Sassool’s variety of Mediterranean dishes offers healthy reprieve at home | Review
I haven’t set foot inside Sassool in more than six months, but I can still close my eyes and visualize the location of every item in the display case. That’s how many times I’ve stood in the cafeteria-style line at the Cary location, which happens to be just a couple of miles from where I live.
Convenience is just one of the reasons I’ve become a regular — or at least as much of a regular as is possible given a restaurant critic’s dining schedule. Sassool offers a healthy reprieve from the critic’s usual diet, for one thing. And it’s inexpensive — another key consideration when the critic is paying for his own meal. The food is consistently fresh and tasty, and there’s such a wide variety to choose from, you could eat it a several times a week and never get bored.
Coronavirus has not stopped me from being a regular, but it has changed the way I order — from standing in a line to going online. Both locations offer contact-free curbside takeout, but I go for the ultimate convenience, delivery.
I’ve tried pretty much everything on Sassool’s menu at one time or another (including a couple of visits to the North Raleigh location), but my go-to order has long been the Pick Four sampler, which lets you choose from a tantalizing selection of some three dozen Lebanese dips, salads, and hot side dishes.
Now that I’m eating at home, I’ve been ordering the Family Meal packages, which serve four generously with choice of entree, salad, dip, and rice or pasta, for $39.99. So far I’ve tried the beef kebabs, and the veggie lasagna, a gluten-free version with potato slices standing in for the pasta. Both have earned a spot in my regular meal rotation.
I’m still getting my Lebanese deli fix, but instead of the Pick Four sampler it’s coming in the form of Family Meal sides — one of which is invariably tabbouli. I get the quinoa version, which delivers a protein boost over the traditional tabbouli with cracked wheat, but is otherwise identical as far as I can tell.
Other favorites include fava bean salad, black bean salad, mjadarah (rice and lentils topped with caramelized onions, served warm), and the autumn root salad, a jewel-toned kaleidoscope of carrots, beets, cilantro and walnuts in a pomegranate vinaigrette.
And at least one dip — baba ghanoush or hummus (classic or cilantro-jalapeño, depending on my mood) — is a must. Got to have something to dip that house-baked pita in. Impressively, the pita has arrived still warm in its paper bag a couple of times.
I do miss watching the loaves of pita being pulled hot from the oven, and biting into one when it’s still puffed up like a wheaty balloon. I also miss the little table where you can stop and drizzle a spoonful of olive oil laced with za’atar onto crispy chips made with leftover pita. And I look forward to being greeted again by Sassool’s unfailingly friendly servers, who smile even as they wait patiently for newcomers overcome by the bewilderingly large selection to make up their mind.
Until then, being a home-based Sassool regular is savory consolation.
Sassool
Two locations: 9650 Strickland Road, Raleigh, 919-847-2700; and 1347 Kildaire Farm Road, Cary, 919-300-5586
Takeout Tales
Send me your experiences with restaurant delivery and curbside pickup at ggcox55@gmail.com. I’ll publish as many as I can (edited as needed for brevity and clarity) in this space.
Boulted Bread
Thomas G. nominates Boulted Bread for its superlative baked goods (and I second that nomination).
“I nominate Boulted Bread on 614 W. South St., Raleigh as one of the best bakeries in the area. Their morning buns (possibly called cinnamon buns by some people) are the best my wife and I have had in this country or Europe. Their bread is also good. We like seeded levain and dark rye. They do occasional specials, and their olive bread (fougasse from Provence) was excellent.
“They are well-organized for takeouts during the pandemic.”
Crosstown Pub
Bob A. gives a shoutout to a downtown Cary favorite.
“My wife and I ordered wings and salad from Crosstown Pub in downtown Cary for takeout last week. When I drove up a couple minutes early, the food was ready to go. The wings were still hot when I got home, and the salad and the blue cheese and ranch dressings are fantastic.
“They have the best staff and owners, and we love giving them our business.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Sassool’s variety of Mediterranean dishes offers healthy reprieve at home | Review."