After being smacked by real life pretty badly last week (in my opinion, the only thing worse than a job interview is getting that rejection call), I was really hurting for anything delicious and comforting. Luckily, I found exactly that at Moti.
The place is small and tastefully decorated, complete with a bronzed textured roof. The owners actually convert the seating from separate tables to bar style seating after dinnertime, and they are open until 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday. This is great for all those senior bar night goers who don’t want to fight over that greasy, lonely last piece of tortellini pizza from Antonio’s, and then fight with your stomach the next day.
The restaurant describes itself as serving “Persian Mediterranean” cuisine, and it offers all the general comforts of a Mediterranean establishment: gyros, falafel, hummus, etc. All of their meat is as organic as it gets (bought from Whole Foods), and cooked in a self-described ‘very healthy’ way: no added sugar, open flame grill, etc. Best of all, they offer meals in differing sizes: if you’re starving, try a dinner platter, if you could eat a good meal, the Persian wraps or if you are just in need of a delicious snack, the Mediterranean pockets are a bit smaller. The prices are phenomenal; the place is not a budget breaker, and what you get is totally worth the three to six dollars you spent.
We first tried the veggie lentil over rice (by the way, this place has an entire vegetarian section on their menu), which was definitely some great comfort food. It comes steaming hot, and is enough for a meal if you aren’t too hungry. Their Combination Soltani, a chicken and ground beef kabob wrapped in pita with hummus, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, rice and house dressing, was also superb. Their house dressing tastes pretty similar to tahini, and the rice in the wrap and the great flavor of the chicken earned huge bonus points. While their falafel was a little too character-less for me (I like my falafel a tiny bit crispy and spiced), I’m told it’s a popular item on the menu thus far.
We also had some of their “specialty beverages”: the homemade lemonade and the homemade energy drink. Both the drinks are infused with rose water, which in my opinion tastes refreshing, but in the words of Ansel Orr ’10, tastes “too much like the way perfume smells.”
Finally, if you are really craving something sweet, they have a Persian dessert called bamieh, which tastes very similar to fried dough/funnel cake you get at a carnival. It’s basically egg yolk and tastes much better than it sounds.
The owners and staff at Moti are ridiculously nice, and while some of the menu items lacked a little zest, the good ones are really fabulous. Happy eating!
Moti has promised a free specialty beverage to Amherst College students and staff who come in to eat a meal. Just remember to bring your college ID! Also, don’t forget that until the end of the month, if you go to Mango Mango, Amherst students and staff will still receive a 15 percent discount on their meals!