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Kan Zeman (Mediterranean cuisine)  $

 8.5
JaT Rating

274 University Ave, Palo Alto, 94301  (Directions)


650.328.5245


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Affordable Meditteranean cuisine in a casual environment


Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 12/28/2004
Rating: 8.5
My photo gallery 		For the people the frequent Mediterranean Wraps, you will be familiar with the excellent dishes that they offer at Kan Zerman. Located on University Avenue in Palo Alto, Kan Zeman offers more of a dining expereience than the walkup service at the Mediterranean Wraps. Im not sure why they dont share the same name but the food is nearly identical...which is a good thing. Although they are located on the busy University Avenue, dont bother finding parking on the street, I would use the numerous parking stuctures that offer 1 or 2 hours of free parking.

We sat down for lunch and the service is quite attentive. They quickly brought out water and ready to take our orders. I ordered the falafel plate and quite happy to see the order was beyond my stomach limitations....lots of good tasting food.

Falafels - 6 of them over mixed greens with tahini sauce. They could have been a bit crispier.

Hummus - excellent, I could put this over anything. Not too heavy on the garlic and wasnt runny. Good good good.

Salad - It was good but I thought the bellpeppers were cut too large for my taste. I prefer them diced to they dont overwhelm my taste buds...just my preference

Kan Zeman dishes out affordable mediterranean cuisine at reasonable prices. If you are a fan a Mediterranean Wraps and looking for a sit down experience, Kan Zeman is the place for you.
 
7.5
Agent Rating


Reviewer: Dan
Total Reviews: 84
Reviewed: 4/20/2009
Rating: 7.5
My photo gallery		 After watching it linger on my to-do list for awhile, I finally had the chance to check out Kan Zeman for lunch. And since I didn't know when I'd have the chance to come back, ordering was easy: the combination plate w/schwarma. That way I could try a little bit of everything.

Let the over-analysis begin:
-- Hummus: surprisingly bland. So much so that other patrons probably saw me squinting in concentration (trying to detect some kind of flavor).
-- Beef/lamb schwarma: Nicely spiced with good flavor but far too many pieces that were 100% fat. Hint to proprieters: leave these pieces off the plate next time
-- Falafel (2): Freshly made (yay!) but slightly too soft and oily for my taste. I prefer a little more crispiness
-- Med Salad: Fresh but no dressing I could detect. Tomatoes were underripe.
-- Dolmas (2): avg sized but much denser and drier than I am used to
-- Baba Ghanoush: The strangest I've ever had; basically yogurt sauce with pieces of eggplant in it. Not to my liking
-- Tabouleh: No bulgar that I could detect; just a whole lot of parsley with a few tomato bits. Yawn.

Total cost for the above was $11.99, not bad considering the amount and variety of food I received. Unfortunately, this is a sit-down restaurant, rather than a order-at-the counter place, so tipping for a server is involved. Consequently, after tax and tip I was poorer by $15.50. Not exactly a bargain for lunch.

Service was good; Ambiance was in-your-face Mediterranean, tasteful yet a bit overdone.

I would come back here for dinner to try one of their specialty dishes, but I doubt I will be back for lunch. The prices are too high and the lunch menu is too limited.
 


Reviewer: wchane
Total Reviews: 148
Reviewed: 10/5/2006
Rating: 7.5
My photo gallery		 Kan Zeman constantly has stellar service, and friendly smiles. The atmosphere also captivates you, and holds you hostage from your otherwise busy lives.

They are always high on my lunch list, which was apparent earlier this week. A chicken kabob lunch plate and mint tea after for no more then $12 (I believe). Quite a bargain.

However I can not say the same about dinner. I find Kan Zeman overpriced and lacks variety. Many items you can not order a la carte, and those you could does not make sense. (like the $1.50 hot dog + soda combo at costco, if you order the hot dog seperatly it actually costs more)

Although anything from the kabob section is delicious, it's the appitizers that I am not fond of. The hummus and babaganush especially.

Go for lunch, otherwise I'd recommend Gyros-Gyros down the street. It's not much better but they don't dress it up and you're not paying the premium of a white table cloth restaurant.
 
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