Culinary Quest

There was a time when few of us could hope to enjoy the delights of a gourmet meal from Lebanon.  The cuisine dominates much of the Middle East, with its mezza (small plates,) spices, pita bread, and vegetarian dishes.  The wine is like no other in the world; the great variety of grapes, especially in the Bekaa Valley, benefits from the Eastern Mediterranean climes and the Lebanese landscape. 

Now, however, such an experience is closer than many of us would ever have dreamt.  Baltimore, Maryland, is the new home to Lebanese Taverna.  Operated by the LTG Group, owned by the Abi-Najam family out of Arlington, Virginia, this restaurant marks the Group’s ninth contribution to the culinary landscape.  With locations in Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, and Maryland, the Abi-Najam family has been introducing their American neighbors’ palates to Lebanese fare since 1979. 

 

The man in charge of Baltimore’s Lebanese Taverna is Nader Abushkheidem.  Palestinian by birth, Nader opened the 220 seat restaurant with 20 years of restaurant experience under his belt.  “I was drawn to restaurants since I was 15.  I was born with restaurants and studied with restaurants, and worked with hotels.  I was a chef of Lebanese food for 20 years….I was drawn to the kitchen by my love for food.  I love healthy food.  Cooking is a kind of hobby for me,” he explains.

 

Nader finished his first training in Jordan at hotels, where he spent five years working in kitchens and gaining dining experience.  His next level of education was completed at Rockland Community College where he studied Hotel Management. 

 

In 2000, Nader joined the Lebanese Taverna family.  Having found success with the company, he left for a short time to begin his own business, Aladdin Café; however, when the Baltimore location of Lebanese Taverna was opened, he returned to the company as the new restaurant manager.  This was, of course, an obvious fit due to his experience with the company and his strong background working with the Lebanese cuisine. 

 

“Lebanese cuisine dominates the geographical region of the Eastern Mediterranean.  There is some spice similarity to other European nations in the region, like Greece, Syria, Israel, etc., but other than Lebanese food, only Greek and Egyptian cuisines truly stand out as distinct,” he tells me.

 

“The restaurant’s approach to the food and menu is mainly vegetarian, very healthy, lots of home recipes.  But mostly we are very well known for our vegetable dishes.”  Nader’s point is well taken.  With the growing number of people seeking restaurants where they can find healthful things to eat, knowing that Lebanese Taverna fits that bill is a great selling point.

 

The wait staff in the restaurant truly sees to the diners’ every need.  I ask Nader what his approach to hospitality is.  “I only hire people who are devoted to service from the heart.  They must reflect what they do at home in what they will do for the customer because we want to provide a family type of service in our restaurant,” Nader assures me. 

 

Lebanese Taverna offers a rather expansive menu from which to choose your meal.  I queried if there are any dishes that Nader would consider to be house specialties.  “Honestly, our menu has so much to choose from that it is hard to say that we have a single house specialty.  I would say that all of the Lebanese dishes are our specialties.  Some Lebanese mixed drinks are specialties.  All of our desserts are made here, and they are all house specialties,” he responds.

 

What about the Lebanese wines?  “They are all marvelous due to the climate in Lebanon.  But our wine list is truly very international.  We want it to be open to everyone with variety, so we have attempted to provide a huge selection to choose from,” he smiles.

 

Lebanese Taverna provides complimentary valet parking for its guests, a very valuable service here on the busy streets of Baltimore.   My girlfriend and I enter the restaurant a bit early for our reservation so that we might take in the surroundings. 

 

Upon entering the restaurant, the first thing I notice is a floor-to-ceiling display of beautiful Middle Eastern lanterns.  Already the stage is being set for a dining experience like no other.  We are soon greeted by the hostess, who we inform that we will be sitting at the bar until it is time for us to be seated. 

 

The restaurant’s lounge is dominated by a large communal table down the center of the room.  A mirror covers the wall facing the dining room.  The bar is of polished stone and has high-backed woven chairs down its length.  The bar’s backdrop is of Middle Eastern tile, framing the assorted alcoholic beverages.  The décor is very tasteful and artistic, flowing from one room into the next. 

 

We order soft drinks and ask the bartender if we may examine the wine list.  We are handed both the wine list and the menu.  The wine list is quite impressive, containing an international mix of vintages.  We are especially surprised to find that there are wines here from Lebanon.  Neither my girlfriend nor I had been aware that Lebanon produces wine.  With this new knowledge, we decide that we will order only Lebanese wines tonight.  Such an adventure is very appealing both of us.

