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Nadeem Baste
August 16, 2011•1 Review
If anyone is doing a better, classier Middle eastern experience please let me know. Imitation palm trees and water falls, normally I am bothered by the plastic attempts at creating ambiance, but it works. The sound of trickling water and Middle Eastern music can be quite soothing and I found myself in quite the meditative state while dining with my kids. We are all big fans of eating with our hands so this place is comforting. They bring out a complimentary cold plate that featured some amazing pickles doused in red chilies, olives, eggplant and tomato salad with some toasted pita and fresh. This is certainly a cut above your typical ME restaurant. My son had the Shish Kabob sandwich, tender charred beef wrapped tightly in a flatbread, it was light and unctuous. Dressed in a tahinni sauce with grilled onions, this is as good a wrap as you will find. My daughter and I shared a sampler platter featuring what I will boldly say is the best Falafel in the Chicago Metro area. (yes that is a challenge and before you tell me to go to that crappy place on Broadway or Devon, YOU come here first) The hummos is as good as I have had, the Baba is just as good, the grape leaves were quite good and while the leaves were fantastik, the filling was a touch mushy. There were also charred tomatoes and roasted onions. This is an outstanding sampler and quite filling. We also tried a kids areyes, kind of a panini like creature, pita filled with a mixture of ground lamb and beef then toasted and pressed, the meat had great flavor from spices that had more soul than usual, they tasted really fresh. We ordered this sandwich from the $4.99 kids menu and it came with fries, they were cooked to order and while I would have preferred something else I found myself eating plenty of them. Service was excellent, that is all that needs to be said. Folks are saying this place is expensive? Well it is more than the Nile across the street, there I can feed the three of us for $13, here I paid $20 plus tip and had leftovers. I think people should compare this restaurant to more upscale casual restaurants than strip-mall diner type eateries. Come here with as many people as possible, this way you can share and try more things, you will spend $12 to $15 a person but you will also have an amazing Middle Eastern food experience. Al Bawadi is the best.
