EATING EXOTIC

Do you ever hanker for some tabbouleh? Or get the itch to have a juicy slab of shark? Or maybe even surrender to that primal desire to eat snails?

If so, there are places in Cape Girardeau to fit your fancy to a T.

Take the Royal N'Orleans Restaurant at 300 Broadway for example.

"As far as exotic foods go, we have escargot, caviar and oysters -- baked, not on the half-shell," said Geoff Schaefer, manager of the restaurant. "A lot of times new people will come into the restaurant and ask about those things and end up trying it.

"It's something different; something new," said Schaefer.

But Schaefer said there really is no great demand for exotic foods in Cape Girardeau.

"People come here to eat a traditional kind of American meal," said Schaefer. "We are known for our seafood and steaks.

"We don't have many exotic foods on our menu because in Cape Girardeau that kind of thing just doesn't sell," he added.

Although oysters may not be considered all that exotic, the way the N'Orleans prepares them is.

"We bake our oysters. It's more of an Eastern cuisine," said Schaefer. "People become used to seeing oysters on the half-shell. Here it's an entirely different dish."

The N'Orleans gets it's caviar from California, and serves it with sour cream and sometimes crackers, Schaefer said.

"We also have quail -- that's something you don't see much in restaurants," he said. "We have a quail appetizer that is really pretty popular."

Schaefer said customers will order the more exotic dishes but for the most part stick with traditional favorites.

"People want good prices for good food," he said. "That's what we try to offer."

Emad Salamy, owner and manager of Phoenicia, said his restaurant at 1000 N. Sprigg allows people to sample the cuisine of an area most know very little about.

Phoenicia specializes in dishes traditionally served in the Middle East and Mediterranean areas.

"We give a complimentary sample platter to all our new customers, allowing them to try our salads, gyro meat and some of the other Middle Eastern specialties we offer," said Salamy.

Even if you cannot pronounce a majority of the foods on Phoenicia's diverse menu, at least you'll be able to taste them.

Salamy said many of the foods offered at Phoneicia are very low-fat and low-calorie -- primarily because many are made of mostly vegetables.

Phoenicia offers several salads and vegetarian platters made with vegetables most people don't ever get the opportunity to sample.

For example, tabbouleh -- a mixture of tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, parsley and cracked wheat topped with lemon juice and olive oil -- is extremely popular, he said.

Phoenicia also offers fried vegetarian patties called falafel, which is made of chick peas, garlic and a menagerie of Mediterranean spices.

For meat-lovers, Phoenicia offers shish kabab with everything from chicken, to lamb, to kasta -- minced meat or ground beef mixed with parsley or onions.

Phoenicia also offers a variety of sandwiches -- some American, others decidedly not. The use of feta cheese and gyro meat is not at all uncommon in many of the dishes offered.

Those with a sweet tooth can choose from baklava and knasa, among other very Greek specialties.

"This place has become very popular," said Salamy. "People come from Sikeston, Poplar Bluff and all over this area to eat here.

"Once they've finally come in after passing the restaurant several times, they always come back -- and they bring friends," he continued. "We do some advertising, but most of our customers come to us through word of mouth; references from their friends."

Salamy said the food served in Phoenicia is suited for just about every palate.

"Our food is not spicy-hot; not like Indian or Mexican food," he said. "We serve a healthy mix of different foods that people come to try and end up liking very much."

Another dish locals have latched onto -- especially college students -- is the Greek-style pizza offered by Dino's Pizza, 1034 Broadway.

Dino's manager Keith Sebastian explains that the Greek-style pizza consists of a thin crust with no tomato sauce, topped with feta cheese -- a white, dry, Greek cheese -- and Canadian bacon. The pizza is then topped with a mix of provolone and mozzarella cheeses.

"We sell quite a few of them," Sebastian said. "They are real popular with the college students."

To answer a growing demand for foods of the Middle East, Mediterranean and Arabic nations, Dino's is completely re-vamping its menu within the next three weeks to offer several exotic foods native to those areas.

"We're going to have a whole bunch of different items," said Sebastian.

"There has been a real interest demonstrated for such dishes," he continued. "We're located close to the university, and many of the international students are familiar with a lot of the dishes we will feature. They remind the students of home."

Another place in Cape Girardeau which may remind Mexican natives of home in La Bamba at 123 N. Main St.

Mike Sams and his wife, Maria Paula, opened the restaurant three and a half years ago. Sams' wife is from Chihuahua, Mexico, and does all the cooking; Sams works the dining area, checking on customers and explaining his wife's creations.

"This is one of the most unique Mexican restaurants in the United States because of the cuisine and the specials we serve," Sams said. "The menu is truly representative of eating in a private home of a Mexican family.

"Homestyle cooking of Mexico is never portrayed in Mexican restaurants in this country, simply because if a lack of knowledge of how meals are prepared," he continued. "In the words of our customers, it's the best Mexican food they have ever had."

A majority of the food served at La Bamba is "totally mild," Sams said.

"Unbeknownst to most Americans, homestyle cooking of Mexicans is almost never spicy," he said. "Although the hot sauce on the table will really light you up."

La Bamba uses pork, chicken and beef seasoned with spices and peppers native to only Mexico, accented with banana leaves and fried plantain.

"Our theme is painted on the wall -- `Lo Mejor de Mexico,'" Sams explained. "It means, `The Best of Mexico,' and the food here truly is."

For the fish lovers, Jeremiah's offers the only shark in town. Mako shark steaks are a specialty of the restaurant, located at 127 N. Water St.

But if you like your fish smoked, you might want to visit Mollie's at 11 S. Spanish.

At Mollie's you can eat snails, smoked salmon, stuffed mushrooms (comparable to no other), saga bleu cheese or beautifully prepared salads -- all before your main course arrives.

"We are basically a French restaurant with a continental flair," said Jerri Wyman, co-owner and manager of Mollie's. "People come here because they want something different; something you don't find in other restaurants in the area."

The entrees vary from simple cuts of elaborately seasoned meat to pasta dishes to delicacy seafood.

"Something we've been working with lately is Jamaican jerk spice, which is about 20-25 spices in one mixture," said Wyman. "The result is a spicy-hot taste which gives meats a totally different flavor; it's been a tremendous success."