Diary 12|15|2014: Jude In Paris. Is This Lula Or Kafta?

[title type="h5"]Monday, December 15, 2014. Rimal, A New Middle Eastern Restaurant In Mandeville. [/title] The Fitzmorris family reverts to what could only be normal for us. Jude and his bride are in Paris. They send us a selfie with the Eiffel Tower in the background. He says that they like their little hotel and its bistro. We get a picture of the place and of their first meal in it. There's a thatch of fries that look as if they could be frozen. [caption id="attachment_45921" align="alignnone" width="480"] The honeymooners' Parisian lunch. Is that a cheeseburger?[/caption] Next to the fries is a sandwich of some kind, on a rectangular bread that looks roughly like a short poor boy loaf. I see lettuce, red onions, melted cheddar cheese, and some kind of meat in the middle--hey, wait a minute. I am looking at a hamburger! They are in Paris, eating cheeseburger and fries! I am aghast! The Marys can't sync their schedules with mine, so I eat alone at Rimal in Mandeville. This is a new Middle-Eastern restaurant in the space that once housed two consecutive Indian restaurants, followed by a very bad poor boy shop. It has been there long enough to be worth a taste. It is middle afternoon, and except for a few takeouts I'm the only customer in Rimal. I begin with a big bowl of lentil soup. It's chilly out, and that hits the spot--although it's a bit thicker than I prefer. That's always how it is in places like this. [caption id="attachment_45920" align="alignnone" width="480"] Lula (or kafta?) kebab, with hummus and a salad at Rimal.[/caption] The entree is a pair of kebabs of ground lamb and beef with cracked wheat and parsley. The menu calls it a lula kebab, but in the smaller print it claims to be a kafta. I can't seem to nail down the exact difference between lula and kafta. No two restaurants tell me the same story. But this is the first time I've seen the two described as being the same. Whatever it's called, it's a good center to a plate that includes a generous pile of excellent, spicy hummus and a bigger salad than I was expecting. It's a filling but healthy and delicious supper. [caption id="attachment_45919" align="alignnone" width="480"] Ashta.[/caption] Yet I continue on with the meal after the server says that she has a good ashta for dessert. Ashta is loke custard in a number of ways, one of them being the way no two versions of it are alike. This one has a uniform, custardy consistency, instead with the whipped version I'm used to. With its lake of orange flower water and ground pistachios, it has a marvelous flavor. It's big enough for two, but I down all of it. Must be all the eating I did last week during the Wedding Festival that stretched my stomach. I'm happy that Rimal seems to know what it's doing. We have hardly any Middle Eastern eats on the North Shore. The only other one--Albasha--is only moderately good. [title type="h5"]Rimal. Mandeville: 1703 N. Causeway Blvd. 985-778-2667.[/title]