Release Date: Friday, February 10th 2012

Phoenicia Cafe takes first place in ehtnic cafes in Tempe

azcentral.com
By Angelique Soenarie

Eat lunch or dinner and do some grocery shopping at these one-stop ethnic restaurants with mini-markets. These fast-casual places offer flavorful dishes from all over the world, as well as specialty groceries to help you replicate your meal at home. Here are five places to check out.

Phoenicia Cafe

This Mediterranean cafe, bakery and market offers fresh baked baklavas, meat pies, Turkish delights, wraps, raw juices, homemade Tunisian meat dishes and exotic groceries and spices. Pita sandwiches ($4 and up) are popular at lunch, especially the gyros ($5.99), warm pitas stuffed with strips of spicy lamb and beef, topped with tomatoes, onion and tzatziki sauce. Quzi is a family favorite, a dish of tender seasoned lamb shank served with rice and vegetables ($13.75). Fattoush and tabouli salads ($4 and up) also are frequent orders. Raw juices are available in carrot, mango, guava and orange (start at $1.99). Stop by the market to pick up cardamon, paprika, anise pods, cinnamon, cumin and shawarma seasonings to make your own Mediterranean dishes at home.

Details: 616 S. Forest Ave., Tempe. 480-967-8009, phoeniciacafe.com.

Jerusalem Foods Restaurant & Grocery

Tucked away in a small shopping center, the simple eatery and market offers couscous, tabouli, cucumber-yogurt salad, sandwiches, dips, salads and grilled meats. Start at the mini deli counter and order a shish kafta platter of charbroiled ground beef and lamb mixed with parsley, onion and other seasonings, served with rice, soup or a house salad ($8.99). After, pick up a box of falafel mix to make your own fried patties of seasoned ground fava and garbanzo beans at home. Boxes of freekah, a green wheat similar to couscous, used to make side dishes with veggies, pastries or salads, can be found here, too.

Details: 961 W. Ray Road, Chandler. 480-247-8464, jerusalemfoodsaz.com.

The Dhaba

This a one-stop shop for Indian treats, including spices, groceries, Punjabi street foods, desserts, jewelry, clothing -- even eyebrow threading. Start your experience in the restaurant with home-style cuisines from Punjab, India. Try the amiritsari samosa chaat, a triangular-shaped vegetarian snack stuffed with potatoes, onions and chile, served with yogurt ($7). Then order the gazab ka kadahi murg, boneless chicken marinated in a spicy yogurt and baked in a clay oven and served with sliced onions, bell peppers and tomatoes in a thick, exotically spiced sauce ($13). In the market, find curry spices, sauces, sweet treats, silky scarves, tunics, bangles and necklaces.

Details: 1872 E. Apache Blvd., Tempe. 480-446-2824, the-dhaba.com.