Options abound at Zaki's

Homemade cream of mushroom soup is just one of the 14 soups offered at Zaki's Bistro. Photo by Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

Zaki's server Jamie Smithsan serves members of Milford Hills Methodist their lunch on the patio on a sunny afternoon. From left to right, Daryl Presson, Jane Cooper, Danny Cooper, Verna Bragg, Brenda Russell, Mary Kesler and Sarah Presson. Photo by Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

Zaki's Bistro is located at 1621 W. Innes St. in Salisbury. Photo by Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

Grilled chicken medallions, a grilled chicken club with coleslaw and a salmon salad are a few of the colorful dishes Zaki's Bistro features. Photo by Shelley Smith, Salisbury Post.

By Shelley Smithssmith@salisburypost.com

Zaki's Bistro on West Innes Street may have a funny name, but the menu is packed full of flavor and variety.

Mimo Ahmed opened the restaurant the day after Thanksgiving and says the restaurant has been busy ever since.

Zaki's, named after Ahmed's son, offers more than 10 salads, 10 different burgers and more than 20 different sandwiches and wraps.

"Everything here is homemade, and everything is fresh," said Samantha Myer, Ahmed's wife. "Something really special are the hamburgers, ground and pattied fresh every morning."

Zaki's also offers a daily soup menu, and the soups are made every morning and tested by Myer.

"I'm the lucky one who gets to taste the soups every day before we open," she said. "They're all great."

On Mondays, there's creamy potato and beef vegetable. Tuesdays, it's New England clam chowder (a huge hit, Myer said), and chicken noodle. Wednesday is creamy seafood chowder and French onion. Thursday is cream of mushroom and shrimp gumbo. Fridays, they offer cream of broccoli and black bean soups. Saturdays, a Manhattan clam chowder is offered along with chicken orzo. Sundays, it's another serving of New England clam chowder and vegetable soups.

"We try to have a creamy and non-creamy soup every day," Myer said.

If you're a soup connoisseur, Zaki's is definitely the place to be for lunch or dinner.

The sandwiches can be served on white, wheat berry, Asiago cheese or rye breads, and they all come with a side of a cup of soup, french fries, pasta salad, tortilla chips or coleslaw.

Wraps can come on a plain tortilla, sun-dried tomato or whole wheat tortilla.

Myer said she and Ahmed wanted to offer customers healthier options, "something different," she said.

"People have the option to have a healthier lunch with whole wheat wraps or breads, tortilla chips, soups — there are a lot of different options."

"Mimo had the idea to target every customer, young and old," she said.

Zaki's offers daily lunch and dinner specials, also. So far, their most popular dish is the crab cake wrap or sandwich.

For $6.95, you can get a crab cake wrap, which includes homemade crab cakes, fresh avocado, lettuce, tomato, fresh squeezed lemon juice all wrapped inside of a sun-dried tomato tortilla. It also comes with a side and tea or a soft drink.

Other sandwiches on the menu include the Monicristo grilled cheese, which features grilled ham and swiss on French-style toast, and is served with a side of maple syrup.

Something different on the menu is the falafel, which is ground chick peas and herbs, lettuce, tomato and tahini sauce fried inside of a warm pita pocket.

The Middle-Eastern flair comes from Ahmed, originally from Egypt.

Other Middle-Eastern options include baba ghanoush and hummus.

Myer said there are plenty of vegetarian options, including soups, veggie wraps, veggie quesadillas and others, however, the veggie burger and eggplant burger are the vegetarian items that really stand out.

The eggplant burger is a thick slice of marinated and grilled eggplant with roasted red peppers, onions and mozzarella cheese on a kaiser roll.

The veggie burger features a marinated and grilled portabello mushroom cap with lettuce, tomato, onion and provolone cheese. Myer also recommends the turkey burger.

Salads area also a healthy option, including the chicken and avocado salad, salmon salad, teriyaki chicken salad and taco salad.

Although Zaki's features plenty of soups and sandwiches, Myer said their dinner menu is what raises the bar.

Grilled chicken medallions features grilled chicken breast served with sauteed snow peas, green beans, asparagus, roasted peppers, tomatoes and fresh garlic mashed potatoes.

For $8.95 you can get 12 ounces of chopped black Angus steak, grilled to order, served with grilled onions and mushrooms, sauteed green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, as well as your choice of a salad or soup.

If you're still hungry, Zaki's offers a variety of desserts, as well as specialty drinks such as espresso and cappuccino. They also serve beer and wine.

Anything on the menu is available to-go, and they also offer catering and free delivery for orders over $100.

Zaki's also gives back to the community on a monthly basis.

Each month there is a jar of goodies on the counter for customers to take a guess as to how many pieces of candy are inside. The cost is 50 cents per guess, or three guesses for $1. Every month a different cause or nonprofit organization is featured. For January, the money collected went to juvenile diabetes. The person closest to the actual number receives a $10 gift card.

"It's just to raise people's awareness a little bit, and reward them for doing a good deed," Myer said.

Zaki's located at 1621 W. Innes St., was the previous location of Domino's Pizza.

Zaki's prides itself on its outdoor patio, which can seat more people than the inside seating can.

"We wanted outdoor seating, and our patio seats around 60 people," Myer said. "People sit out there regularly."

Myer said that the patio will feature live music in the spring and summer months.

After renovating the space for an entire year, Myer and Ahmed hope that Zaki's will be a great place for friends and families to enjoy year after year.

"We've had a really good response from customers so far," Myer said.

Zaki's Bistro is open seven says a week, from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.