MARY FURR -- Dining Out

Between the bright sun streaming through the floor-to-ceiling

storefront windows and the warm spicy aroma reminiscent of a Middle

Eastern marketplace, Mediterranean Moonlight Pizza in Fountain Valley

will lure you inside.

An informal serve-yourself steam buffet across the back holds all you

need to create a feast (lunch $5.99). First, select a quarter of a

rotisserie chicken prepared by chef and owner Vazgen Akoyan. Pick up a

square of pita bread to fill with meat or the excellent hummus of crushed

chickpeas, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic.

Now add to the plate a couple of fat rice-and-meat stuffed dolmas

wrapped in olive oil-slicked grape leaves and tasting of tart lemon,

cumin and garlic.

Tender pieces of lamb keep the form of shish kabob without the

traditional skewer.

A favorite of mine is the flaky pastry dumplings called “borek.” They

are filled with cream cheese and spinach.

Though the buffet is limited, it holds great samples of the best-known

Middle Eastern foods, prepared daily by Karine Akoyan.

Fresh greens, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes topped with a yogurt and

cucumber dressing add just the coolness needed to balance the meat

dishes. Here Middle Eastern food has a homey taste prepared with good

health in mind. Slices of the juiciest watermelon and cantaloupe finish

the buffet.

No matter what you choose at the buffet, you’ll enjoy a taste of sunny

Armenia with its subtle ingredients. However, with pizza -- the other

specialty at Moonlight -- there’s nothing hidden. It’s all right there --

a bonanza on a pie crust.

The crust is thin but firm with chewy rolled edges piled with your

choice of fillings. Ours had generous selections of ripe black olives,

onions, mushrooms, ham and tomato, all bubbly from the oven.

Moonlight Pizza is a rarity among pizza places; it’s family-owned and

operated. Vazgen tends the kitchen, his friendly wife, Karine, prepares

the appetizers and sons David and Edgar help serve.

The family emigrated in 1989, settling neat the Forty Martyrs Armenian

Apostolic Church, where Karine began cooking for the church’s school. So

popular were her dishes that family and friends suggested she and her

husband open a restaurant.

Eventually, when they retire, David, a certified food manager, will

operate Moonlight Pizza, and Edgar, who is completing his degree in

business at Orange Coast College, will join him.

So the traditions of Armenia continue at the small restaurant with its

authentic cuisine and warm family relationship.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments

or suggestions for her, call (562) 493-5062.

FYI

Mediterranean Moonlight Pizza

WHERE: 9895 Warner Ave., Fountain Valley

HOURS: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and closed Sunday

CALL: (714) 963-4488

MISC.: Dine in or take out. Fax number is (714) 963-1057. Credit Cards

are accepted.