Restaurant Review: Dish Dash

Dish Dash - lunch on August 20, 2013

Every couple of months or so, I take my team out for lunch.  It's a chance for us to look up from the never-ending stream of spreadsheets and emails and talk to each other about topics other than work.  To get out of the office, relax and do that team bonding thing.  Oh and to eat good food and have dessert.

Inside Dish Dash Grill

We rotate the duty of scheduling the lunch and booking the restaurant but I think I've been slacking lately in having these so I took it on this time and asked for suggestions.  Someone suggested Dish Dash and meant their original location in Sunnyvale but I discovered they opened a new location that was closer to the office so that's where we went.

Hummus

I've never been to either location before and whenever someone hears I've never been to Dish Dash, invariably I get a "what, were you raised by wolves, you've never been to Dish Dash"? sort of reaction.  Every single person not only thought it was good but was baffled by someone who's never been there.  Honestly, it got to the point that I couldn't help my own eye roll and think "seriously, how good can this place be?" I usually find when something's hyped that much, that it rarely lives up to the propaganda. 2029 reviews on yelp adding up to a 4.5-star rating?  Really?

Okay, this is the part where I confess there was something in those 2029 reviews that averaged out to 4.5 stars. Yes, it was good.  We started off with hummus as an appetizer.  I didn't partake since I don't like hummus; they're made from chickpeas - cough, garbanzo beans, cough - so I passed.  But I did indulge in the flatbread that came with it for dipping into the hummus and I thought that was good.  Oddly enough, French fries were a menu option so I ordered that too.  Not that I had to have fries but it was so unexpected that I couldn't help but wonder what they'd be like.  I don't know much about Middle Eastern food but I assume French fries were not a regular part of their culinary offerings. The fries were good (hard to go wrong with anything deep-fried) but still a head scratcher for me as being on the menu.

French Fries

The kebabs, however, not only properly belonged on the menu but they were sublime.  I ordered the beef kebabs and they were chunky and tender.  Served on a bed of saffron jasmine rice, they were perfectly seasoned (but not spicy) and delicious.  I can understand the Dish Dash love on yelp.  Service was a tad bit slow but we were there at the height of the lunch rush so perhaps that was to be unexpected. I probably felt the timing crunch more acutely than normal because I was on call for a 1 pm meeting and we didn't get there until after 12.

Beef Kebabs

They also have vegetarian offerings and even if someone is leery of trying Middle Eastern food, there are enough "Americanized" offerings that it's a good choice even for people with cautious palates.  You might want to get there before noon though or go on a day when you have time for a more leisurely lunch.  Such was my rush that I didn't get to order dessert (insert lament here) so I have no commentary on that.  I will probably have to go back to Dish Dash and try a few different entrees before I join the incredulous "what, I can't believe you've never been to Dish Dash" crowd but based on the beef kebabs, that kind of research will be no hardship.  And next time, I'm getting dessert.