I know how you feel. You're bored with pizza, nauseated at the thought of a burger and crying at the prospect of another breakfast burrito.
Never fear, a restaurant nestled on Harvard Drive, right near campus, can satisfy your craving for something new and different. Petra CafÇ & Restaurant serves delicious Arabic and Greek food at a very affordable price.
With its takeout service and great location, it's a perfect spot to grab lunch when you're on the go.
Petra has been serving the UNM community for nine years with good food and friendly service. The restaurant is family-owned by husband and wife team Mahmoud and Menel Menasra, who perform all the cooking and serving.
Their two children can be found playing outside on the patio or doing homework at one of the tables after school.
Mahmoud greets every customer as they come in, and, like many businesses near campus, Petra is a converted house. All of these factors give the restaurant a unique and welcoming feeling, giving patrons the impression they are being invited into the Menasra home.
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The dining area is one room with hardwood floors, decorated with a hodgepodge of plates, swords, Arabic tapestries and pictures.
The front of the restaurant offers a covered patio, enclosed with wrought iron bars, from which Petra's customers can enjoy the spring weather or do some great people watching.
Petra also has unusual and interesting merchandise for sale, ranging from delicate tea sets to hookahs, which are Middle Eastern water pipes used for flavored tobacco.
You also can purchase jewelry and jarred Middle Eastern staples, such as grape leaves.
Petra's menu is diverse and inexpensive, with appetizers for about $3, sandwiches ranging from $3.25 to $4.50, dinners from $6 - $9 and a variety of salads and desserts.
In addition, Petra offers a large vegetarian selection with no less than nine entrees.
As something of a carnivore, it's not what I would order, but you can definitely impress your friends by suggesting that you visit such a veggie-friendly establishment.
Since it was a beautiful evening, my friend Alex and I decided to have dinner on the patio. We started our meal with mint tea ($1.29), quite possibly the best tea in Albuquerque.
This elixir is unique to Petra and is a necessity any time you visit the restaurant. It is spectacular and served piping hot.
As a side note, Alex scalded himself with it and ended up drooling all over his shirt. Don't worry though; most people could handle the temperature.
Along with the tea, we ordered hummus ($2.99) as an appetizer.
Hummus is a puree of chickpeas mixed with spices and served with pita bread for dipping.
Petra's hummus, garnished with four small pickle slices, an olive and olive oil, was a tasty way to whet my appetite for the meal to come.
Mahmoud served us kiftah ($5.99) for the main course. This Eastern Mediterranean dish contains meatballs with vegetables served over rice pilaf.
It comes with a Greek salad and leaves you satisfied. It is incredibly flavorful, made with a variety of fresh ingredients.
With a large meal under our belts, Alex and I couldn't even consider dessert.
However, it was quite easy to consider a hookah. Despite being expensive, a bowl of Middle Eastern tobacco is a great after-dinner smoke.
The smoke from Petra's hookahs is cool and smooth, almost feeling like you are breathing flavored oxygen. Alex and I sampled the strawberry tobacco and found it to be the perfect way to end the meal.
Overall, Petra is a fun and worthwhile dining experience. It won't kill your wallet and will definitely cure that craving for something unusual.
Visit Mahmoud, have a cup of tea and a hookah, and tell him Simon sent you.
