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| - Let me preface my review by saying that this was my FIRST time eating in a Middle Eastern restaurant. I had lunch with a friend who educated me on the various dishes.
For appetizers, I tried Hummus for the first time, and it was okay.
I tried my friend's rolled grape leaves filled with rice and spices.
She has had it before, and LOVES them, although they didn't do anything for me.
We both opted for the Egyptian Lentil soup. I was surprised at how much I liked it, but to me it was just "pea soup".
I had the Jerusalem Salad, and was pleased at the tasty, crispy bits of green pepper, onion, tomato, and cucumber. The yogurt sauce and tahini dressing dominated the salad, and it was okay for something I'd never had before.
My main dish was Musakka With Béchamel. This was my favorite part of the meal. It was a nice blend of onion, eggplant, and spices, in a light tomato sauce covered wth bechemal.
We finished our meal with some Mint Tea (to aid in digestion).
I'm not a coffee or tea drinker, so was really trying something new. I put some honey in mine to make it even sweeter, and found the tea okay.
Although for a first time foray into Middle Easter dining, it went well (I liked the taste of everything except the rolled grape leaves), I found the food blander than I am used to. (But I DID purposefully choose Vegetarian options so was not surprised at this).
The server was a little gruff, but not rude. We stayed for a long lunch and did not feel pressured to leave sooner, which was nice.
My friend (who has health issues regarding food) asked for one ingredient to be left out of her meal, and for 2 other ingredients not to touch each other on the plate. She was told there would be an extra $3 fee to accommodate that request. We were both taken a little aback by that.
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