El Basha Grocery and Deli

just walked in and out smelled bad empty shelves

I was visiting family in the outskirts of Miami and while they were having BBQ for lunch, I hopped on the Happy Cow app and I couldn't believe I found a Middle Eastern store and deli in this predominately Hispanic/Latino part of town.

Walking into the store I immediately felt like family, as what seemed like an all-women business operated business, greeted me with delight to see a new face enter the store hoping the magic of their food would entice me to return...if only I lived in southern Florida (I can't believe I just wrote that)....

Being a vegetarian, I ordered the veggie combo plate and was surprised to see something not usually on the menu at other Middle Eastern eateries: Mudardara, which are lentils and rice cooked together with sauteed onions. The mudardara was amazing, but the star of the plate was the Tabbouleh. So much so that when I went to order a falafel sandwich to-go, they ran out! (I arrived for a late lunch, around 2:30pm).

The tahini and baba ghanoush weren't too oily. The falafel, not to greasy; just right. The hummus was the only slight disappointment; it lacked the zest I'm used to. But, the whole wheat pita made up for it. Amazing that they offered such bread since you don't see many Middle Eastern restaurants offering it.

My only complaint: the Styrofoam plates. I know. They are cheap for the business, but this is the 21st century. Miami should know better (oh wait, Miami is in Florida, never mind). I could be okay with just the plastic forks, but the Styrofoam plates shouldn't be used.

I did order a falafel sandwich to go since I needed dinner for an evening flight back to San Francisco. Eating a 6 hour cold sandwich that is beaten up from TSA's finest guards merits no comments (it was the saddest falafel sandwich on my flight).

But, I'll close in saying that if I ever, ever, visit Miami again (hmmmmm...not sure how likely that'll be), I'll be sure to stock up on some veggie food from this fine Middle Eastern store and deli.

And the baklava! Baklava heaven! So many kinds! The baklava helped me endure my 6.5 hour flight!

:)

This place is pretty cheap and has great food! Recommend the felafel platter and the wraps are good too. They also sell already packaged food items such as cheeses and hummus, and have other products like cd's hookah, deserts, etc.