Hoda's

3401 SE Belmont, Portland, 97214

I was very sad when, a few years ago, the Garbanzo's restaurants started disappearing. I was in love with their prices as well as their chicken shwarma and freakin' amazing tahini. Since then I've only eaten at one middle eastern restaurant that I thought merited a return visit, and that's Hoda's.

I've only been to Hoda's twice, but both times the food and the service have been exceptional. It's a little more expensive than my ideal ($12-15 per plate), but so far it's been worth it. I'll tell you why.

1. The hummus. They peel the skins off the chickpeas before blending, so it's the smoothest, creamiest, dreamiest hummus imaginable. (Very near as good as that Garbanzo's tahini I couldn't get enough of.)

2. The lamb shanks. This is the weekend special, and just thinking about it makes my mouth water. Two fist-sized hunks of marinated lamb, so tender that just touching the fork to it causes it to literally fall off the bone. Topped with pine nuts and served with rice (or, if you're me, you sub hummus for the rice). Oh, it also comes with a dish of that cucumber yoghurt stuff and some veggie garnish, if you're into that kind of thing.

3. Fresh-baked pita bread that's served piping hot to your table every 10-15 minutes. Sometimes it hardens and gets a little crackery, but if you eat it while it's warm it's nice and soft and dippable.

4. Ample seating, a warm & inviting interior, sufficient background noise but quiet enough to hold a conversation without having to raise my voice to be heard.

5. Attentive service. I've read other reviews that dis on the service at Hoda's, but I can't for the life of me see what they're complaining about. Both times I've been there the servers have rotated around the room at regular intervals, checking on each table from a polite distance and making sure our water glasses and bread baskets were never empty.

6. Large portions. I love it when I pay for a meal that turns out to be two meals, or even three. My dining companions were satisfied sharing a lamb shwarma plate between the two of them, while I took home half my lamb shank dinner. In fact it is calling to me from the fridge this very moment (drool, drool).

The down side to Hoda's? Hm. I'll scrape the bottom of the barrel for this one and say they could use some booths; there are none. But honestly, aside from the fact that I prefer my food a little cheaper, I have nothing negative to say about this place.

Hoda's gets a silver star from this foodie.