 

The hostess lets us know that our table is ready and leads us to our seats.  The dining room appears immense.  There are booths along the left side of the room, large windows on the front and right sides of the room, and two large floor-to-ceiling cases of Middle Eastern lanterns, like that in the lounge, along the back wall.  Entry ways to the kitchen and to the restrooms are covered by heavy curtains of metal beads.  Strategically placed greenery can be seen around the dining room, adding color and breaking up empty spaces.  The artificial lighting is subdued, but not dim.  The large windows provide copious natural light to brighten the room. 

 

Our waiter arrives in a trice, bearing plates of hommos (chickpea and sesame paste dip) and pita bread, and introduces himself and his assistant.  He hands us our menus and takes our drink orders.  Right away, we begin poring through the menus.  The Lebanese cuisine is quite foreign to me, so I am willing to try anything and everything.  My girlfriend is part-Syrian, so she is familiar with the foods and has picked out a few items that she would like to taste. 

 

It becomes evident quite quickly that the Lebanese cuisine is heavy in vegetables.  There are meat dishes, to be sure, as well as seafood; however, the vegetarian dishes comprise the majority of the menu.  This is both interesting and attractive since I look for restaurants that can offer healthy fare. 

 

We have been enjoying the hommos and pita bread while reading the menus.  My girlfriend tells me that the hommos tastes almost exactly like the hommos that her Syrian grandmother used to make.  Surely, this is high praise indeed when a restaurant can stand up to the grandma test.  The pita bread is unlike any pita that I have had before.  We receive a number of differently flavored pitas.  There is whole wheat pita, spiced pita, and white pita.  There may be a fourth, but I have lost count.

 

The menu offers mezza, or small plates, designed to be shared with a friend(s), as well as meals for one.  We decide that it would be romantic to get a meal to share.  First, I ask my girlfriend what she suggests we order.  Without missing a beat, she says that she wants to share an order of Kibbeh Nayeh with me.  Consulting the menu to find out what I have gotten myself into, I discover that Kibbeh Nayeh is Lebanese steak tartar-fresh lamb mixed with crushed wheat, herbs and spices, with garlic paste on the side.  This sounds exciting!

 

We also decide to order the Table Mezza Special Grill so that we can taste a variety of foods that have been chosen to accompany one another harmoniously.  The elements of this dish are grape leaves, tabouleh, m'saka, hommos, falafel, sambousik, lamb kabobs, chicken kebobs, kafta harra, and rice.  The dish is served with a Tahini sauce.  This will give us a fine sampling of Lebanese Taverna’s kitchen. 

 

Before ordering, we consult with our waiter to make sure that we have made a sound choice on our first visit to Lebanese Taverna.  He is very confident that we will enjoy our selections thoroughly and asks if we would care to order any wine with our meal.  We let him know that we are unfamiliar with the Lebanese wines and ask him to pick one for our first course.  Rather than simply walking away from the table as most waiters would, this gentleman first discusses with us a particular bottle of wine, Cinsault, Chateau Musar, Lebanon, 1998, that he believes we would most enjoy.  He tells us about its nose, flavorings, and how it will enhance the dishes he will be serving.  The waiter’s depth of knowledge is impressive indeed.  We weigh the choice of ordering a single bottle of wine, versus the possibility of enjoying a few different wines, and decide upon the latter.  Perhaps next time we shall try the Cinsault.

 

Shortly, our waiter brings us glasses of Syrah/Cabernet Franc, Réserve du Couvent, Ksara, Lebanon, 2005.  The wine is almost ink black, fading to a deep purple at the rim.  The nose is full of blueberry, stewed black cherry, fresh earth and leather.  The wine is very dry with a short finish.  It tastes of big red fruit, redwood, and an undertone of the leather evident in the nose.  This wine’s youth is evident on the palate.  I believe that it will age well; give it 3 to 5 years to develop its full potential, but it is a pleasant drink now. 

 

The meal arrives along with a second serving of different types of pita breads.  First, I decide to try the Kibbeh Nayeh stuffed into some pita.  The Kibbeh Nayeh is like a red lamb paste mixed with the crushed wheat, herbs, and spices.  Served on the plate, it greatly resembles a Carpaccio.  The garlic paste is to the side.  I select an unseasoned white pita with which to eat it.  The flavors are amazing!  The seasonings are not subtle, and I have not used enough garlic to hide the taste of the lamb, which is very appetizing.  I fear that I will eat the whole dish if my girlfriend does not get to it soon.  I taste the wine.  Our waiter has chosen a fabulous accompaniment for the Kibbeh Nayeh.  Not only do the two pair well with each other, they accentuate the best qualities in the other perfectly.  The Réserve du Couvent almost caresses the delicate nuances of the lamb, enhancing their potentialities on the palate and taste buds. 

