When you think of vacation/beach cuisine, most people dream of crab legs, endless piles of shrimp, fresh fish and the like.  We’ve enjoyed a lot of that in Myrtle Beach, but found a new favorite “beach dinner” spot at Jerusalem Mediterranean Restaurant last night!  If you love Middle Eastern food you’ll find some of the best I’ve had at this beautiful family-owned place.  With a new building, beautiful and spacious interior and occasional live entertainment (think traditional and modern belly dancing) you’ll find it a perfect spot for a date-night or a large party of family and friends.  I love the colors, feel and shadow boxes full of pottery.  You’ll immediately be whisked away from coastal Carolina and off to the Middle East!

There is an ample selection of cocktails, beer and wine at the bar.  While we didn’t have drinks tonight, there were some interesting choices.  The menu is a good size with a fine mixture of starters/small plates, traditional fare and wonderful-smelling tagines.  Abandoning any sense of healthy, it’s vacation after all, we settled on the Jerusalem Combo Platter.  The lightly fried treats from falafel to kibbeh to potato wontons were perfectly cooked, well-spiced and delicious.  It’s hard to beat any of these crispy treats dipped fresh tahini!

For dinner we split the kabob – a traditional mixture of spiced ground beef and lamb grilled and served on saffron rice.  This was absolutely the best we’ve ever had!  The crisp grilled outside sealed in a perfectly pink juicy inside.  It’s a large portion and almost too much for a single person to eat – good thing we split it!  Dinners are also served with warm naan bread cooked in their tandoori oven and a selection of chef’s salads of the day.  Let me tell you, these aren’t a side-thought, they are like bright little firecrackers of flavor to brighten the main attraction.  Spicy garbanzo beans, Israeli salad, soft warm curried carrots and creamy cool dill sweet corn were tasty and amazing compliments to the kabob.

Honestly, I can’t think of a single improvement I would make at Jerusalem.  Take a right where most people go left and you’ll end up with one of the best meals you’ll eat at Myrtle Beach.  When you see the family and friends of the owners interact with each other you’ll know for sure there’s love in this food!  Check out their website at myrtlebeachkosher.com.  Brush up on your belly dancing skills and dig in!!