The Voice - Student Newspaper

International delicacies available right around the corner from GCC

By Leah LeMoine
Reporter, The VOICE

Despite its convenience and affordability, fast food can get old after a while.

If you are looking to break out of the to-go box and expand your palate, you might want to try one of these ethnic eateries, all within 15 minutes of GCC and all within a budget-conscious student's price range.

Nana's Kitchen – 59th and Olive Ave.

This family-owned and operated restaurant, nestled between SportClips and Pizza Patron, serves up traditional Mediterranean fare at reasonable prices.

The gyros sandwich ($4.99) and chicken kabob sandwich ($5.99) are excellent, with an ample helping of juicy, flavorful meat tucked into a pita with lettuce, tomato, onion and either tzatziki or tahini sauce.

The falafel appetizer ($3.75) is great as a side dish or as a light vegetarian meal. Basmati rice ($2.75) is moist and delicious – a must-order item.

Hummus, that old Mediterranean standby, is serviceable and comes with a generous amount of pita ($3.99). The restaurant serves other Mediterranean mainstays like fattoush ($6.99) and shawerma ($5.99), as well as American favorites like hamburgers ($4.99) and hot dogs ($2.99).

With its affordable food and close proximity to campus, Nana's Kitchen is an ideal lunch spot for GCC students. Nam Sao – 43rd and Bell

Nam Sao is the kind of place that ethnic foodies pray for – authentic and delicious food, great prices and generous portions.

The menu can be a bit daunting for the uninitiated, especially since there are over 100 items listed. Rest assured, it is nearly impossible to order something bad here.

Vietnamese egg rolls ($2) and spring rolls ($2.50) are far superior to any oil-soaked, cabbage-stuffed egg rolls you might find at a Chinese chain. Vietnamese subs, combining Asian ingredients with French bread, also trump their sandwich shop competition.

Try the banh mi xa xiu, a barbecue pork sub ($3.50) or banh mi thit nuong, a grilled meat sub ($4.99), both accompanied by cucumber, pickled carrot, daikon, jalapeno and cilantro. The soups are also stellar. Bun rieu ($6.99) is a crabmeat soup served with egg, tomato, rice noodles and fresh herbs that you add to your liking. Pho ga ($6.99), chicken soup, is another classic.

There is also an assortment of salads, noodle dishes, meat and seafood entrees, curries and vegetarian dishes, all of which top out at $8.99.

Don't leave without trying Vietnamese condensed milk coffee ($1.99), a creamy concoction which you can order hot or iced. Nam Sao also offers a 10% discount for college students who bring their ID cards. Mi Cocina Mi Pais – 44th and Bell

The name of the restaurant means "My Kitchen My Country" in Spanish, and it is something that the Ecuadorean family that owns and operates the place clearly take to heart. The restaurant has a warm, homey feel and delivers Central and South American comfort food at its best.

Most entrees are less than $9.99. They are also huge and can easily be split between two people.

The seco de pollo ($6.30), a chicken stew with seasoned yellow rice, is a knockout. It is soupy and comforting, with just enough spice to keep it interesting. The carne asada ($9.99) and bandeja paisa ($11.25) – a melange of exotic tidbits from fried plantain and herbed white rice to aji-spiked salsa and a fried egg – are also noteworthy. The best bang for the buck, though, comes from the appetizers. Ecuadorean tamales (3 for $6.95) are sweeter than their Mexican counterparts because they are wrapped in banana leaves instead of corn husks. The sweetness tempers the spice of the meat and aji chile filling.

The empanadas ($1.75) are heavenly, especially the empanada de puerco, which also plays on the sweet/spicy contrast that makes the tamales so enticing.

Mi Cocina will be catering the Spanish Club-sponsored Latin American Series on Ecuador on Feb. 9 in the Student Union. Students can sample the food during lunch that day, from 12:30 to 1:00 p.m.