Champaign-Urbana residents who miss the Holy Land on north Neil St. that closed a few years ago will appreciate Layalina. Though the two restaurants aren't related, the Layalina menu brings back most of the old Holy Land favorites to C-U. The cuisine could probably be described as Lebanese/Palestinian, which explains the similarities.
I decided that Layalina's sixth day of operation was a good time to try them out. As with any new place, there's still a few teething pains. Service was good, and my meal came out in reasonable time. I had the chopped Arabic salad and chicken shish tawook (two of my favorite meals from bygone days at the Holy Land). Both were excellent. The salad was ample in size and fresh. The chicken had an enormous portion - three skewers loaded with well-marinated chicken, a huge portion of rice, and grilled peppers and onions. Simply delicious!
I'm glad to see the restaurant busy tonight, so the grapevine is working. I'll be trying several of the other dishes soon - can't wait to try the hummus and kufta kabab. This new addition to C-U is a winner.
They're open for lunch and dinner.