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Name Of Establishment	Ozi Ozi Shawerma Mediterranean Cuisine
Address:	546 I Street Los Banos Ca. 93635
Phone Number:	1-209-826-3566
Website:	Unknown
Prices:	Moderate
Date Of Review:	10-21-2007
Check out the Official Merced County Health Inspection of this Restaurant - If that link isn't working try this link (note: these links are slow to load)
Our Overall Numeric Rating	+
Summation Opinion: A great addition to the Los Banos California food scene. We enjoyed the unique flavors. Some minor problems with furnishings.

On Sunday October 21st 2007 we had lunch for the second time at Ozi Ozi Shawerma Mediterranean Cuisine on I Street in Los Banos Calif. Ozi Ozi restaurant has been open for nearly one month and they appear to still be settling in and getting all of the bugs worked out.

Ozi Ozi is owned and operated by a Jordanian family who have ties to the local community. They have created a unique place to eat here in Los Banos that is a welcome addition to the large list of taquerias and fast food joints.

Ozi Ozi Shawerma Mediterranean Restaurant is located on I street next door to the Bank of America and near several bars. The building has been painted a rather unattractive light lime green both inside and out. The cottage cheese looking ceiling is also painted the lime green and the duct work (also green) reminded my son of the Charley and The Chocolate Factory movie. As we walked in the door the first thing we noticed was the tile work. What once was a scuffed up and rather poor looking floor has been replaced with grouted tile that is done in a pattern fitting of the place.

The walls are adorned with small woven cloth 'tapestries' (for lack of a better word) with geometric designs on them and tassels at their corners. There is what looks like a black velvet poster with a golden depiction of a mosque on one wall. The first time we went in there was middle eastern music playing but that has been replaced with a big screen TV which was set to football today.

The counter area where you order your food appears to be quite clean and the display cases with the yummy looking sweets including baklava, sesame cookies, and ghraibah looked like it is cleaned frequently. In the background you can see the Shawerma which is a stainless steel device that holds and heats meat on a vertical spindle.

The menu we were given was a paper flier that had about 12 main course selections on it that included hummus, Baba Ghanouj, Shish Kabab, Shish Tawuk, Dolma, and more. Thankfully each selection has a one line translation that describes each on it. A nicety that not all 'ethnic' restaurants do.

We settled on Shawerma Wraps, Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches, and Falafel Wraps. Our order was taken by a pleasant man that spoke English with an unmistakable accent and who offered help at each turn when ordering. Again we found this to be a nice change from some places where they just expect you to KNOW what each item is and what the available options are for garnish.

We grabbed our sodas (cans and bottles from a refrigerated display case) and sat down. We noted that the chairs were pretty unstable feeling and rocked a bit on their legs. We also noted that most tables could not seat more than 4 people and many only had room for two.

When lunch was served we were greeted with the wonderful smell of a well prepared pair of 'Philly' Cheese Steaks that was brought to our table. They were served in plastic hamburger type trays with wax paper liners. The fries were in the same container and the paper was already getting pretty greasy.

The kids falafel and shawema wraps were served in aluminum foil and looked like burritos.

Before the kids could begin eating they found their food had been pilfered by those of us who would write reviews! The last time we were at Ozi Ozi Shawerma Mediterranean Cuisine one of us had gotten a beef shawerma wrap and the other had gotten a falafel deluxe. The kids had not gotten the deluxe version... and for that I am glad.

On the previous visit I had not really enjoyed the falafel deluxe. Instead of what I was used to it had been stuffed in part with eggplant and potato. To be blunt that really was not very good. HOWEVER the falafel (non deluxe version) was great - at least the 2 bites I had of it and so was the shawerma wrap. I think it important to note that the wrap material was not what you might expect. It was NOT a tortilla and it was not pita bread but instead was a thin type of bread with a unique flavor and texture that I really did like quite a lot.

The Philadelphia cheese steaks were fantastic. They included grilled onions and bell peppers as well as a nice portion of meat with just the right amount of cheese. Now do not go into Ozi Ozi Shawerma Mediterranean Cuisine expecting these to taste like something from back east. They most certainly DO NOT. The meat is a bit different and the seasoning is not at all like the Philly steak sandwiches that I have had. I do not know what I'd call this, but it was not Philly to me! Having said that by whatever name they want to call this beef sandwich it was fantastic. The meat was savory and the spices were not overpowering at all. In fact the flavor complimented the meat quite nicely.

The fries.. well.. they were a miss. They were not cooked so as to be crispy and they were actually quite greasy. We ate them but they were certainly nothing to write home about. Also it would have been nice if they had mayonnaise for one of us likes that on their cheesesteak.

The kids enjoyed their falafels and shawerma wraps.

We did not eat desert this time, but the last time we were there we had the baklava. I am not a real fan of that desert but it was still good.

Pricing is decent. Its not a cheap deal but it is reasonable.

One of the Our Los Banos Forum members had suggested that maybe Ozi Ozi was not kid friendly. When we went in we were looking out for why this might be. I can say that late nights in this area of town might provide diners with some scenes from the bars, but the restaurant itself seemed okay in general in this regard. Perhaps having larger tables would make this better. I also noticed that there were three hookahs on display. While this adds to the ambiance in some ways in American culture there are sometimes perceived associations with illegal drug use for these implements. Perhaps that was what the poster was referring to. I would not shed tears if the Hookahs were removed. The Turkish coffee pots and other decor items are good enough and do not have such connotations for some.

All in all we would recommend Ozi Ozi Shawerma Mediterranean Cuisine as a very good alternative to the standard fare available in Los Banos. The food is good, it is fairly reasonably priced and though they have some bugs to work out with decor the experience was a good one.

Specific Opinions By Reviewer One
Overall Rating :	A few bugs to work out yet.	+
Food:	Very tasty meat
Service:	Excellent, Caring, and friendly
Decor:	could do without the Hookahs	+
Price/Value:
Bathroom Cleanliness:		Not Observed
Romance Factor:
Family Friendliness:	Tables too small

Specific Opinions By Reviewer Two
Overall Rating :		+
Food:	Unique food great flavor
Service:	Very friendly
Decor:	Like Turkish Coffee set do not care for Hookahs
Price/Value:	affordable
Bathroom Cleanliness:
Romance Factor:
Family Friendliness:	No Children's Menu Small Tables

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In this section, the staff of Our Los Banos .com shares our personal opinions on the restaurants that we patronize in the City of Los Banos. We would like to stress that we are not professional reviewers, that we have had little or no training in the food arts, and that we are simply expressing our own personal views and opinions on particular visits that we made to the establishments under consideration.

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Merced County Health Food Facility Inspections Site

Finally, we strongly encourage our readers to make use of a truly wonderful online resource we discovered last year. Merced County has put together a very cool Food Facility Inspection website which discloses the results of the County Health Department's last few inspections of each restaurant. The results are sometimes quite fascinating and are always interesting. Beware however you may not want to eat at certain places once you read some of the more dramatic entries. We at Our Los Banos .com very much appreciate and support the county of Merced putting these Department of Health food facility inspections online for the public to see.

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