It took about five minutes before the “staff” paid us any attention. They seemed to be more interested in socializing with the foosball players. The menus strangely boldly claim that all their food is baked in convection ovens. But they also serve “paninis,” which no doubt will bunch Richard Ripshaw’s panties. After all, a singular sandwich is a “panino” and the plural is “panini.” What “paninis” are, and how one can make one in a convection oven, remains a mystery.

I chose the French dip. After a couple of apologies for being late with the au jus, our server ultimately copped that they had no au jus that day. He did offer to give me half off the sandwich. Ultimately, after the bill came with all items at full price, I talked them into giving me my whole sandwich for free. I’m just that persuasive these days.

The sandwich likely would’ve been alright with some au jus. I’ll likely never know.

I found out later that it is well known to not go to the 12th Street Pub on nights other than the taco Tuesdays.

It’s good because the brisket and barbecue sauces are really good. There’s a great smoke taste and the brisket has a good char and is very tender. You get quite a bit of it when you order the “1 Meat Plate,” which comes with two sides. I opted for beans and waffle fries, and was able to try the fried onion strips as well.

A "1 Meat Plate."

The fries tasted alright, as did the fried onion strips, but they were soggy and weren’t hot. You gotta get them hot and crispy and serve them right away to get the fryer hei, I say. And it’s weird to get a bun/roll, as an afterthought, really, and no butter for it. I took a bun bite, found it sweet, and yielded. The beans were alright, but soupy, so you actually end up with a bean soup.

And then you can get a free lime-green pickle, dyed a nuclear color no cucumber has ever been. The skin is tough and it tastes like vinegar. And then you can get free soft-serve ice cream, and it tastes much like nothing at all.

So, the brisket was excellent, as was the sauce. I would suggest getting some brisket and sauce to go, and make your own sides at home.

A tasty burger.

I’d heard somewhat varied reviews, from “the best burger in town” to “overpriced and messy.” So I kept it somewhat simple, because I wanted to taste the burger and not a “stuffed signature burger.” I added grilled onions and mushrooms and pickles and mustard. The grass-fed beef was cooked to medium, leaving it so juicy that I had to get more napkins than originally thought sufficient. The grilled onions and mushrooms also added to the juiciness, and although I recommend adding them, there were way too many grilled onions on my burger, which was easy enough to fix. The beef was very tender and fresh, and the LeQuartier bun, grilled just a bit, was perfect. At a third of a pound, it’s a good size for lunch, even though I didn’t quite finish it all.

The waffle fries were also good, fried to a good crisp and served very hot. The chipotle mayonnaise and honey mustard are both good dipping sauces. Fellow restaurant reviewer, Richard Ripshaw, enjoyed his burger so much he insisted that we go back again the next day, and so we did.

Suggestion: keep your burger order simple.

A surprising delight of basil tofu.

We ordered some Thai rolls and spring rolls, both of which were very good and savory. The fried Thai rolls are something like human Scooby snacks, and also good for hangovers. I’m still not pumped that the spring rolls are steamed and thus served hot, but the flavor was very good.

I then had the basil tofu, which was a slightly spicy dish which didn’t seem like much food a first, but was ultimately more than I could finish. The dish does not have any coconut milk, so it was a lighter affair, and the flavor was complex and enjoyable. The only criticism I have is that they cut the tofu into rather large chunks before frying, so there’s a lot of soft bean curd in the middle compared to fried edges. It’s a bit unappetizing to bite into a mouthful of just plain tofu after the crispy edges are gone.

The service was good enough, with the only gaffe being that the white wine we ordered turned out to be a 2005, a bit past its prime, and so we had to send it back.

But one good experience out of five is better than zero out of four. Hopefully it will be two out of six next.

Hot beef injection.

I’m not normally a fan of white bread covered in gravy, but it’s something of a requisite for this dish. The roast beef is fresh and you better get there before noon because they run out of the special by around then. The only real drawbacks are the frozen niblets of corn and the gravy can be a bit over-gelatinous in spots (the Pantry across the street does a good hot beef plate all days of the week).

