There's lots of good eating at Casbah Teahouse and Restaurant.
Unfortunately, diners aren't the only ones munching away at this Tucson restaurant. The mosquitoes on the back patio have an appetite.
On a recent visit, we encountered a swarm of the hungry insects.
We tried moving to couches at the sunnier end of the patio, but the temperature in that back section proved too hot to handle.
Though a trio of college-age hipsters occupying an adjacent couch decided to brave the outdoor seating, we headed for the safety of the much smaller indoor section. Our wooden barstools were rickety, but the temperature was comfortable, and only our cell phones were buzzing.
Every inch of the floor and the walls at Casbah are draped in colorful tapestries, imported from various countries in Asia.
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The Tucson restaurant's elaborately carved wooden door is from Afghanistan. Miniature fountains dribble calmly near short round tables.
Casbah manager Neriah Lothamer says the short tables and chairs are a Middle Eastern thing.
"It's generally the way they do it in the Middle East," he says. "Many (people) sit on the floor on cushions."
Talk radio was playing when we first sat down. Eventually, the chatter gave way to world music and the soothing sounds of the sitar.
On Thursday and Saturday evenings, Casbah turns off the radio in favor of live, usually acoustic, music. Belly dancing starts at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Sundays.
The service is slow at Casbah, but that's not a closely guarded secret. The menu advises diners, "Soul food is slow food, so please have patience."
"When we have a busy crowd, it's hard for the line cooks to keep up," Lothamer says. "We're not microwaving . . . (like) lots of people do."
As for the mosquitoes, Lothamer says he's trying to squash the problem.
"We've got one of those zappers out there, and we have goldfish to eat any mosquito larvae that show up," he says.
Carol Ann Krueger opened Casbah 12 years ago, and the North Fourth Avenue joint offers an all-vegetarian menu. Moreover, Casbah is a full-cycle establishment: Food scraps are used as compost, which supports veggies that will find their way into future meals.
You'll be hard pressed to find another Tucson restaurant that does more to be green.
We began with a pot of the hibiscus cooler ($3.50), a raspberry-colored iced tea that was tart and refreshing. The tea was served in a pot with small ceramic cups.
We munched on the hummus and pita platter ($4) while we hemmed and hawed over which entrees to order. The pita bread was warm but a little stale, and the hummus was creamy but lacked punch.
We ordered the fajitas with seitan ($11), rather than tofu or tempeh. The faux-meat was fried with onions and green and red peppers and cooked in a raspberry-chipotle sauce. The fajitas came with corn tortillas, guacamole, salsa and sour cream. The tortillas were fresh, but none of the condiments went well with the sweet sauce.
The Mediterranean platter ($9) was a fine choice and consisted of salad topped with onions, feta, cucumbers and tomatoes, with more pita and hummus on the side. Grape leaves stuffed with rice were the best part.
For dessert, we grabbed a piece of baklava ($1.50) to go. The sticky treat was flaky and sweet.
As we were leaving, we saw that one of the hipsters on the patio, a woman in a knee-high black dress, had mosquito bites all over her calves. It's eat or be eaten at Casbah.
• Where: 628 N. Fourth Ave.
• Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays.
• More online: www.casbahteahouse.com.
THE BILL:
Baklava: $1.50
Mediterranean platter: $9
Fajitas: $11
Hummus and pita: $4
Hibiscus cooler: $3.50
Total (before tax and tip): $29