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Middle Eastern Food 101


Kibbee Nayee

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[My goals here are straightforward – First, I wanted to put together a primer on Middle Eastern food so that Rockwellians don’t walk into a Middle Eastern restaurant and scratch their head like I do when I walk into a Chinese or Korean or Thai or Martian restaurant. May you all place your orders in a slightly more informed manner from this day forward...

A mere "like" wasn't enough. Thank you so much for this. Awesome content and so generous of you to take the time to share this. The broader Middle East is like Korea for me. Have spent time there. Even lived there for a bit. Very far from anything approaching expert. Learned a ton from your post. Will learn more working through your reccs. Thanks again. Wow.

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Holy cow, are you and Fishinnards competing for the Oscar in Best Post on Donrockwell.com? Wonderful article, thank you so much.

Believe it or not, Kibbee Nayeh came up with this idea about a week ago, before Thai Noodles 101 was ever posted, and I sort of "poo-pood" it; now that I see what he has done - yes, these two are competing for some type of award (I was going to recommend a more detailed analysis on a more narrow topic, e.g., "kibbee nayeh," and it still might be in order, but this by itself is fantastic). The title itself is derivative of the one I composed for fishinnards, of course, but the substance of the post is all Bruce's original work.

And here I was doubting him!

We have lots of first- and second-generation Americans in this community who could do similar primers (and some plain old experts like fishinnards who aren't, but could do them anyway). I would welcome longer, exploratory pieces such as this, in a "101 Series," and if we get enough of them, I'll surely submit the set for a James Beard Award for 2013 Internet Food Writing, and may even create a separate subforum. I like the thought of a difficult, narrowly defined topic - such as Thai Noodles - explored thoroughly, and presented in a way that an average lunk like me can really get a grasp of it. I never knew, for example, that "See Ew" simply means "soy sauce." Things like this make it *so much easier* to order Thai Noodles, and I'm positively savoring the post, absorbing a paragraph a day so I don't try and take on too much.

pandahugga, bless him wherever he is, had begun doing "The Chinese Alphabet," one letter at a time. A similar thing, done with commonly repeated Mandarin words, would be of great benefit. Likewise, anything in its own native language. I could certainly do one for French, but many of us know these already, although I could possibly add a level of detail to make it interesting. Regional Italian would also be quite interesting. Mr. Ruta? ;)

We've only had a few posts that have had more than 10 "Likes," and Bruce's is one of them. Well done, sir.

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I have often been frustrated by how little I know of a particular ethnic cuisine, as if I'm missing out on the full enjoyment. I watch as the indigenous crowd orders things I can't pronounce and have no idea as to its meaning or relevance in that culture, while I ignorantly chow down on the Americanized side of the menu. It struck me during a recent visit to a Japanese restaurant, where Lady KN and I were tackling about $100 of sushi, that a few four-tops of Japanese diners were tucking into bowls and plates of incredibly yummy looking foods, at about half of what two of us where spending but with double the enjoyment. Then I saw the fishinnards opus on Thai noodles and the thread on Ju Mak Jib that resulted in a Grover tutorial on Korean food to be delivered at To Sok Jip....and it struck me that this site is a treasure trove of ethnic food knowledge. If we could find a way to make it into an accessible repository, so that the next time any of us heads into a (fill in the ethnicity) restaurant, we can order like a local and enjoy the full talents of the kitchen staff. I approached our fearless leader with the idea, and here we are....!

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Shemali's, the small Lebanese-owned market in Foxhall Square (where Ace Beverage is located) took over the small lunch counter in the building last summer. When Shemali's was located in the now-defunct shopping strip on Wisconsin in Cathedral Heights that included Murphy's and Giant, they had a small lunch counter in the store. But when they re-located to Foxhall Square several years ago, they sold only a few prepared foods--kibbe, meat and spinach pies, baba ghanouj and hummus, felafel--in their refrigerator case and freezer, all of which we are fond of. I only recently found out that they are preparing food to order in the building's little café. They have a vertical grill, but the day I was there they weren't using it, and were cooking chicken shwarma on the flat top. That and felafel sandwiches were all I have tried there, but I thought the marinated, boneless chicken breast was delicious, not overcooked as boneless breast usually is. Rolled in a flatbread with lettuce, tomato and garlic-y yogurt sauce, I polished it off in no time. My daughter is a devotee of the felafel place in Adams-Morgan, but she was happy with the version from Shemali's.

