Taste the Mediterranean in Memphis.Petra Cafe

Jennifer Biggs and Logan Guleff

Not too long ago Jennifer Biggs a good friend of mine asked me to come with her to taste the Mediterranean at the new Petra cafe on Sanderlin Ave.
Its a slightly fancy place with an inviting atmosphere. They have a very beautiful lamp from Syria and I know a big secret about it too.
We ordered a sampler appetizer it had hummus,eggplant dip and taboulleh.
The hummus was high quality. It was smooth and creamy and very nice, the eggplant dip was very flavorful it had some tomatoes and olive oil. The tabolleh was a new flavor for me, it tasted very green. It had bulgar in it.

For the main course I had a Gyro with no onions, Jennifer had the Sicilian Panini, and my Mom had the Spanakopita a Greek spinach pie. We also got the lamb salad and the lamb shank.
My Gyro was very good the taziki sauce was very tasty with dill and other flavors and I really, really liked it.It was loaded with meat and over all very tasty. I would order it again. I just wish it had a bit of lettuce to add some crunch.  The Panni had salami, provolone cheese, spicy mustard and basil on a ciabiatta bun. It was a favorite but the best is yet to come.

The lamb salad was beautiful and just as the name says it was a salad with chunks of lamb on the top. It was loaded with goodies. Tasty!

If you want a treat you have to get the lamb shank! It was clearly the best thing on the table. A braised lamb shank on a bed of rice. The rice was high quality round rice not the cheap flat kind. The meat was so tender you did not need a fork. It fell right off the bone. It had hints of cinnamon and other spices and was slightly sweet, complimenting the lamb flavor. It was so exquisite that the next day Mr. Douba let me into his kitchen to watch how he made it!!! Can you Believe it?

Now I love being in the kitchen and restaurant kitchens are the coolest ever. I diced up some veggies and watched the secret stock form before my eyes. The smell was delicious and I was honored to be there, learning the ins and outs of the exquisitely delicious lamb shank!  Now the recipe is top secret and if I tell you he wont let me back into his restaurant and that would be terrible. So go now and have that lamb shank before he sells out!


Off to find some lamb shanks to cook.

Love the cabbage leaf,
Logan