Your recommendation for great Lebanese food?

A childhood friend is coming to visit this weekend, and when I asked what kind of restaurants she'd like to eat at, she had one request: Middle Eastern. Now, that's a loaded request for two reasons...

1. We met, as children, while living in Saudi Arabia. (Although she's blond haired and blue eyed, she was actually born there, to American parents.)

2. She's lived in Europe and NY more recently, and has slightly more upscale tastes these days. I don't think the shawarma we used to eat as kids (from outdoor stands, where we joked that the flies were the secret ingredient that added that extra special flavor) would cut it for her any more. She'd probably prefer a place that steers clear of plastic baskets, wax paper, etc., and instead serves their food on real plates. (Last time we ate Middle Eastern together--years ago--we went to Souk.)

With those caveats in mind, does anyone have a recommendation? (A rhetorical question, or course.) Odd as it may seem, but I don't eat a lot of Middle Eastern food in Chicago. Go figure...

Thanks!

Alhambra!

Mike G wrote:Alhambra!

LOL...I was going to add a third caveat--no Alhambra--but I didn't think it was necessary

Well, the obvious one, then, is Maza. The only thread seems to be a long time ago:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=1347

When it comes to Lebanese, I've been to Al-Khaymeih quite a few times lately and I find myself enjoying it more and more.

Best,
Michael

Al-Khaymeih has been my favorite on Kedzie for some time now -- much preferred to others on the strip. Consistantly good, reasonably priced and great portions . They do an excellent job for take away as well.

Glad to see it getting some LTH love!

I have been to Maza. It's been about 3 years now, but I thought it was solid. I haven't been to Al-Khaymeih, but it sounds like a strong contender.

Semiramis -- also on Kedzie -- has been known to serve some pretty good Lebanese food with all the service and silverware trimmings. Whether you'd consider it great (or upscale) enough, however, might depend on your point of view. Just wanted to make sure the restaurant was mentioned. (Note: it's closed on Sundays.)

Semiramis Lebanese Cuisine [Pictures]
GNR thread: Semiramis [Middle Eastern]

Keep in mind that the hours have adjusted and the prices have risen since the first posts in the earlier thread.

Good hunting,
Dan

Kan Zaman is a very good casual Lebanese retaurant 600 N. Wells. Its BYO, but there is a Binny's nearby on Grand if you want to pick something up beforehand. I've been there a couple times and only ordered the vegetarian platter, but it was good enough to keep me coming back. I had a taste of the Giros which were also quite good.

In the same neighborhood is Tizi Melloul which is middle-eastern inspired. I have been there a couple of times and thouroughly enjoyed my meal on all occasions, although I'd stay away from the Lebanese wine (not my choice...) Its not traidtional middle eastern cuisine, but might be an interesting alternative. You can see the full menu on their web site. http://www.tizimelloul.com/home.htm

I'd cast my vote for Cafe Suron in Rogers Park. I have always enjoyed my meals there and it's BYOB status makes it very attractive.
Plus, you can take a post dinner walk on the beach afterwards to catch up some more!


Cafe Suron
1146 W. Pratt Ave

Just to round out the information, Tizi Melloul is not really traditional (as noted before), and it's not Lebanese in any sense. It is, loosely, Moroccan. We tend to lump "Middle Eastern" together because of certain pan-Arabic foods. But it's probably no more accurate to conflate Lebanese and Moroccan than it is to treat Italian and Spanish or Vietnamese and Thai as the same. Particularly true with Lebanese and Moroccan, two of the more distinct "Middle Eastern" cuisines.

Semiramis seems to fit the bill nicely, as does Maza. Maza has raw kibbeh made to order, whereas I think you need to order ahead at Semiramis. That's important to me, but probably not most. I think Kedzie is the better destination, since a walk around the neighborhood might be nostalgic.

I'll echo all of the above recommendations—but for quick and cheap eats, I'm a huge fan of Taste of Lebanon on Foster between Clark and Ashland. The falafel is some of the best in the city and I never leave without a bowl of lentil soup.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Saudi Arabian is not particularly distinct from most Lebanese food, and since it's much easier to find Lebanese restaurants, that's what I usually seek out. My Mom grew up in Morocco, so that's another cuisine I enjoy (though, as other posters have pointed out, Moroccan is significantly different from Lebanese). When Tizi Melloul first opened, I enjoyed it a lot because it was very Moroccan-inspired. It's my understanding that it's now more of a Mediterranean restaurant, which isn't of much interest.

I'm glad someone mentioned that Semiramis is a bit upscale...when I'd read the original thread I saw a red plastic basket of bread, and had assumed that the plates were styrofoam. (They had that ambiguous pattern to them.)

Thanks for all of your suggestions. We ended up at Al-Khaymieh, and thoroughly enjoyed it. For appetizers, we split hummos and babagnoush, and then we each had a chicken shawarma sandwich. I'd rate the chicken shawarma as one of the best I've eaten outside the Middle East. I'll certainly head back to try out more things on the menu.