I know that you are based in VA, KN. Have you been to Shemali's?

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I'd forgotten all about that little windowless cafe at Foxhall Square (in Wesley Heights, mark you). I used to go there for lunch now and then many years ago when I worked at AU. Like in the 1980s. Even then, it had an eastern Mediterranean flavor, with things like tabbouleh and I don't remember what else. Has it been in continuous operation all these years?

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KIbbee Nayee, thank you so much for this post. Don, I'm not sure why you doubted the utility of a post like this. More knowledge is always a good thing. I'd love to see more places on the MD side of the river - will you be adding to this? Maybe there should be a Rockepedia section of the board for informational posts like these?

(ETA my original post was edited, apparently.)

---

[umm, no, it wasn't (until just now). In fact, this is the very first time I've even seen this post.]

Edited by DonRocks
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Maybe there should be a Rockepedia section of the board for informational posts like these?

I like this idea a lot.

On the list of cuisines I know the most about, my next best category would be Pennsylvania Dutch. However, we don't have any of those around these parts, so such a write up might have little utility.

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Kibbee Nayee -

Gerat post! Thanks for writing it.

What's your best spot for Syrian "grape leaves" aka yeb'r't? I'm talking about the thin rolls (about the length and diameter) of your index finger that are served warm and contain meat. Not the short, fat, cold, veggie ones you get at Lebanese Taverna.

I used to have them all the time growing up at family gatherings - - Christmas, NYE, birthdays, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, etc, but haven't been able to find them here. The only time I've ever seen them was at Layalina and they were part of an entree, not a dish by themselves. I'd love to find a place to order 20 or 30 of them like chicken wings!

Thanks again for the write up.

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What's your best spot for Syrian "grape leaves" aka yeb'r't? I'm talking about the thin rolls (about the length and diameter) of your index finger that are served warm and contain meat. Not the short, fat, cold, veggie ones you get at Lebanese Taverna.

Hey, are you one of my peeps? Best by far are ordered ahead at Mediterranean Gourmet Market. I call them warak enab bil laham. Give the Mediterannean Gourmet Market a day or two advance notice, and order at least 50 -- I have an order in for 200 this weekend as part of a feast I'm having for my family. I think they're $1.25 each. I ask for the laban with cucumber to serve with them.

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I have an order in for 200 this weekend as part of a feast I'm having for my family.

So, how do we sign up to become part of your family?

The Mediterranean Bakery has a spectacular and delicious assortment of baklava, which may be obvious given the fact that, you know, it's called the Mediterranean Bakery. I also recall a tasty beef shawarma...but stay away from the gyro, which used pre-cut and previously frozen meat when i was last there.

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Hey, are you one of my peeps? Best by far are ordered ahead at Mediterranean Gourmet Market. I call them warak enab bil laham. Give the Mediterannean Gourmet Market a day or two advance notice, and order at least 50 -- I have an order in for 200 this weekend as part of a feast I'm having for my family. I think they're $1.25 each. I ask for the laban with cucumber to serve with them.

Significantly better than Mount of Lebanon's/Lebanese Butchers?

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Significantly better than Mount of Lebanon's/Lebanese Butchers?

Not significantly, but better. And a nice addition to the Mediterranean Gourmet Market version are some potato slices that suck up the meaty and lemony flavor of the grape leaves. I could eat those potatoes on their own.

(And remember, if you order a large quantity, they freeze well.)

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Hey, are you one of my peeps? Best by far are ordered ahead at Mediterranean Gourmet Market. I call them warak enab bil laham. Give the Mediterannean Gourmet Market a day or two advance notice, and order at least 50 -- I have an order in for 200 this weekend as part of a feast I'm having for my family. I think they're $1.25 each. I ask for the laban with cucumber to serve with them.

Yep, I'm one of your peeps! My grandparents on my mothers side immigrated here from Syria via Ellis Island way back when.

