★★★☆☆ This is a 4 table/14 seat Middle Eastern halal restaurant/cafe located in the central Bronx. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the menu consists of typical Arab appetizers (falafel, hummus, baba ghanouj, etc.), salads (Greek, fattoush, etc.) sandwiches (gyro, falafel, shish kabab, etc), and grilled dishes (lamb chops, quail, BBQ chicken, and more). Parking is tight on busy Bronxdale Ave. so leave the Buick Roadmaster beached at home.
This author ordered the hummus, served with two warm pitas ($4). The hummus seemed freshly made and was completely palatable, but with indistinct flavors of garlic, tahini, and lemon--better than any supermarket hummus but not as good as you'd expect. The chicken sandwich with fresh fries ($7) consisted of tender grilled chicken with moderate seasoning, sandwich shop-standard shredded lettuce with diced plastic tomato, and a heavy but bland sauce in a cold pita. It was, too, palatable but definitely reminiscent of tourist food. The french fries were the frozen cafeteria standard kind.
The ambiance is shabby not-chic, as the tables, carpet, walls, really everything give the vibe of thoughtlessness and neglect. Unfortunately, this is not the kind of place to bring a friend. Rather it's a place to get a quick, decent, but unmemorable meal.
A generous 3/5 stars for quality, 3/5 stars for value. Posted on October 24, 2014 |