Mediterranean Market & Deli Bakery

Reviews

Name: Thom Smith
Occupation: Journalist (Semi-retired)
Lives In: Boca Raton
Restaurant Pick: Mediterranean Market & Deli
Reviewed Mediterranean Market & Deli: Wednesday, 09/08/10 at 7:30 p.m.

This is a fun, exciting and delicious restaurant. The variety of the menu ensures you will have a different experience of flavors each time you visit Jet Runway Café. From the moment you arrive it is a delightful experience, plenty of parking available, people and staff greeting you at the door. It is little getaway in the middle of the day. You get to watch jets landing and departing, it reminds me of what the flying experience was in the old days. Superb service, classy and gourmet food, international flavors! I recommend this restaurant as a must to visit.

Never judge a book by its cover or a building by its façade. Do it in West Palm Beach and you could miss out on one of the area’s most delightful dining experiences. For nearly 40 years, downtowners have been passing through the single front door at 327 5th Street to be transported, if only briefly, to a Middle Eastern bazaar while they await their lunch at the Mediterranean Market.

The small room hums. Place your order with the employee behind the large display case filled with stuffed grape leaves, cheeses, halava. While you wait, browse the shelves for tins of imported olives or pick up a jug of olive oil, grab some sour salt, Turkish coffee, a bottle of wine or a dozen loaves of pita bread. Then, just about the same time you’re choosing a beverage from the cooler, Tony Salloum yells out your name.

The scene is slightly frenetic, but Tony, who knows at least half of the earth’s 7 billion residents, and all the store clerks, secretaries, lawyers, judges and stockbrokers in downtown and beyond, in the span of a few seconds manages a handshake and a quick conversation about the kids, the job and the current international news.

Yes, as the name says, it is a market. But with one small outside folding table and a few chairs shaded by a large umbrella, it easily serves as the most rudimentary of sidewalk cafes.

Tony is the personality out front. His brother Adib makes sure the operation runs smoothly, every day but Sunday, 8:30 to 5:30 (5 p.m. on Saturday). That includes the complex, 50-foot-long oven in the back that cranks out thousands of loaves of pita bread each week.

The hot menu includes the everpresent falafel, shish tawook (chicken seasoned with turmeric, curry and lemon), shawarma (lean beefsteak and leg of lamb, marinated in wine, herbs and spices), kibbe and the Middle Eastern answer to hamburger – Kafta (ground lamb with parsley, garlic, onion and spices). All are available as sandwiches, small ($6-$6.95) and large ($6.95-$7.50), on pita or as combo platters ($8.50-$9.50) with seasoned rice, salad and hummus with whole wheat flatbread for dipping. Those seeking less exotic fare can opt for ham and cheese, an Italian combo, roast beef, tuna or turkey. Calorie counters won’t feel punished thanks to an assortment of salads – Greek, chicken, Nicoise, lentil, tabouli, butter bean.

Until recently, when the Salloums decided to broaden its appeal by changing the name, it was known as the Middle East Bakery – for good reason. Beside the fresh pita, they bake individual triangular pies (lamb, beef, chicken spinach, spinach and feta, chicken and veggie). Soups include lentil potato and gazpacho. For the sweet tooth, what can be simpler than baklava – ground walnuts, pistachios or cashews sandwiched between layers of filo dough that has been dredged in honey and butter.

Other delights include kataifi, mamoul and namoura, all baked on premises. The Salloums use no sulfites or preservatives and they also offering catering. If you can swing it, wait for the downtown lunch rush to subside, drop by sometime after 1:30 and strike up a conversation with Tony. It’s great entertainment . . . No charge.

Name: Patricia Gallagher- Moskol
Occupation: Corporate Affairs Liaison
Lives In: Hollywood
Restaurant Pick: Jet Runway Cafe

I come from Peru where little holes in the wall are traditional, but this was out of the ordinary....I guess it is not a place you go to eat... it is better for take out...It was so hot to sit in the parking lot wearing a business suit. I would not recommend this place unless you are planning on ordering to go. They only have one table in the parking lot. The owner was very nice and friendly and asked me what I thought of the food. It was not easy to find. I guess it was an odd experience because it was not what I expected. I think the variety is limited. The products did appear to be fresh.

Name: Stu Nudelman
Occupation: Radio Show Host/ Wine Consultant
Lives In: Coral Springs
Restaurant Pick: Josephine’s

I would highly recommend this deli to anyone who loves authentic middle-eastern food. Even though the prices were a bit high for the portions, all-in-all it’s still a worthwhile place to pick up these foods. I would really only suggest it to people who live in the WPB vicinity or a 10 mile radius.

I would highly recommend this deli to anyone who loves authentic middle-eastern food. Even though the prices were a bit high for the portions, all-in-all it’s still a worthwhile place to pick up these foods. I would really only suggest it to people who live in the WPB vicinity or a 10 mile radius.

Restaurant Information