Zibibbo

Palo Alto, California

Mediterranean Goodies served in your Grandma's house.

As a young monkey, I am quite lucky that I had the opportunity to travel to the other side of the country just to try some west coast yummies.  I wasn't exactly sure where to start since there were so many options, so I asked for a little help from some friends in the area.  They pointed me to a beautiful Victorian home in Palo Alto--Zibibbo.  How do you even say that?

So Zibibbo serves pan-Mediterranean cuisine with fresh and seasonal ingredients.  According to the waiter, that meant a mix of Spanish, Italian, Greek, and Moroccan.  The dishes themselves didn't look to foreign or unfamiliar, but the smells wafting from the kitchen were not exactly like the Mediterranean restaurants that I had visited in the past.  This must have been the Moroccan flare.

I wasn't too hungry so I opted for a few of the Small Plates portion of the menu.  Small plates just means I can order more and not feel too guilty.  :P

The waiter recommended that the table start with the Antipasti plate so we could try three different appetizers.  I went with the hummus, the roasted red beets, and the tzatziki.  The beets were candy sweet and went really well with the smooth goat cheese.  The hummus and tzatziki were average but satisfying.  This was a light snack that whet our appetite for more savory dishes.  

 From the Small Plates menu, I ordered the Chicken "Kefta" Meatballs with Moroccan Spice Gravy and the Grilled Goat Cheese with Olive Bread and Balsamic Reduction.  I can't say that I took advantage of the seasonal vegetables, but what can I say, I'm a sucker for comfort food and cheese.

 The olive bread was toasted to perfection.  The texture of the creamy goat cheese on the crispy bread was great and the sweet balsamic reduction paired nicely with the tangy cheese.  I stopped eating the cheese only to try the meatballs.

 Those were some spicy meatballs!  I don't mean burning my tongue spicy, but so many flavors my taste buds couldn't keep count spicy.  I couldn't even identify most of the flavors.  The spice overload was properly controlled with the gravy.  Who knew chicken could have so much flavor.  The meatballs were a bit on the drier side so I took each bite with the gravy.  These meatballs were definitely meant to be eaten that way.

Overall, Zippity Boo, I mean Zeemo, aahhhgg you know what I mean...was a nice place to visit.  The atmosphere was nice and the house was pretty; just minutes from Stanford University's Campus.  The menu had a lot of interesting dishes that could satisfy many different palates and with the use of seasonal vegetables, there is so much potential.  And for you wine and cocktail lovers, the selection is pretty hefty.  Would I visit again?  Probably yes, but I feel like I could get more for my money elsewhere.