| rev:text
| - I cannot figure out why this place is not always packed with a line out the door, because it is hands down the best Middle Eastern food I've ever had - and I'd even say it's one of the best restaurants that Pittsburgh has, period.
Don't let the bland, unsassuming Italian-ish decor put you off. It's super clean and well-kept, but blah - but they are also planning quite a renovation, although I don't know the time frame.
As others have said, it is family-owned, as, of course, most ethnic restaurants are. I've only met the Syrian owner's niece (Noor) and nephew (Ali) so far, but they are both absolutely lovely. The food is just out of this world, too, freshly and perfectly cooked to order and absolutely bursting with beautifully blended flavors you just don't often encounter.
They do have all of the things we Americans expect of a Middle Eastern restaurant - the shish kebabs, hummus, falafel, dolmas, and so on - but the majority of the menu goes way, way, way beyond these, and is where you should really focus if you love food, because that is where the really authentic cuisine begins. Just like Mexican food is far from being all tacos, burritos, chile rellenos, refried beans, and so on, Middle Eastern food does not end with what we see on most menus by a long shot.
I've been here twice now, and have had fabulous meals both times. The other day, I ordered two main courses (one of them the full dinner, not just a la carte, so it included a side salad and a side of couscous) and two or three other sides, plus baklava for desert - and the whole bill was all of around $40. I am now on my *fourth* meal out of all of this, the portions are so large.
My first visit, I had the Persian lamb shank, which is "braised in an aromatic sauce of exotic spices and dried fruits", and was every bit as fabulous as it sounds. The other day, I was so tempted to get that again, but decided to sample more of the menu instead, and got the bamia with beef dinner, which is okra cooked with beef, onions, and green peppers in a very flavorful tomato sauce. I've had bamia before and been underwhelmed, but this was to die for. The full dinner includes your choice of several sides, including rice pilaf like every other Middle Eastern restaurant serves, but I opted for the couscous, which came out fluffy and light and simply marvelous.
I also ordered the sleek, which again, I'd had before but not really liked all that much, but here was absolutely divine.
Stuffed grape leaves are always a must for me, and the Syrian version is served hot with your choice of dipping sauce; I chose the hummus. Tabouli was also excellent - the mostly parsley version which is not my personal preference, but I still like it, and it was light and fluffy and totally delicious.
Both the bamia and a few other dishes can be served without meat, too, and they have an entire vegetarian section on the menu for those of you who don't eat animals. They also have a broad list of various meats, poultry, and seafood.
My first time there, they also served me some warm pita with a very unusual spiced dipping sauce made from a very unusual spice blend I had just discovered through Blue Apron whose name totally escapes me at the moment, and was out of this world. I don't know if they have discontinued that, forgot it the other night, or figured I might not want it because of everything else I ordered, but I hope it was one of the latter two reasons, because it was excellent.
Even the simple green salad had a slight twist on the typical Middle Eastern salad dressing with the addition of some kind of seasoning I've not had in that context before, which I totally lit up about upon first bite.
Baklava was baklava; that is really hard to screw up. They serve it with a drizzle of chocolate sauce, which I personally will ask to be left off the next time, but it made for a beautiful presentation, and certainly there are people who will prefer it.
They pay attention to the details from start to finish. The food is beautifully presented, and the check comes in a lovely inlaid wood box that is, I would guess, typically Syrian.
Unfortunately, they are also BYOB, but again, don't let that stop you.
In keeping with my other reviews, the place, sadly, is *not* wheelchair accessible - *but* they do have some kind of temporary ramp that they will bring out if you call them and let them know you need it. How adequate it is for a power chair, I don't know because I didn't look at it, but they are at least trying to address the issue as best they can for the time being, which is a thousand times better than most other places.
They are very well aware of the problem and *do* plan to rectify it properly, along with some other badly needed renovations/redecoration that they are in the process of starting to plan for, so don't let this deter you.
Go eat here; you won't regret it. And you'll help them stay in business, for which I personally will forever thank you :-)
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)