Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Looking for the 99-cent Shish kabob

At Sagmani's in El Cajon, Kabob prices start waay low

Mr. Sagmani
Mr. Sagmani
Place

Sagmani's Restaurant

478 W. Douglas Avenue, El Cajon

"Eat onion in the morning. Give it to friends at noon. Give it to your enemies at night."

That's the ancient wisdom on the power of onions from my friend Mr. Sagmani. He's Chaldean, a Christian from Baghdad. Has his kabob place in El Cajon. He reminds me of it as I chomp into his kabob plate here by the tire shop just off West Main. I kinda ran in here from the rain.

Mr. Sagmani's is right by the tire shop near where the 815 bus stops. I have loved his place ever since I discovered he sold shish kabobs for 99 cents.

True! Such a deal, and gut-fillers when you most need them, like to get the energy to hoof it to the trolley, a mile up West Main.

Sponsored
Sponsored

So today I head in just as smoke starts billowing from the kitchen.

Skewers on the grill

"Getting ready for my afternoon regulars," Mr. Sagmani says. I see he's got about a dozen 2-foot-long sword skewers on the grill, loaded with chicken, lamb, beef.

So I start off ordering two 99-cent kabobs. Then I remember that deal is only for to-go orders. And right now i see the rain really start to come down outside. So what da heck. Miss a trolley. Catch a lunch.

Sagmani's kabob plate

Of course now I'm paying $7, not $2. But I'm also getting a pile of rice, salad, pickled cabbage, the two large kabobs, and a fresh-baked disk of pita bread. How fresh? Mr. Sagmani slapped it in his tandoor oven a minute ago. Bingo! World's freshest bread. Also most ancient.

Actually it's the freshness of everything that hits you. Even the walls, all fresh-painted in three shades of blue.

As you're supposed to, I start off with those paprika-dusted onions. Red. Sliced. Raw. And I swear, they freshen up your system and tweak your appetite like nothing else.

And tea. The tea is always free. Endless hot little glasses of chai. Cool.

While I'm eating I notice this guy eating something pretty interesting-looking at the next table. Turns out he's Saad, Mr. Sagmani's nephew. He's munching on a thin, disk-shaped sandwich with ground meat inside.

Kubba

"It's kubba," he says. "A crushed wheat pie stuffed with meat and fried. Here..."

He cuts a piece off for me. Huh. Interesting. Is that saffron I'm tasting in the bread part?

Saad says you can get a couple of slices with rice and salad for $7, or the whole pizza-like disk for $12. "But it feeds a lot people," he says.

By the time I get out, gut's full, head's crammed with conversation, and the rain has eased. Really going to need that mile-long walk to the trolley.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Dating Sites For Little People: Best Platforms & Tips

Mr. Sagmani
Mr. Sagmani
Place

Sagmani's Restaurant

478 W. Douglas Avenue, El Cajon

"Eat onion in the morning. Give it to friends at noon. Give it to your enemies at night."

That's the ancient wisdom on the power of onions from my friend Mr. Sagmani. He's Chaldean, a Christian from Baghdad. Has his kabob place in El Cajon. He reminds me of it as I chomp into his kabob plate here by the tire shop just off West Main. I kinda ran in here from the rain.

Mr. Sagmani's is right by the tire shop near where the 815 bus stops. I have loved his place ever since I discovered he sold shish kabobs for 99 cents.

True! Such a deal, and gut-fillers when you most need them, like to get the energy to hoof it to the trolley, a mile up West Main.

Sponsored
Sponsored

So today I head in just as smoke starts billowing from the kitchen.

Skewers on the grill

"Getting ready for my afternoon regulars," Mr. Sagmani says. I see he's got about a dozen 2-foot-long sword skewers on the grill, loaded with chicken, lamb, beef.

So I start off ordering two 99-cent kabobs. Then I remember that deal is only for to-go orders. And right now i see the rain really start to come down outside. So what da heck. Miss a trolley. Catch a lunch.

Sagmani's kabob plate

Of course now I'm paying $7, not $2. But I'm also getting a pile of rice, salad, pickled cabbage, the two large kabobs, and a fresh-baked disk of pita bread. How fresh? Mr. Sagmani slapped it in his tandoor oven a minute ago. Bingo! World's freshest bread. Also most ancient.

Actually it's the freshness of everything that hits you. Even the walls, all fresh-painted in three shades of blue.

As you're supposed to, I start off with those paprika-dusted onions. Red. Sliced. Raw. And I swear, they freshen up your system and tweak your appetite like nothing else.

And tea. The tea is always free. Endless hot little glasses of chai. Cool.

While I'm eating I notice this guy eating something pretty interesting-looking at the next table. Turns out he's Saad, Mr. Sagmani's nephew. He's munching on a thin, disk-shaped sandwich with ground meat inside.

Kubba

"It's kubba," he says. "A crushed wheat pie stuffed with meat and fried. Here..."

He cuts a piece off for me. Huh. Interesting. Is that saffron I'm tasting in the bread part?

Saad says you can get a couple of slices with rice and salad for $7, or the whole pizza-like disk for $12. "But it feeds a lot people," he says.

By the time I get out, gut's full, head's crammed with conversation, and the rain has eased. Really going to need that mile-long walk to the trolley.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Looking back at race relations in Coronado

A former football player recalls the good and the bad
Next Article

Tiny Home Central isn’t solving the San Diego housing crisis

But it does hope to help fill in the gaps
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.