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| - Wanted to like this, but no. For a bit of background, my husband is half Lebanese and we've eaten our fair share of Middle Eastern food of all stripes and varieties. For really good Middle Eastern food in that part of the city, try Fatoush. Little hole in the wall run by an Iraqi man (I think).
Anyways, this place. Honestly the only reason it gets 2 stars is because hubby liked several of the dishes that I didn't try, like the kafta. First of all, when we ordered water to go with the meal, they brought us bottled water and then charged us for it. EVERY other restaurant I've ever been to in my life has either correctly assumed that I wanted a glass of water, or asked me to clarify whether I wanted bottled water or not. When the waitress turned up a few minutes later, we asked for glasses of water. After she conferred with someone in the back, we got glasses of lukewarm tap water- with no ice.
And then, the food. Granted, at a Mediterranean buffet, I expect mostly Mediterranean food, but here even that was too much to ask. Of the four buffet tables full of food, maybe one and a half was food I would have considered Mediterranean, and even some of that was a stretch. Some of the dishes in the buffet included: lasagna (looked frozen), alfredo (gummy and bland), pasta with chicken (just strange), zucchini fries (obviously frozen), fried okra (?), spring rolls (frozen), orange Jell-o squares (huh?). The rice pilaf was too salty and had Jalapeno peppers in it(?). As for the actual Mediterranean food, the stuffed grape leaves were the best of the bunch. As I mentioned, hubby liked the kafta but it was a bit spicy for me. The hummus was bitter- too much tahini. The chicken schwarma tasted like someone tried to alter a recipe for chicken parmesan. Really, the best section overall was the salads. The tabbouleh was decent although it needed more salt to counteract all of the lemon juice. And one other salad had huge chunks of feta cheese in it- the feta was strong and flavorful.
Overall, there is NO way I'd go back here, even with another Groupon.
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