Today we were up in the mall area shopping, so we decided to swing down Neil St and try the newish Holy Land restaurant at 705 N. Neil St in Champaign. It’s the same place where Jack’s Grill used to be. It’s still Mediterranean food. We never got around to eating at Jack’s, but Holy Land has the kabobs and rice dishes you’d expect from such a place. The atmosphere is similar to what you’d find on Green St, with a few booths and tables and a take-out counter. They have a large LCD TV playing Arab MTV, which was interesting, to say the least.

The folks at Holy Land are quite friendly and the service is excellent. As we sat down, they brought us a small but tasty eggplant appetizer with toasted pita chips. The menu has several fruity drinks available and they have coffee or Pepsi products. We both opted to stay with the water. For entrees Sarah ordered Chicken Shish Tawook, which was a chicken kabab with semi-spicy chicken and a large helping of rice. I got the Mixed Grill, which was one each of the chicken, beef, and lamb kebabs with rice. It also came with a large plate of hummus and baba ganoush with a basket of warm pitas. I’m usually not big on hummus or baba ganoush, but this dish had both with olive oil, paprika, and a mint chutney. It was excellent. The kebabs were all perfectly prepared and a tad on the spicy side, although not mouth burning. The rice had almonds and spices and was also top notch. We brought home enough for another meal. Very generous servings.

For dessert we split a large bowl of the best rice pudding I have ever had. It was a perfect way to finish off the meal. Can’t wait to go back. I hope they stay around longer than Jack’s did. Holy Land is shaping up to be the best Mediterranean restaurant in the Champaign-Urbana area.