Midday at the Oasis

Woody’s in East Lansing features marvelous kafta, so-so spinach pie — and lots and lots of lemon

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The new Woody’s Oasis building onTrowbridge Road, a year old now, still shines, inside and out. Khakiand green desert tones on tables and booths show no worse for wear,maintaining a pristine veneer.

It’s the plastic palm trees, though, andthe airy, mall-food-court feel that causes one to realize the newWoody’s, at least in location, is missing a touch of the character thatmade the old location so unique.

Décor, though, is likely not on theminds of most who venture to Woody’s for Mediterranean food, as folkshave for a quarter-century. No, patrons are looking for some tasty grubmade fast, something substantial, flavorful and not likely to leavegrease stains.

Woody’s satisfies such cravings, for the most part.

Any Mediterranean deli will have the staples of pita and hummus. At Woody’s, both come with combos.  

The pita, dubbed as soft on Woody’s website, is more aptly described as chewy.  AndI don’t mind chewy, but when my jaw muscles begin to feel fatigue afterworking through a few wedges, I want a bit of truth in advertising.  

The hummus is standard fare, a littleheavier on the garlic and lighter on tahini than I like, but smooth andtasty nevertheless.

I went with the kafta beef combo($7.99), which came with pita, hummus and another side. I chose thetabbouli, a salad made mostly of parsley, tomato and lemon juice.Woody’s uses the curly parsley, which is typically used for garnish orfor texture in salads. But when parsley is the star of the show like intabbouli, this diner prefers flat leaf.

The kafta was the standout of theevening. Beef and seasonings are formed into three little logs andserved atop a rather mundane and a bit dry bed of rice pilaf.Disappointing pilaf aside, the kafta is full of flavor, juicy andcharred just enough to evoke Memorial Day cookouts. Delicious.  

My dining companion tried the fattouchsalad with her hashwi combo ($7.99). With a zingy lemon dressing, big,juicy chunks of tomato, cucumber, slices of radish, romaine and herbscome together in a refreshing medley. My favorite part: the crispy bitsof pita that act as croutons. For salad lovers, Woody’s fattouch, evenif it’s heavy on the salt like ours was, outshines the tabbouli.

My companion also enjoyed her cup ofrice and lentil soup ($2.29), with simple flavors, brought togetherwith a bit of lemon (you really have to like lemon to eat at Woody’s).It didn’t do much for me.

Neither did the hashwi. A mixture of rice, ground beef,chicken, almond slivers and spices — the most notable being cinnamon —the list of ingredients is better than the execution. It was dry, likethe pilaf, and tasted like it was assembled, rather than cooked toorder.

Likewise, the filo spinach pie ($2.99) disappointed. Iexpected some kind of flaky crispness with the filo; instead Idiscovered soft, chewy dough that, when the layers were peeled away,turned the color and texture of tissue paper the closer I dug to thefilling. The filling itself was fine, a touch of feta with mincedspinach, but I couldn’t get past the pastry.   

For dessert, the namoura ($1.25) is definitely worth atry. Little rectangular cakes are dense and crumbly, drenched in sweet,delightfully sticky syrup. We also tried the ballourieh ($1), avegan-friendly dessert made with thin, crunchy wheat dough that holds amixture of pistachio filling and rosewater.  

Both sweets were natural accompaniments to coffee, so wedecided to try a cup of the Turkish variety ($1.75). Unlike so manyother restaurants, Woody’s doesn’t seem to rely on grounds scooped froma week-old canister and cooked beyond recognition. It’s good stuff. Inthe future, though, I might ask for the chef to go light on thecardamom, a seasoning added to some Turkish coffees and very pronouncedin the cup we shared. 

Woody’s has added a raw juice menu, something I might try on my next visit.  For vegetarians and vegans, Woody’s truly is an oasis.  

There’s plenty to try at Woody’s: The menu is substantial.  Somepackaged food in a cold case at the counter is worth a try, too — theBulgarian sheep’s milk feta puts those dry crumbles you’ll find in mostsupermarkets to shame.

The new Woody’s building might be made out of tickytacky, as the song goes, with a design so generic you could find itanywhere. Woody’s retains a sense of its original character, though;you’ll still find a pair of old-timers sitting in a corner, snappingtheir wrists as they toss dice in a game of backgammon.  

You’ll get a taste of something unique at Woody’s.  Just don’t expect much more.

Woody’s Oasis

1050 Trowbridge Road,

East Lansing.

10 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. (517) 351-2280. TO, D, P, OM, WiFi, $.

(517) 337-7744

woodysoasis.com


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