By Kelly
Phara’s Mediterranean Cuisine & Christopher’s Casbah, where PAWS of Austin recently met for their entertaining Party on the Patio, has delicious fare, an Egyptian-style hookah lounge, great entertainment and a gorgeous back patio. They’re even BYOB.
The food isn’t bad either. A fellow Chickster and I split the Mezza sampler, which consists of hummus, baba ghanouj, dolma, tabbouleh, tzatziki, Mediterranean olives and pita bread to dip with. Everything on the plate was above average, and it was deliciously satisfying overall. We also split the baklava dessert (sweetened pastry with chopped pistachios and dried fruit), which was excellent.
The evening involved live music, which was a mix of several cultures and sounds including Tamil folk and Eastern, and a very talented belly dancer who dared balance knives and candles on her head while expertly performing camel and snake moves. Belly dancers perform at Phara’s Thursday through Saturday.
The Party on the Patio was also a triumph for PAWS, which, outside of the amazing entertainment, hosted a silent auction and passed out business cards cutely tied around Milk Bones to take home to your pups.
I was disappointed not to see many dogs at this event (outside of one very tiny one) since it was thrown by a nonprofit who specializes in rescuing Great Danes. But my friend (who has taken home three Great Danes from PAWS already) did point out that the tables were just the right height for her enormous Frank the Tank to eat right off of, which might’ve been awkward. She then cited what happened at the last PAWS Great Dane meet-up at Opal Divine’s, where her smaller Dane Lulu (who is by no means small) excitedly got under the table and moved it three feet. So perhaps it was for the best there were no Great Danes for this particular event, where there were knives and candles perching on performers’ heads….
Phara’s also has a great hookah happy hour. On Tuesdays through Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., hookah tobacco, or shisha, is half-priced. It’s usually $12 for regular flavors and $15 for exotic.
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