I'll give the Med Market a try. If it's the place I'm thinking of, I think I went there a few years ago for kibbee based on another one of your recommendations. If I told some of my aunts that they could get a buck twenty five for each one, I think I'd have permanent house guests and an assembly line going in my kitchen. Hummm, maybe that's not such a bad idea.....

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What's your best spot for Syrian "grape leaves" aka yeb'r't? I'm talking about the thin rolls (about the length and diameter) of your index finger that are served warm and contain meat. Not the short, fat, cold, veggie ones you get at Lebanese Taverna.

I have no idea how the stuffed grape leaves of the Levant compare with those of Greece, but the "dolmadakia" at Plaka Grill in Vienna are very much like what you describe, and are very good. You can see the menu with a description here. The menu doesn't mention that they're served warm, but they are. I think they come six to an order, but I'm not certain of that.

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Yep, I'm one of your peeps! My grandparents on my mothers side immigrated here from Syria via Ellis Island way back when.

I'll give the Med Market a try. If it's the place I'm thinking of, I think I went there a few years ago for kibbee based on another one of your recommendations. If I told some of my aunts that they could get a buck twenty five for each one, I think I'd have permanent house guests and an assembly line going in my kitchen. Hummm, maybe that's not such a bad idea.....

Ditto! My grandparents, all four of them, came through Ellis Island around the World War I timeframe. That was a mostly Orthodox Christian exodus following the break up of the Ottoman Empire. We are from Homs (my mother's side) and Latakia (my father's side). People from Homs used to be the Polish jokes of Syria, but with the current revolution, they will be hailed as the heroes of freedom. We should meet at Mediterranean Gourmet Market for a $20 Tuesday or something along those lines.

That brings me to an important addendum to my previous Middle Eastern Food 101....the restaurants we enjoy in this area (as well as Dearborn, Michigan, and Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn and a few other pockets around the U.S.) are the product of large-scale immigration. Thus, you will find mostly Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, Egyptian and Morrocan resturants here. And you will not find many Saudi Arabian or Algerian (or Omani or Yemeni and so forth) restaurants in the U.S.

After World War I, France and Britain carved up the Middle East into protectorates. At the time, Greater Syria included what is now Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon. The French got Syrian and Lebanon - they jerry-mandered Lebanon because they wanted a country that had a Christian majority, and at the time, six out of every 11 people in that geographic region were Eastern Rite Catholics and Syrian Orthodox. It was an interesting idea at the time, and it infused a lot of French influence into the cuisine, but it created a political mess that still plays out to this day. The Brits controlled Jordan and Palestine, and thankfully, introduced no culinary influences.

In my opinion, the best food in the Middle East is Tunisian, the ultimate fusion of Arab, African (Berber), Italian and French. We don't have many examples in this country, but Moroccan is close enough and good enough. My personal favorite is Syrian, which is my comfort food, but we have more Lebanese restaurants here because it's more politically acceptable to be Lebanese than Syrian. However, there was no such thing as Lebanon less than a century ago -- it was Syrian food influenced by France, and even at that, mostly in Beirut.

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KN -

I'd love to hit up the Med Market with you sometime!

My ancestors came from Aleppo and were also Christian. They ended up in upstate New York.

What's your go-to place for stuffed squash? (Coosa squash stuffed with the grape leave filler). My mom calls is "mek-shi" but I found a recipe online that spells it "mihshi". I'm sure you know what I'm talking about!

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KN -

I'd love to hit up the Med Market with you sometime!

My ancestors came from Aleppo and were also Christian. They ended up in upstate New York.

What's your go-to place for stuffed squash? (Coosa squash stuffed with the grape leave filler). My mom calls is "mek-shi" but I found a recipe online that spells it "mihshi". I'm sure you know what I'm talking about!

"Mahshi" means stuffed, and that dish was one of my father's favorite, Koosa Mahshi. I've only seen it as specials around here, at places like the otherwise forgettable Kazan Turkish restaurant in McLean, and sometimes at Mama Ayesha's near Adams Morgan. You can sometimes find the actual Koosa, a round squash, at Meditarranean Bakery on Alexandria.

