Ferdos Grill- 4300 N Federal Highway, 
Fort Lauderdale                        http://www.ferdosgrill.net/

I’m often asked how I get food recommendations. One way I discovered is by checking out where my foursquare friends are eating so I can interrogate them about their meals.  I warn you though; you must be careful with this technique or may get a disagreeable comment or two! Fortunately this was not the case with a good friend who I noticed was eating at Ferdos on a regular basis. I’m sure many of you can remember seeing the yellow & red Ferdos sign with the tag line “home of the kabob” underneath, on rides up Federal Highway and thinking “one day I’ll get there.” After questioning my friend, who as it turns out is of Lebanese descent, he kindly offered to take me there and help with my selections. So how authentic is it? Pretty much, however, don’t expect a whole goat served on a bed of rice, which you might have seen done on the Travel Channel. What you will find is many authentic Lebanese and Middle Eastern dishes. We started with a new one for me, Raw Kibbeh, which is primarily made with raw ground Lamb mixed with burghul and spices. Ferdos serves this with pita wedges, cucumber slices and onions. The flavors are subtler than I would have expected and the meat does not have any hint of gaminess. It did remind me of a pâté in texture. My host suggested I place a small amount in a pita wedge with onion and/or cucumber. The resulting mixture was delicious. The Sfeehas, Meat Pies, came next.  They seemed more familiar to me as almost every culture in the world seems to make a version of these small baked pastries filled with meat, vegetables or cheese. Ours were meat filled and served with a Tzatziki dipping sauce. Next was the very healthy and tasty Fatoosh Salad consisting of small pieces of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, radishes, pita chips, and tossed with a tangy dressing. I ordered the signature dish…Shish Kabob. What arrived was a large plate filled with perfectly cooked chunks of charbroiled beef served with fluffy rice, steamed veggies, onions and a strong garlic dipping sauce. After what I had eaten earlier, it seemed a veritable mountain of food…most of which I took home…had for lunch the next day…and there’s still some left!  So what did I learn from this food adventure? Good friends are priceless and offer unexpected knowledge… and foursquare can be an effective tool to find a good meal! Thank you Matt.

© 2011 alanEATS