San Diego Unseen: An Urban Portrait
Alforon’s dreamy Lebanese-sausage-topped flat bread
- Photo by Jenny Montgomery
The term “College Area” implies all the goods and bads that come with being the neighborhoods surrounding the home of the Aztecs. Rarely is it thought of as a food destination, other than late-night taco shops. But this part of the city is working hard to revitalize its restaurant scene, and if you know where to look, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to take your tummy for a ride.
The word that comes to mind when I think about the Lebanese food served at Alforon is “warmth.” Yes, you can certainly opt for items that’ll put some heat on your tongue, but I’m referring to the warmth of exotic spices like sumac and wild thyme. Warmth comes from flavors you can almost pinpoint as something familiar and evocative (is that cinnamon in the sausage?), yet aren’t quite what you’re used to, and, most importantly, the warmth you’ll feel upon being welcomed into the small environs here.As the visibly hot, gigantic oven attests, Alforon’s specialty is oven-baked flat bread. The bread is light and thin, with crispy bubbles on the outside rim. I don’t know how bread so delicate and tender can hold the various and substantive treats they pile on its surface, but it all works.
The flat bread topped with Lebanese sausage is a house specialty for a reason: It’s exceptional. The ground sausage is lean and spicy and smells like autumn. The meat, mahogany in color, tastes both rich and warm, but with bright hints of citrus not normally found in a sausage dish. This disc comes topped with cool tomatoes and pickled cucumber spears that I’ve decided should top everything we eat from now on.
I’ve never met an olive I didn’t like, and if you love the tangy little fruits like I do, check out the vegetarian flat bread. Though olives are listed as the third ingredient after tomatoes and onions, they’re the star of the show. Bruise-colored briny slices share space with their funky green counterparts along with a base spread of olive oil mixed with sumac and oregano. Eat it straight up for a vegan option, or take my devilish path to dairy and cover it in salty cheese.
Do you ever wish you could introduce more parsley to your diet? Perhaps in salad form? Well, my friend, you need more tabouli in your life. This finely chopped dish is dominated by the grassy garnish and works as a wonderful palate cleanser and breath freshener in between spice-soaked flat breads and hunks of falafel.
Alforon describes its tabouli as authentically old-world and much closer to what a traditional tabouli is supposed to taste like. This small but powerful difference comes from the use of cracked wheat. In most versions of tabouli, the cracked wheat is mixed in well in advance, sitting in the juices of parsley, tomato, lemon juice and olive oil. Some versions make bulgar wheat an equal player with the parsley. At Alforon, the cracked wheat is mixed in at the last minute, so you get very tiny, gentle crunches with every bite. My face was practically in my dish as I tried to figure out what was crackling in my mouth before George, the kind owner, explained how they put the dish together. Though it’s only slightly different from taboulis I’ve had in the past, I love that the focus is on the greens, not the grains.
So maybe the College Area isn’t mentioned in the same breath as La Jolla or North Park as a San Diego foodie destination, but if the packed tables and genial buzz filling the walls of Alforon are any indication, you might want to keep your eye on this little stretch of town.
Alforon is located at 5965 El Cajon Blvd. in the College Area. 619-269-9904. www.alforon.com
Write to jennym@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.
The original version of this article had Alforon as being located in Rolando. It's actually two blocks west of Rolando's borders. We apologize to the good folks and businesses of the College Area for the error.
