The Black Sea restaurant

 It's time for another restaurant review!  A year ago... or maybe it's been two years now, Julie and I decided that we didn't love the gift giving obligation that came with holidays (it makes it ten times harder to find a good gift when you're under pressure) so we changed it up.  Since we love food and trying new places to eat we figured we could each pick a restaurant and treat the other person to a meal, that way we got to experience new foods/restaurants and do something for the holiday too.  Oh... and there isn't really a time frame on using this gift except that it has to be done before that holiday comes up again the next year!  

A few weeks ago we finally made it out for what was going to be my Christmas pick, yep that's right... we waited until October to use it haha (it's harder than you'd think, don't judge!)  Anyway back to the good stuff, a buddy of mine had told me how he went to this awesome restaurant in St. Paul called The Black Sea and that he really had a good experience there.  That's all I needed to know to pick this place as my spot.  Everything was unplanned and totally last minute which made the experience even better!  We headed out that way having no clue really what to expect except that it was supposed to be good and realizing we have both probably driven by it a million times and never even knew it existed.

We walked into a small (really... it was tiny) hole in the wall restaurant with about 10 tables crammed in and the place was packed!  Not only were pretty much all of the tables occupied with happy, hungry (and full) people but there were more people standing who were either picking up food or waiting to order food to go!  That was a great sign to us and we managed to find a table that someone was just getting up from.  

One of the awesome things about this restaurant is you could order apps and meals for one person OR family style.  After reading through the whole menu we decided we wanted to try one of the appetizer combos that included dolmas, falafel, and hummus accompanied by olives, feta cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, lemon, pepperoncini and pita bread.  We figured we should probably just get the single serving and split it so we could have room for our meal as well.  What a great appetizer and fun to try so many different things!  

Our meal consisted of another combo (we really wanted to try as much as possible and... we were having trouble deciding what we wanted) and this time we ordered it for 2 people.  It was delivered on a HUGE plate that contained... chicken and beef kebab, chicken, beef, and lamb doner, 2 kofte kebabs all topped with grilled onions and peppers, lettuce topped with tomatoes and onions, pita bread and two sides: french fries (random, huh?) and rice.  Sounds like lot of food? It WAS!!  It looked a little something like this... (sorry for the poor picture quality)

That plate of food was amazing.  We loved everything and even better was the awesome sauce they served with it which they made from homemade yogurt, cucumber, and garlic (we put it on EVERYTHING).  Besides the food being delicious the service was great as well.  Everyone was incredibly nice and I think they kind of got a kick out of our love for their food.  They were the real deal!  I'd totally recommend this place if you're ever in the St. Paul area close to the fair grounds.  It's worth the trip even if you're not in the area!  Head over there some evening with empty stomachs and close friends and enjoy rubbing elbows with each other over some amazing and authentic food.  You won't be disappointed!

~ Melissa