 

Next, I try the grape leaves.  These are rolled with rice, chickpeas, tomatoes, mint and parsley and served cold.  There is a Tahini sauce (sesame paste, lemon, parsley and a touch of garlic) that can be used with these if we so wish, but I prefer to taste them alone first.  The grape leaves dish sounds more complicated than it is.  It tastes like a spiced rice wrapped in grape leaves with a bit of lemon.  These are very pleasing; I am sorry that there are only four of them on the plate.  I dip a bite into the Tahini and find that this heightens the experience.  Truly, a much different presentation of grape leaves than I have enjoyed with Greek cuisine.  I shall have to write home to Mom about this one.  I take a sip of wine.  The wine pairs well with the grape leaves, but the lemon in the Tahini contrasts with the Réserve du Couvent.  I would not suggest combining Tahini sauce with the wine.

 

I follow the grape leaves with my first taste of the tabouleh.  This is traditional parsley salad with burghul (cracked wheat), diced tomatoes, onions, fresh mint, olive oil and lemon.  The parsley is the predominant flavor in this dish.  It is fresh and refreshing.  On the whole, this dish is a nice intermezzo as it cleanses the palate and prepares you for the next flavor encounter.  I do not expect a very good match with the wine; however, I taste the wine nevertheless.  Surprisingly, the two make a marvelous pair.  The lemon on the tabouleh is downplayed by the overpowering parsley, and the parsley pairs with the wine magnificently.  In all probability, any crisp white or dry red would pair well with the tabouleh given the flavors in the dish.

 

I have finished my wine, and ask the waiter for a second Lebanese wine of his choosing.  He quickly brings me a Cabernet Sauvignon, Ksara, Lebanon, 2003.  This is a dark purple to the rim.  The nose is of blackberries, brown sugar, and a hint of spice.  I taste medium, round tannins.  It is a dry wine with big purple fruit.  Very short length.  There are no sugars in evidence (no legs) and almost no discernible trace of alcohol.  The wine has a great body.  It is very drinkable now. 

 

 I serve myself some m’saka.  Lebanese m’saka is eggplant and chick peas cooked with tomatoes, onions and garlic and served at room temperature.  The flavors in this dish have blended very well.  The tomatoes have sweetened while cooked, and the eggplant has become extremely tender.  This dish is delicious both by itself and when eaten on pita bread.  With the Cabernet Sauvignon, it is phenomenal!  The two seem to have been made for each other.  A bowl of m’saka and a bottle of Ksara Cabernet Sauvignon (2003) would make anyone happy, especially this reviewer.  Throw in some of Lebanese Taverna’s pita bread, and you could have a party. 

 

We have been enjoying hommos throughout the meal, but have yet to try a wine with it.  I taste the hommos on some spiced pita bread before sipping my wine.  The wine seems to go with everything Lebanese.  But then, Ksara is the oldest winery in Lebanon.  They have had 100’s of years to perfect their art and pair their wines with the cuisine.  I imagine that they have worked very hard to make certain that the wines accompany such a culinary staple as hommos. 

 

The falafel comes next.  These chickpea and fava fritters served with Tahini are a slightly sweet fried bean mixture.  Very enjoyable in their simplicity, the falafel appears in many cultures around the world under different names.  The Tahini sauce is a nice addition, but I think that the flavors of the falafel speak for themselves—the chickpeas and fava beans are robust and mouthwatering.  The fritters go well with the Cabernet Sauvignon, though, again, I would forego the Tahini sauce if drinking the wine due to the lemon.

 

The sambousik are deep-fried pastry shells stuffed with meat, almonds and pine nuts.  There is no grease evident on these delicacies, telling me that the chef is well-versed in the art of deep-frying.  The pastry shells are soft, and the meat is savory.  The nuts augment the flavors of the meat.  The pine nuts, especially, add a pleasant, unique flavor.  With the Cabernet Sauvignon, I receive the warm welcome that I would expect when I arrive home from a long time away.  The red meat and Cabernet Sauvignon are natural matches.  The tannins lift the savory meat’s finer points while the meat plays upon the purple fruit of the wine.  Unfortunately, I have finished my wine.

