Dining Scene
Pyramids piles on savory Mideast dishes

By Matthew Gray
Advertiser Restaurant Critic

Last summer, I enjoyed the food from Pyramids when the restaurant catered "Candidates in Focus" for 'Olelo Television, a series that Miss A. and I produced. This piece is long overdue, but Pyramids remains a very worthy dining establishment.

Pyramids offers one of the best luncheon buffets in town and an a la carte dinner menu that brings many more choices. Belly dancers entertain diners every evening. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser THE PYRAMIDS Very good 758 Kapahulu Ave. Lunch: Mondays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Dinner: Mondays-Saturdays, 5:30-10 p.m., Sundays 5-9 p.m. Full bar at night Belly dancing every evening 737-2900

It's never a madhouse at Pyramids, thankfully, but when it gets very busy, the operators keep up with the demand by replenishing the supply. I always begin with the Greek salad that combines sliced tomato and cucumber over greens, sprinkled with crumbled creamy-sharp feta cheese. It's a light, refreshing and crunchy start, and a fine match for what comes next.

Fresh pita bread arrives with hommos, a creamy blended concoction of garbanzo beans, the rich sesame-seed sauce called tahini, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. This is such an addicting dip that almost anything tastes good with it. The falafel (deep-fried patties of ground and spiced garbanzo and fava beans) become a great sandwich when combined with the hommos and the pita.

I'm not shy, so I venture back again for tabouleh, a refreshing mix of bulgur wheat, fresh tomato, onions, chopped mint, lemon and olive oil. There also are deliciously spiced French fries on the line, as well as bamia (okra braised in thick tomato sauce) and fragrant basmati rice. So far, this buffet lunch is very vegetarian friendly.

But now the meat. Shawerma is a blend of spiced and marinated beef and lamb cooked vertically on a spit and sliced thinly into mouthwatering strips. It's so satisfying that I guarantee you'll love it. A little tip: Take the meat from the lower part of the pan, because that's where all the juicy pieces are; top strips tend to dry out. If all this is not enough, there's shawerma chicken, marinated and flavorful, tasting of Middle Eastern spices and char-broiled smokiness. Top the meats with Pyramids' tangy yogurt sauce.

When you're finished scarfing down all those delectable savories, a cool rice pudding awaits, seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg, topped with crushed nuts.

Dinnertime brings an a la carte menu that includes many more choices. The spanakopita (spinach pie — $2.95) is a spinach and feta marriage, wrapped in filo dough, and baked golden-brown and crunchy.

Fool moudamis ($3.95) is a simple dish of baked fava beans with lemon, olive oil and seasonings. Fava beans are soft and almost creamy, popular in the Middle East and Italy. Another very popular appetizer is dolmathes, stuffed grape leaves (10 for $11.95; five for $6.95) filled with a blend of rice, parsley, chopped tomato, onions and lemon. The neat little rolls are steamed and served with yogurt sauce.

Entrees to try include mousaka ($14.95), most often associated with Greek cuisine (as are spanakopita and dolmathes, for that matter). Mousaka is a baked dish of layered fried eggplant and ground beef, topped with bechamel sauce. Reiash ($18.95) are lamb ribs, marinated for two days and charbroiled slowly. Let's not forget shish kabob ($15.95), cubed lamb served with basmati rice. They do a shish shrimp, as well ($16.95). One more interesting item is the kebbeh ($14.95), spiced ground beef and lamb mixed with cracked wheat, and filled with onions, raisins and pine nuts.

Belly dancing happens every night at 7:30 and 8:30 (earlier on Saturdays and Sundays, but call for times). It's a visual treat, to be sure, but watching a young lady shaking and undulating and gyrating while I'm dining confuses my male mind. I don't know whether to peek, ogle, hoot and holler, stuff currency down her bejeweled costume (which is the custom, by the way), or what. Perhaps I should stick to the buffet lunch.

Pyramids should be on your list of places to try. Prices are reasonable, the food's excellent, and there's free parking behind the restaurant.

Reach Matthew Gray at ChefMatthew@LoveLife.com.