Author Spotlight
Avni Bansal
Kansas’s wheat fields and vast plains are nothing like the Mediterranean’s chalky soil and evergreen shrubs, so coming across herby and fresh spices is rare. Kansas-made Mediterranean food often uses extra salt and processed ingredients, denying customers the vast variety of aromatic flavors of Mediterranean cooking.
But, I decided to test my luck at Sidos, a family-owned Mediterranean restaurant in Overland Park. This location, inspired by the original restaurant opened by the owner’s grandfather in Jordan, ships spices from the Middle East and uses family recipes and specific cutting methods for their meat.
While I browsed through the menu, my server recommended his personal favorites while he talked about the restaurant’s Jordanian origin. While I was ordering a $3 mint lemonade, he offered to pour me complimentary Arabic coffee. I loved the zesty sweetness of the lemonade and the cardamom taste of the coffee.
A bright, greenish-yellow lentil soup created by blending cumin, parsley, carrots, lemon and caramelized onions was served to me with crunchy browned pita chips and garnished with parsley.
The smooth soup’s earthy lentil flavor paired well with the freshly squeezed lemon and contrasted the crunchy pita chips. Compared to my usual brand of Stacy’s pita chips, these browned chips had a stronger bread-like flavor and way less salt. I liked that the soup was thick but not creamy, and the soft texture of lentils lingered in my mouth.
The soup was blended finely, making each bite a mix of flavorful gritty lentils, tangy lemon and bittersweet cumin. The soup felt healthy and satisfying — with not too much salt or heavy cream — and I was able to eat the whole bowl without feeling too full.
Even though I’m not a big fan of soup, this lentil soup impressed me, and it’s an appetizing side that goes flawlessly with other dishes on Sidos’s menu.
I was initially overwhelmed by the 15 ingredients listed for the shish kebab and its two sides, tabbouleh (parsley salad) and roasted eggplant dip. The $20 price tag also seemed excessive — until it arrived.
The main dish of three skewers of ground beef and lamb, sumac (a red spice made of dried sumac berries) onions, grilled tomatoes and onions, muhammara (roasted red pepper dip), pita bread and yellow rice wasn’t too filling, and I still had room to enjoy pita bread topped with the sides.
My server explained that the dip, made with grilled eggplant, pomegranate molasses, olive oil and pecans, was authentic baba ganoush with the same ingredients that are used in Jordan. The complex ingredients tasted smoky and earthy compared to the overly salty and creamy, Kansas-style baba ganoush.
The tabbouleh was made of parsley, tomatoes, cracked wheat, green onions, olive oil and lemon juice. It was satisfyingly cold and incredibly strong with a peppery parsley taste.
I placed the grilled skewers on pita bread and topped them with the sumac onions to make a tasty combination of tender meat and chilled, spicy onions. The rice balanced out the spicy chilli flavor from the muhammara and the delicious charred vegetables were a fitting addition to the dish.
This singular dish had so many different foods and spices, and the combination of these ingredients made it fun to eat. It was as if I was getting three dishes for the price of one.
Wrapped in a tortilla and filled with shawarma sauce and marinated chicken, the chicken shawarma came with pickles, olives and garlic sauce that enhanced the dish.
The cubed chicken was cooked evenly and each piece was slightly sour from the sumac spice and citrusy caraway seeds. It was appetizing, soft and left a burst of herby and garlicky flavor in my mouth.
The thick, creamy and salty garlic sauce was mind-blowingly delicious with a fitting amount of tanginess. The slightly sweet tortilla, chilled sauce and juicy chicken made each bite incredibly flavorful with a balance of saltiness and tanginess.
In contrast, the olives were extremely bitter — just the way I like them — and the pickles added a sour crunch to the chicken shawarma. Each aspect of this dish went together wonderfully and I loved the use of simple ingredients, like pickles and olives, to add extra flavor.
The chicken shawarma was split into eight pieces, making it easy to hold in your hand and pop in your mouth. It’s safe to say I now know where to go to get the best chicken shawarma.
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