Do yourself a favor and drink too much on a Monday night, get up and out of bed on Tuesday, and hit up Parkway Lanes for a special treat (large fountain Pepsi recommended as a food/drink pairing).

The "small" combo, from left to right: salad, steak, the gross lamb thing, chicken, and chicken-fried chicken.

I like variety so I went with the “small” combo, which is enough meat, bread, and salad to feed two people. I was disappointed that it didn’t come with one of those tasty fried meat pies called “kubbeh” on the menu. Instead, what looked like a piece of chicken-fried chicken appeared. The ground lamb kabob continues to be my least favorite item on the combo plate (by far) as it’s just a greasy, chewy mess, but everything else is really good, and I particularly crave the garlic sauce.

The atmo is obviously better because it’s in an old sushi place, but I enjoy the no-frills feel of Sinbad’s better. The server was friendly but ultimately inattentive and never stopped by to refill water or check up. And for $11, I would much rather eat at the Oven or Sher-e Punjab.

If you’re craving Middle Eastern food and you’re in the neighborhood, I’d say stop by. If you’re near Sinbad’s and crave Middle Eastern food, go there. There’s really not any difference.

[N.B.: The menu offered "lintel" soup, which I'm sure must come in a very large bowl.]

A meaty tamale.

I tried a tamale and a taco and thoroughly enjoyed both with their salsa. The tamale was filled such that there was an appropriate ratio of meat and cornmeal, which seems to be rare these days. Many restaurants are serving a cornmeal pie, with a little dot of meat or cheese inside, and that’s pretty unappealing.

The taco tasted of fresh ingredients and the soft shells seemed pretty fresh as well. Needless to say, I will be going back to try more items from the menu. I’m sorry it took me so long to try it out.

A whole buncha food.

I’ve had everything on the menu and like everything, except the gyro is nothing special because it’s the same gyro beast thing you get nearly everywhere. My favorite is the chicken tikka korma, which comes with way too much rice, but has always been good and comes with a small bit of salad and a couple of potato wedges.

The falafel is pretty good, but often a bit dry. Maybe dip it into the lentil soup? Then you’d have something.

African Restaurant.

Then menu itself does not have much to choose from, but there also are some extra items you might miss posted behind the counter. The staff is very friendly, but can be inattentive or inept at times. The atmosphere is nothing special, but it is quaint and appropriate (there, I said something about the atmosphere, you atmosphere lovers).

I wanted to order some “vegetable sambusas,” but they were not available because whoever makes them didn’t show up for lunch. That was alright, though, because the entree I ordered, “beef tibs” in the menu, was way too much food, which leads me to believe that Half the Food at Half the Price would be a good idea here, too.

Beef "tibs."

It was an interesting representation of colors, mimicking the Ethiopian flag. The whole affair was relatively oily, but tasted just about like you’d expect. The beef itself was generally tender, but I frequently bit into tough gristle, and you can eat that if you want, but I’m not going to. As it was, I barely ate half the plate (there were about two whole cups of rice and a whole potato there). I opted for rice instead of the sponge bread because I’ve had the bread before and wasn’t gaga for it.

All in all, it was good, but I don’t think I’d go back until I knew I could get a smaller portion for less.

Meat sammy.

The meat gets chopped up and cooked as you stand in line. You can choose among several free toppings, and also request the “fireball,” which means they’ll grill the meat with some jalapeno oil. I didn’t want my butt to hurt, so I went with a regular Philly with green peppers, onions, and mushrooms, but no cheese (I’ve never liked cheese on a Philly, because I think they’re fatty enough without). I didn’t see Cheez Whiz on the menu, which is supposedly the “authentic” way to have a Philly (I think I’ll pass).

The prior two orders had some fireball sauce on them, and my meat had the slightest hint of heat because of this, and I think that would be the way to go. I’m not sure how you can guarantee two people in front of you will order the fireball, but I’d say maybe with some careful planning, it’s possible. The meat is very tender and I found very little gristle. There was some hot au jus at the hot sauce bar, and that was pretty good to dip it all into. And the bread is similar to a Gonnella roll, like you might get a Chicago-style Italian Beef on, which is a good thing.

It’s definitely a good Philly, much better than those at King Kong.