Lunch and a Tattoo

Shem's was the winner of the "Where should the LC Gorditas eat next" poll.

Restaurant Info: Located at 1340 E Lohman Ave., Las Cruces, NM 88001 (575) 541-5956. You can view their menu and prices at http://www.liquidcommon.com/1075

Dinero: Plastic, cash and checks

Atmosphere: Very friendly atmosphere with dim lighting = good date restaurant. The restaurant offers a romantic Moroccan feel. Not exactly what you may want during lunch. I didn't know what music was playing until Carrie turned to me and said, "That's the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack."

Bathroom Check: If you're OCD, this is your restaurant. Everything was spic and span. El bano (bathroom) was amazing. They have motion activated sinks, a motion activated paper towel dispenser and two soap dispensers, one for each sink. I was so excited that I used both. I found out how important soap dispensers are at the movie theatre this weekend. One of our local theatres has about 15 stalls, four sinks and one soap dispenser on the right side. What did I see? Tons of women who either didn't wash their hands or just used water...gross!!! Thank you Shem's for not giving customers an excuse to not wash their hands. They even have a sign on the mirror that says, "All Employees must wash their hands." A+ (Did I mention the motion activated air fresheners?)

Customer Service: Our server, Marilyn, was very nice and answered all of our questions about the food. Our drinks were always filled and she checked on us several times throughout our meal. I should mention that the servers have uniforms. Every once in a while we'd glance at the male server's elf looking pants and giggle. I used to have to wear the pancake costume for I-HOP and an ice-cream cone hat at the Showboat Hotel and Casino Ice Cream Shop so my heart went out to them. Ooooh, we should mention that they offer free Henna tattoos at lunch. We've all heard of dinner and a movie but lunch and a tattoo sounds much more exciting!

Comida: You get a free appetizer of fried, spicy chick-peas before your food. They were really good. As you can tell by this picture (as usual) we forgot to take a picture of the appetizer until we had already eaten most of it...oops!

Carrie ordered the Lamb French Dip. Pieces of lamb served on Moroccan bread with sweet caramelized onions. It comes with potatoes, watermelon and Au Jus. She loved it. Her only complaint was feeling pretty "lamby" after eating the sandwich. She had a hard time getting the lamb smell off of her hands. I suggested she go use the two soap dispensers in the bathroom. I had the Chicken Kebab with Cous Cous. It was delish! The cous cous was soft and buttery and the chicken was perfectly spiced. I was happily full when Carrie talked me into trying the orange cake. All that I could say after one bite was, "WOW!" Carrie said, "I've never seen you react like that, it takes a lot to impress the Smersy." This cake is just that, impressive! It's layers of white cake, whipped cream frosting, orange zest marmalade drizzled with chocolate. You have to try this cake! One piece is enough for two people because it's muy bueno.

Carrie's check came out to $19 and mine was $12 and that's minus a drink. We only had water. That's a bit pricey for lunch. So would I go there again? For the cake, si! Shem's should seriously consider a lunch menu with lunch prices that compete with the other local establishments in Las Cruces.

Caution: 1. The food was good, but a bit pricey for poor social workers. 2. If you're right handed and you've decided to have your free Henna tattoo put on your right hand you may have to learn to eat with your left hand.