 

I beckon to the waiter and request another Lebanese red wine.  He brings me a Cinsault/Cabernet/Syrah, St. John, Karam Winery, Lebanon, 2005.  It is brown with maroon at the rim.  The nose has floral tones, rose leaf, berries, mocha, and dust.  It is very dry with medium length.  I detect no alcohol and see no legs.  It tastes of fresh rainfall, red berries, and soft tannins.  This is a very pleasant drink.  I would drink this wine now.  This is a quaff to be enjoyed on its own, or with red meats, grilled fish, or red sauces.  It goes great with hommos and pita.  It truly intensifies hot spices. 

 

Positioned next to each other on the plate are the lamb and chicken kabobs.  The kabobs consist of tender cubes of marinated grilled lamb or chicken skewered with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and green peppers.  The kabobs have already been removed from the skewers for us, making dining easier.  The lamb is extremely tender, and I can detect sumac in the marinade, a most pleasing Middle Eastern spice.  The chicken is succulent, with the flavors of the marinade a bit less pronounced.  This surprises me given my assumption that poultry would carry the marinade more easily.  The onions are grilled to a slight char on either end, providing them with a wonderful flavor.  The peppers are still crisp and sweet.  The grilled tomatoes’ skin has exploded a bit, sweetening the fruits’ impact upon the tongue.  Finally, the mushrooms have picked up the spices in the marinade.  These flavors have been augmented by the grilling process, creating what amounts to a second “meat” on each kabob.

 

I try the wine with each of the kabobs’ different elements.  The Cinsault/Cabernet/Syrah accompanies every flavor presented here magnificently.  The vegetables each play well with the soft tannins and the wine’s fresh taste.  The chicken pairs well with the wine due to the marvelous spice combination in the marinade. Here, the sumac pulls upon the wine’s berry flavorings to create a new experience on the palate.  But it is with the lamb that this wine shines.  The red meat flavoring of the lamb, combined with the marinade, embrace the wine’s blend with open arms.  Here, the finest features of each grape come into play and highlight the delicacies of the lamb’s flavor palette.  I taste the sumac to its full potential.  The meat shows flavor intricacies that I had not discerned before, revealing allspice, olive oil, and another spice that I cannot identify.  I will have to locate this wine with a purveyor so that I may add it to my cellar.

 

My next culinary conquest is the kafta harra.  This is seasoned ground beef and lamb that has been thinly rolled, and cooked with whole tomatoes, garlic, hot peppers and pine nuts.  The dish works the garlic, pine nuts, and hot peppers into the flavoring of the seasoned meats well.  This grouping of flavors dances on the palate with a spiciness and poignancy that I have not encountered in any other cuisine.  The tomatoes are lost in the dish for me, though.  Although they are sweet on the tongue, I am more interested in the other flavor combinations.  I drink some wine.  My first impression is that the Karam Winery blend, as expected, has intensified the burn of the hot peppers, but in a way that allows me to appreciate the finer details of the taste of the peppers.  Second, the lamb and beef are perfect matches for this wine, especially with the seasonings used in the dish’s preparation.  The garlic and pine nuts, too, bring out nuances in the wine that I had not noticed before—an earthiness and a hint of wet tobacco leaf. 

 

Finally, I taste the rice, which is a combination of basmati rice and vermicelli noodles, topped with allspice.  The rice is served on its own platter.  The basmati lends its flowery taste to this dish, creating an aromatic treat as well as a gourmand’s delight.  The basmati has firm and separate grains, not sticky.  Allspice, the ground dried berry-like fruit of a West Indian Allspice tree with the combined flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, enhances the aromatics and makes for a pleasing experience upon the taste buds.  I try my wine with the rice.  The floral tones in the wine have opened up and these combine with the rice to create a carnival for my olfactory senses.  The flavors in the allspice have brought out the wine’s earthiness and the wet tobacco, much like the garlic and pine nuts in the katta harra had.  This is a grand wine to enjoy with Lebanese cuisine, indeed.

 

With the dinner plates cleared, we are offered the dessert menu.  This is filled with sweet delights such as Um Ali and Baklava.  I am very interested in a delicacy called Knafe Jibne prepared with an Arabic cheese and phyllo.  Examining the list of dessert drinks, I see that Lebanese Taverna offers a variety of Ports, so I select the Dow’s 20 Tawny Porto to accompany my dessert.  I place my order with the waiter.

