I will temper my review by noting that I know more than one person who swears by this little neighborhood middle eastern shop as one of their favorite places. As for me, I generally give it a pass.
The food itself is decent and will pass for a Sarah's meal if you had a blind taste test. However, I find the shop itself to be a bit dingy and a lot of the patrons to run on the more, shall we say, sketchy side? Sure, there are a whole mixed bag of people in this neighborhood and you have to roll with it in all kinds of spots, but I find a visit to the Empire is generally less than pleasant.
Overall, avoid unless for some reason there's nothing else to choose from.