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KN:   That is a great article.  Kudo's.   Very educational, interesting, and scrumptious!!!

One of my long term fave experiences in this region was that for a number of years my ex and I lived on a cul de sac with folks and more importantly cooks from around the Mediterranean.  We had a cook who provided Moroccan dishes, a cook from Lebanon (ably supported by his mother and sisters) a cook from Turkey, and the European participants were one from Spain and I contributed Italian dishes (Italian/ NJ style I must admit).

We ate together quite a bit having large cook outs with dishes and dinners from around that great body of water (though admittedly not all middle eastern).  Undoubtedly I found the food prepared Moroccan style my favorites, though I haven't seen or read kudo's about Moroccan dishes.   I think that particular cook was the best of all of us.

The endless presentation of middle eastern foods that were new to me were an adventure in new and exciting flavors and foods.   Thanks for the article.  It warms my taste buds!!!

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KN -

    It's been almost 2 years.  Any updates to the Top 10, Top 12?

(for some reason, I can't cut and paste today so please see post #1 for the list!)

I haven't been there yet, but I'm anxious to try Zikrayet on Eisnehower Ave in Alexandria. I think I saw a Groupon recently....and I still have to try Shemali's, recommended by Zora.

I need a few more visits before I declare it a "gem" but Granada in Herndon has a Syrian chef and has a "Mixed Iraqi Grill" that is to-die-for....

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Had a light dinner at Granada tonight. Shared a few different things: pickle plate, kibbeh, grape leaves, and the 'Granada sandwich'. The sandwich was tasty with good bread...not the typical wrap/gyro. Will defer to Kibbee on the bread type. Grape leaves will never make a place destination-worthy, but I thought they were particularly good. Will have to return with a bigger appetite so we can try the Iraqi grill items and the Turkish pizzas. 

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If any DR members are reading this who could do an Indian Food 101, or even a region, that would be amazing.  It is a cuisine that continues to perplex me a bit, that I am really interested in learning more.  This has been a great thread.  

Along with his expertise in Thai and Lao cuisine, Fishinnards is very knowledgeable about and adept at Sri Lankan and various types of Indian food.  If you ask him nicely and organize a time/place for such a lesson, and have participants kick in to pay for the groceries, I have a hunch he will be glad to teach such a class.

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In every dark cloud, there is a silver lining. The news out of Syria these days is horrific, with refugees washing up on the shores of Europe, and eventually coming to the United States in the near future. The atrocities in Syria, from the Assad regime to the barbarian ISIS, are unspeakable.

[And yes, and my four grandparents fled Syria during WWI about a hundred years ago, to build a new life in the land of opportunity here in the USA. (In that wave and thereafter, we can trace the lineage of Steve Jobs, Salma Hayek, Casey Kasem, Danny Thomas, Dr. Michael DeBakey, Paula Abdul, Rep. Darrel Issa, Ralph Nader, Gen. John Abizaid, Helen Thomas, F. Murray Abraham, and many, many others).]

The silver lining? I'm going to assert that within the next few years, the amount and quality of Syrian food in most American metropolitan areas will grow and be very enjoyable. There will be some sorting out of the competition, but there will also be a few Dory Abi-Najms in the crowd, and we will benefit immensely from this immigration. I am really looking forward to it.

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This NYT article is a good read about Syrian food. The author also has a website about Syrian food.

"Food tells Syria’s history better than the volumes that chronicle rulers and wars. Syria’s land was part of the Fertile Crescent, where agriculture was born. It was fought over by the ancient Sumerians, Egyptians and Babylonians (authors of what are among the world’s oldest written recipes); it was ruled by Persians, Byzantines and Ottomans — and we can taste their influence."

 

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It's noteworthy that Joudie Kalla, a women of Palestinian descent, has written the definitive volume of Palestinian food, "Palestine on a Plate: Memories from My Mother's Kitchen."

Palestinian food is under-appreciated, and it might be the mother of all Middle Eastern cuisines. Far too many of these dishes are mis-characterized as Israeli dishes, but they are Palestinian through-and-through.

I look forward to adding this one to my collection.

 

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