 

The waiter returns presently with the Port.  This is a tawny for the ages.  The Dow’s 20 Year Old Tawny Porto demonstrates layers creamy vanilla nuances and beautifully refined fruit.  There is also a well developed nuttiness to the Porto that is first evident in the nose then develops more fully on the palate.  This is a complex and layered Port, fully intended to be enjoyed as an after dinner drink.  I cannot wait to pair it with the Knafe Jibne in order to see if the two cultures’ cuisines clash or meld.

 

I have only a short time to wait before the Knafe Jibne arrives.  It is a shaped like a large brownie, only it is created by layers of phyllo and cheese.  It has a golden brown coloration and a gloss to the top.  I am able to see the pine nuts in the sides of the dessert where it had been sliced from the whole.  The cheese oozes out of the sides, and the Knafe Jibne is served warm.  I take my first bite.  The delicate phyllo melts in my mouth; the cheese is sweet, but not sugary.  My waiter had indicated that the cheese is a sheep’s milk cheese, so I find it doubly interesting that the sweetness is not overpowering.  The gloss on the top of the dessert is a sugar glaze that has been tempered with lemon juice so that it is neither sweet nor tart, but rather decorative.  The Knafe Jibne, as a whole, is a masterpiece!  I must find out what kind of cheese they are using in this dessert. 

 

I sip the Dow’s 20 Year Old Tawny Porto.  The cheese and phyllo combination works particularly well with the Porto.  The wine’s nut flavors, vanilla, and fruit meld with the sweet Arabic cheese as one would expect in this combination.  The flaky phyllo, providing a pastry counterpoint to the cheese, picks up the nuts and vanilla extremely well.  Given that the Knafe Jibne is not a typically sweet dessert as would be expected in traditional American cuisine, the Porto does not have to contend with overpowering sugars.  These are a marvelous pairing.  Next time, however, I will have to try the traditional Lebanese Arak with dessert.

 

 

 

Here is where I get to grade my dining experience.  I grade on 5 factors:  Atmosphere, Service, Presentation, Taste, and Value.  These areas are scored on a 0 to 10 scale with 0 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.

Atmosphere:   10     Everything from the architectural detail to Lebanese Taverna's decor is enchanting.  The architecture's unique style reflects the unique cuisine of the Lebanese people.  The restaurant uses lanterns to create walls in open bookshelves, guiding you into the restaurant.  Everything has a welcoming feel to it. 

Service:  10     My waiter embodied the definition of superb service.  Not only did he know the menu backward and forward, he also knew the impressive wine list and how to pair the wines properly.  He was attentive, friendly, and anticipated our every need.  I look forward to sitting at his table again.

Presentation:  9     Everything I was served looked appetizing and attractive; however, nothing struck me as being a work of physical art.  Granted, I am experiencing a different cuisine from a different culture for the first time today, so I am unfamiliar with the presentation techniques.  Still, I would like my eyes to be appealed to before my mouth is.  

Taste:  10    There is no reason that every restaurant I visit cannot strive to achieve tastes on this level.  Lebanese Taverna's menu, of which I enjoyed a great many dishes today, offers its customers a wide variety of choices.  I am sure that each is as enjoyable as the next.  Indeed, I intend to return to taste the remaining selections in the near future.  And the hommos!  Oh, and those marvelous Lebanese wines!

Value:  10     My girlfriend and I enjoyed a meal fit for royalty for a price more appropriate for a dinner for one at most high-end restaurants.  Nevertheless, Lebanese Taverna is not to be confused with a run-of-the-mill eating establishment.  This is a top-notch restaurant with five-star food, service, and atmosphere.  And the wine list is sure to receive a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in due time.  For the experience alone, you cannot receive a better value.  Considering you will get to eat, too, the trip's value has just doubled. 

 

BUSINESS HOURS:

 

Lunch   Monday to Friday  11:30 to 2:30

 

             Saturday to Sunday  11:30 to Close

 

Dinner   Monday to Thursday   5:00 to 10:00

 

              Friday and Saturday   5:00 to 11:00

 

              Sunday                        5:00 to 9:00

 

Reservations requested for large groups, especially on weekends.

 

 

Lebanese Taverna  |  Harbor East  |  719 S. President St.  | 

Baltimore, MD  |  PH 410.244.5533  |  FAX 410.244.5535  | www.lebanesetaverna.com

 

23 June 2007