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| - I lived most of my adolescence in the Detroit Metro area -- a place with one of the highest concentrations of Lebanese immigrants in the United States. As a result, some of my fondest memories of Detroit are of finding a little hole-in-the-wall that served excellent homemade Lebanese food. When I moved to Pittsburgh, I became well (and sadly) aware that such restaurants simply didn't exist in the area ... or at least, so I thought.
Cedars is a tiny, unassuming place tucked in the back of a strip mall. When you walk in, you doubt that it's even a restaurant. And then you order and begin eating the food, and it's pretty good stuff! The hummus tastes freshly-made, with just the right drizzling of olive oil. The pitas are the real Lebanese deal: paper-thin, chewy, delicious. The rice pilaf is mouth-watering: the fragrance of pine nuts and almonds, a tantalizing hint of olive oil, savory spices. And as for the meats? They're the star of the show. A proper Lebanese kebab is a study in subtle flavors; none of the loud, bold tastes that star in Greek cuisine. Here, delicious understatement is the order of the day. A judicious amount of charring; delicate applications of salt; subtle applications of spice -- all there, and all delicious. The meat is perfectly cooked, no matter which meat you choose.
The prices are incredibly reasonable, and the service is incredibly friendly (how a Lebanese restaurant ends up with a Korean waitress is beyond me, but the restaurant and the waitress both are AWESOME, so ...). Watching the flow of traffic in and out the door, it's clear that this is a community-centric place; everyone who comes in seems to be a regular. And given the tastiness of the food and the friendliness of the staff, I can see why.
Highly recommended!
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