Dana Rene Bowler / Star staff Shamsi's Deli on Thompson Boulevard has added breakfast to its menu. Don't heed the sign above; the eatery opens at 7 a.m. daily.

Shamsi's Greek omelet includes artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and feta cheese. It's on the menu for $7.95.

Photos by Dana Rene Bowler / Star staff Darla Moody, a server at Shamsi's Deli and Breakfast House in Ventura, laughs with a customer as she makes her rounds.

News and sign makers travel fast. When Shamsi's Deli in Ventura began serving breakfast in addition to its artfully crimped empanadas and Italian, Middle Eastern and Argentinean fare, that fact was quickly noted by patrons — and by a change in the eatery's name.

It now is known as Shamsi's Deli and Breakfast House.

With boxes of pasta and arborio rice on the shelves, and refrigerated cases filled with imported meats and cheeses, Shamsi's has served homemade soups, sandwiches and salads for seven years. Breakfast was added about two months ago, and the morning menu is still in flux.

We found ample choices when we dropped in, including walnut pancakes and a machaca omelet.

My friend ordered Shamsi's Greek omelet ($7.95), which was packed full of flavor from sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, spinach and feta cheese.

With the omelet came a choice of a side dish and bread: We added fresh fruit and a biscuit and gravy. The fruit was a good mix of melon, grapes, apple and berries. The biscuit was on the firm side, but with good texture; the gravy was pleasantly zesty.

I ordered the pecan waffle ($6.25 on its own) with scrambled eggs and sausage links (the $7.75 option). The waffle itself was unexceptional, but the pecans on top were plentiful. The eggs were tender and the sausage of good quality. As expected, the coffee was excellent.

We ordered a side of corned beef hash to go and sampled it while it was still steaming. We both thought that it was pleasant but seemed to lack a bit of oomph in flavor; my friend thought that it needed onion. Another friend who is a dedicated hash fan gobbled it down, then decreed that it needed "more onion."

Shamsi's motto, "Fill your tummies with food from our mummies," is front and center on the take-away menu cover, and repeated inside, where it also says, "Tell us what you'd like and we'll make it," at least in regard to sandwich combinations. But it sounds as if the staff would be open to suggestions for its new breakfast menu, too, implying welcome flexibility.

A quick glance at the rest of the deli's menu reveals plenty of out-of-the-box (and out-of-the-country) possibilities as the day goes on.

The Chori Pan sandwich features Argentinean-style sausage with chimichurri sauce, while a filet mignon sandwich includes a cooked egg. The falafel sandwich brings together fava beans, herbs and spices, and the Chilean-style empanada is filled with ground beef, onion, an olive and a slice of hard-boiled egg. Salads include one called Taste of the Middle East, made with pine nuts, feta cheese, tomatoes, pita croutons and lemon-herb dressing.

Shamsi's has a "Kiddy Delight" menu section for children 9 and younger. It offers half-sandwiches of turkey, grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, an empanada or a cheese pizza, with a side salad and a box of juice, for $4.75.

Hours have expanded along with the breakfast service, with the stove warmed up from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. That makes it even easier than in the past to call ahead to find out which soup is on for the day, or to order empanadas to make sure that they're available when you arrive.

— Rita Moran visits restaurants unannounced and pays for her meals. If you know of a new, unusual or just plain good restaurant, please contact her at ritamoran@earthlink.net.