During a recent event at the Columbus Convention Center near the North Market, I had cause to stop in to have dinner there rather than purchase some of the overcooked, nasty food being offered by the vendors at the Convention Center. To my surprise, I saw a sign on the side of the booth of Firdous Express, which said:

My goodness, I felt my chilehead manhood being called out! Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to stay to eat it and impress the locals (yeah, right) with my tolerance for heat, I quickly gathered my container of Tunisian chicken, saffron rice, pita, and salad, and then headed home. She didn’t check my ID, though…do I look that old?

Opening my container just as soon as I got home, I saw this:

Admittedly, it looked a tad bit better just as it was ladled into the container…making me wish I had been able to eat it then.

This is a closer look at just the chicken. You can see some bits of spice there, but much of the heat comes from the sauce itself. My first bite didn’t initally impress me on its heat, but the taste was absolutely outstanding. I kept expecting a curry-ish sorta taste, but it had unique taste that reminded me so much of similar Middle Eastern-inspired dishes of its same ilk. Heat-wise, it’s definitely cumulative…as I found myself going for my drink more towards the end of the meal as opposed to with each bite. I’d give it a 7.5/10 on the heat scale, meaning it’s hot but it won’t leave any lasting scars. Taste-wise, it’s easily a 9/10. Fan-freakin’-tastic. Why did I wait so long before trying this???

Firdous Express is a great place to eat, should you desire to do so while at the Market. It’s described as:

Four star Mediterranean dining as rated by the Columbus Dispatch and This Week News. Savor authentic Mediterranean specialties like hummus, falafel, shawarma, kefta, tabouli, soups, salads and an array of baklava and pastries. Ask about customized party trays and catering.

We arrive at the Market early each morning to make our Mediterranean specialites from scratch for you to enjoy. Delicious and authentic fare: falafel, fatayer, grape leaves, soups, salads, lamb, shawirma and dail specials. Save room for our fabuolous baklava and other ethnic pastries. Party trays and catering are available.

So go get your pita & hummus, falafel, and shawarma groove on! Don’t forget to try the Tunisian chicken, too. The flame sensors on your taste buds will be lit up enough to leave a smile on your face for quite a while.