Tut Oasis 2 sits at the heavily trafficked intersection ofMadison and Harlem in Oak Park, but its rather modest exteriordoesn't exactly cry out to be noticed. Unlike the gold and richesassociated with King Tutankhamen's tomb, Tut Oasis 2 is anything butopulent.
The interior walls display numerous decorations depicting a fewof the treasures of the boy king's tomb, but the dining room isn'tfancy. Any real treasures to be found here are of the ediblevariety.
Tut Oasis 2 features Middle Eastern cuisine with an emphasis onEgyptian favorites. Admittedly, Middle Eastern cuisine is not scarceby any means in the Chicago area.
Most of Chicago's mom-and-pop Middle Eastern establishmentsserve adequate to good food. What places some of the better MiddleEastern restaurants, like Tut Oasis 2, a notch above others often canboil down to a few simple - but important - factors: slightly greaterattention to detail and a more intriguing selection of food.
Naturally, Tut Oasis 2 serves dishes such as hummus, falafel,kifta kebabs and tabbouleh, and dish after dish of these MiddleEastern standards were uniformly good on my visits. The high qualitystarts with the appetizers.
The falafel - saucer-shaped patties of ground chickpeas withparsley and other spices - was abundantly moist and flavorful on theinside and just lightly crispy on the outside.
The hummus, covered with a drizzle of olive oil, was apleasantly seasoned version of the ground chickpea and tahini saucemixture.
A bowl of the mild, colorful, pureed lentil soup was a good dealat $1.50. Bulgur wheat played, as it should, only a supporting rolein Tut Oasis 2's tabbouleh. This salad is dominated by fresh parsleyand a strong presence of lemon.
Entree portions generally were large and no less pleasing thanthe appetizers. The kitfa kebabs - seasoned sausage-shaped formsmade with ground lamb or beef - were a good bet. The cauliflowerstew was cooked in a delicious tomato sauce.
The koshary and fatta entrees are good examples of substantialEgyptian fare. Rice, lentils, macaroni and chickpeas combined with atomato sauce to form the oddly appealing koshary.
Fatta contained chunks of tender lamb (with bones) with rice andsmall pieces of pita that had been soaked in lamb broth. The dishwas covered in a mild tomato sauce.
For dessert, a thin, honey and walnut baklava was sweet but notoverbearingly so. The mamoula consisted of a dry pastry filled witha moist, rich date filling.
Service was attentive and often gregarious. The people at TutOasis 2 clearly enjoyed talking about their food, and for goodreason.
Robert Tucker is a local free-lance writer.
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