Lincoln Restaurant Week 2016: Chef Karim’s Mediterranean Grill

Chef Karim’s Mediterranean Grill did close temporarily. They reopened in January 2017 as Chef Karim’s Place. This is the link to their new website.

Lincoln Restaurant Week just might be one of my favorite weeks of the summer. Delicious food at great prices – sign me up. Because we have four children and are usually going off in many different directions, fine dining is not something that we normally get to experience. This week also provides a great excuse for me to have a date night with my husband. As each restaurant determines a “feature menu” that you can order from specifically during Restaurant week, narrowing down which place to dine at can be challenging. Perusing over the highlighted dinner options makes me a bit giddy – I think I definitely have to call myself a foodie.

Narrowing down our the restaurant to Chef Karim’s Mediterranean Grill left me with one decision to make – choosing which main course for us to share. The perfect date night location was in store. Until my husband had to work late … we are going to try for that date night on Friday night. By then, the Restaurant Week will be done, so I must confess that I went ahead and ate there without him. But all was not lost.

Now I have excuse to eat there again, so that he can dine with me. Not sure I would need an excuse to justify the experience anyway – the food was SO delicious.
At least my husband enjoyed really good leftovers. Saving enough food for him to eat was the hardest part of the night – I just wanted to keep eating.

What makes this fairly new restaurant in Lincoln one that you ~~should~~ must try?

First of all, the ambiance. Beautiful touches throughout the room that made dining here not seem like a typical “grill” at all. Even the bathroom seemed sumptuous.

Second, all you need to do is take one bite to be convinced. After asking the servers for their recommendations, I went with hummus and freshly grilled pita bread wedges for the appetizer. Their claim: the creamiest hummus ever. I concur. Such delicious Mediterranean food. For the entrée, I tried the “market fish,” which was the Salmon Provencal, rice and seasonal vegetables. Perfectly seasoned and prepared salmon, rice that made me want me more (normally I do not like restaurant rice – how boring!) and vegetables that tasted like a bite of summer. For dessert – the Crème Brulee melted in my mouth. I confess that I almost wanted to not mention to my husband that I went ahead and ate out – after all, he can’t miss leftovers he didn’t know about. Instead I was a good wife and shared. Although I did bat my eyelashes a bit at him, so that I could have another bite or two.

Ordering all three items separately would have cost $29. Still worth it, but this is why dining during Restaurant Week is so fun. Ordering an appetizer, entrée AND dessert is fun to get to do. The standard menu is concise – four available appetizers, two soups and salads, seven entrées, including both a vegetarian and vegan selection plus four desserts. Currently the plan is to change the menu seasonally, keeping a few favorites and adding new selections. Yet another excuse to dine there frequently – to try all of the new possibilities. Note: due to becoming Chef Karim’s Place instead of the Chef Karim’s Mediterranean Grill, the menu will not be the same. But this at least gives you an idea.

The third reason to dine – an incredibly friendly staff! Including the chef who happens to be originally from Morocco. I did give him my compliments on the food – he kissed my hand as he said thank you. Definitely welcoming. 🙂 Important details to note before you dine – Chef Karim’s Place is closed on Mondays and is only open evenings. Reservations are recommended. Based on the amount of people still dining at 7:30 on a Tuesday night, I would probably agree that calling ahead is a good idea. Besides indoor seating, patio dining is also available.