an employee about the content of the dishes. He assured me that everything is painstakingly homemade and that no stocks or fats are used to flavor the vegetable dishes or rice. I was also informed that on Friday nights (the only night of the week they’re open for dinner) homemade vegetarian grape leaves and falafel are served.

Because Sahara does most of its business through catering, they are only open for lunch throughout the week with Friday evening being the exception. To add to my disappointment, they are not open at all on Saturdays or Sundays. Despite the crummy hours of operation, Sahara has become my new favorite lunch spot. Because it’s not just vegetarian but vegan friendly as well, because the food is great and because the price is right ($9 per person for the lunch buffet). Sahara’s earns the first 5 out of 5 carrot rating for vegetarian dining in the Charleston area.

IF YOU GO: Sahara Restaurant, 189 Summers Street. Call 304-346-9800. Open Mon-Thurs, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Friday 11 a.m.-3 p.m. (lunch), 4 p.m.-8:30 p.m. (dinner). Closed Saturday & Sunday

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 24th, 2007 at 1:15 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.