al Badawi

Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Muhammara, Salata Tahina, Tabbouleh, and Labneh. A-Mezze-ing. — al Badawi

If I were hard-pressed to name my favorite type of cuisine it would probably be an honest tie between Mediterranean or Japanese, depending on which I’d had most recently. Both cuisines (generally speaking) tend to embody differing flavor philosophies. Japanese food stresses the simple, natural elegance of its ingredients (see Washoku 和食 to read up on this). Mediterranean food—by which I really mean Middle Eastern Mediterranean (harder to pin down terms when the cuisine spans a diverse range of countries versus a single island nation)—comes to the party with bold, bombastic bevies of spices. Skewers. Spreads. Baba Ganoush. You get it.

Which brings us to al Badawi. Located just a short walk down from the original Sahadi’s on Atlantic Ave, the Palestinian family style restaurant (self-described) sure does deliver on family-sized portions. Thankfully my family was in town, otherwise even my iron-clad (and seemingly Eldritch void of a) stomach couldn’t make it too far past the mezze filistini. Now granted, if I were dining by myself you could argue that ordering an entire mezze platter in addition to an entrée constitutes “excessive” behavior, or that I “have a problem,” and to that I would argue that whoever said that has never had a mezze platter before…and that person and I might need to reevaluate the terms of our friendship.

The beauty of the mezze platter is its variety, each small dish or spread working in tandem to coat the palate with rich, smoky, savory flavor. Besides the labneh, it’s vegan too! It’s like the vegetarian’s charcuterie, being relatively guiltless to boot. While there is still a high density of fats present, said fat is predominantly coming from olive oil (which is monounsaturated, AKA the good stuff). And when you inevitably begin to feel the oils taking over, that’s when a quick spritz of the tabbouleh comes in to save the day. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more refreshing side salad with any meal.

Chicken Maklouba

Mansaf

Mezze platter aside, which is a considerable aside, mind you, the main courses were no less dense with flavor (and volume). I even ended up leaving the restaurant with leftovers (and I never leave with leftovers). If you fancy yourself a meat eater, you really can’t go wrong with any of the traditional offerings. And if you’re meatless, you are no less flush with quality options.

Oh, and there’s even a pizza oven in the building as well! Perfect for grilled flatbreads. They were out of za’atar during my family’s visit, which if anything gives me cause to stop by next time and claim what I had missed. I should probably make a reservation with a decent party size too, lest I do my usual one-man family schtick. There’s room in my tum for at least two.

Point is, no matter what you end up ordering, al Badawi is going to give you your bang for your buck. Just don’t skip out on the mezze.

Please.

I mean it.