Sticks Kebob Shop

Style: Middle Eastern

My Rating: 3/5 Stars

Website: http://www.stickskebobshop.com/

Likes: Sauces were full of flavor, interesting taste pairings, décor was inviting and peppy, hummus was not overly seasoned and was creamy

Dislikes: Portion size was small for dinner, there were no vegetables on kebab, sirloin and pork tasted quite similar (tasty, but somewhat sketchy…)

This restaurant is in the same strip mall as the Fresh Market in Williamsburg, We buy our coffee at that grocery store, so every time we drove by the shop to get some coffee, my husband, Brad, would be delighted to torture me by exclaiming, “Let’s get some rat on a stick!” Well, today we did just that.

As I walked in to the restaurant, I was brightened by the deep hued multicolored walls and paintings for decoration. There was jazz music playing in the background, which immediately made me think of Panera Bread. In fact, Sticks had a very similar set up to Panera Bread.

There is a process when ordering most of the dishes. First, the type of meal must be chosen from a sandwich, salad, or platter. Then the type of meat that is skewered is chosen from chicken, sirloin, pork, lamb, shrimp, vegetables, or falafel. The next step is choosing the sauce to be accompanied with the meal, and last step is choosing a side. It seemed a little overwhelming at first, but the girl at the register was very happy to assist us.

When Brad first brought our orders to the table, I was surprised at how unappetizing they looked. The kebabs did not have vegetables on them, and the meat was in very dry, small pieces. My first thought was that as a dinner, I was going to need more food. I found out later that you could order an extra side or kebab skewer, but the prices seemed rather steep.

 Brad ordered the Sirloin kebab platter with cilantro lime sauce and sesame green beans. The sauce was very tangy and full of flavor. I think that it paired well with the sirloin. His green beans were also different and not what I imagined they would be. They were cold, intentionally cold. They were good though, I’m not complaining.

I ordered the pork loin kebab platter with lemon sesame sauce and a hummus side. The pork was dry, but when I mixed the sauce with it over the rice, I did not seem to notice much. The sauce was outstanding. I had never thought to pair lemon and sesame together. The two tastes brought a sense of Asian summer to my tongue, both sweet and savory. I highly recommend it as a choice. There was an exceptionally large scoop of hummus on my plate, which I used to wipe my flatbread in. There was so much hummus that Brad also swiped his flatbread in it. Then, there was still more left over. The hummus had a cumin taste, not spicy, and was very smooth.

I would recommend this restaurant for lunch. It is something different for the Williamsburg, VA area and I applaud its diversity. It is nice to have Middle Eastern food available. However, I think that a few minor improvements, such as adding vegetables to the kebabs, would further my liking.