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Portland Mezza (Part 1): Aladdin's Cafe, Al Amir, La Villa, Nicholas Restaurant
Posted by extramsg on Wednesday, March 08, 2006 @ 00:00:00 PST
Contributed by extramsg
Aladdin's Mezza Platter
Lebanese and Middle Eastern food is a great fit for Portland. It's simple, but flavorful, vegetarian-friendly, and inexpensive.
For this first report, I've visited two of the newest and two of the oldest Middle Eastern restaurants in Portland to sample their mezza: Aladdin's Cafe, Al Amir, La Villa, and Nicholas Restaurant. While it's tempting to extrapolate from my results how good the restaurant is overall, remember, I am primarily commenting on their appetizers.
Photo Album
Aladdin's Cafe
Al Amir
La Villa
Nicholas Restaurant
Aladdin's Cafe
Aladdin's Cafe is one of the newest Middle Eastern restaurants in Portland. Located on the side of the FoodVilla building on NE 33rd not far from the Kennedy School; they can be difficult to find, especially since their sign seems to always be blown down. But it's worth the effort. They're among the very best in town and also one of the cheapest.
The first thing that separates them from the rest is their pita. It comes hot to the table, freshly cooked. The thick, bubbly bread has a surprisingly delicate texture and slightly sweet aftertaste. The splotches of brown add further flavor. Crust-lovers like me will wish there were even more color. While there is better pita, this is currently the best I've had in Portland.
Their falafel and grape leaves are among the best in town as well. The falafel has a thickish, crisp crust that yields to a moist center flavored with herbs and onion. The grape leaves, local and hand wrapped, have a toothsome quality. So often grape leaves have the texture of wet paper. These are tangy, but still have a vegetal quality usually leeched out after sitting years in a jar. The interior is bland and pasty, but for some reason worked. Perhaps it was the contrast with the leaves that made the texture pleasant.
The tabouli and baba ghanooj are also enjoyable. The tabouli is dressed in a fruity and fragrant olive oil. The parsley is relatively mild, allowing the subtle spicing to come through and enhance the dish. The baba ghanooj has the same fruity olive oil flavor which balances the normallly bitter eggplant. There is no noticeable smokiness, but instead accents of lemon, tahini, and hot pepper. It has a very creamy texture.
Aladdin's mezza platter has no options for meat. None of their appetizers have meat either. But all their sandwiches are under $5 and most of their entrees are under $10. I tried the beef kafta which were earthy and dense, permeated with the heavy fragrance of cumin. Lamb kafta is also available, but they use beef in the sandwich.
The baklava is also worth getting. It's less sweet than most, though denser as well. While not a normal part of this survey, the safeeha, essentially Middle Eastern pizzas, are terrific and under $4. They should be part of every meal at Aladdin's.
The cafe is run-down looking from the outside, but the interior is colorful and cute. The people are very nice, though service can be slow when they're busy. But again, this is one of the best Middle Eastern restaurants in town and among the best values for any restaurant of any type in Portland.
6310 NE 33rd Ave
Portland, OR
503.546.7686
Al Amir
As one of the older Lebanese restaurants in Portland, Al Amir is often overlooked when people make recommendations. They may also be hurt by their relatively high prices. Entrees range from $13 to $17, pricier than most of their competitors. But the restaurant is housed in the historic Bishop's House, a 19th century Gothic stand-alone building with an attractively decorated brick wall interior. Cloth napkins, tablecloths, and attentive service separate Al Amir from its more downscale counterparts.
Al Amir's best items are their baba ghanooj and hummus. Neither is over-powered by secondary flavors. The hummus tastes like garbonzos, accented with tahini, and the baba ghanooj tastes like eggplant, accented with smoke. Both have nice textures, especially the ultra-creamy baba ghanooj.
While Al Amir's tabouli uses a pleasant fruity olive oil, the bulgar has a pasty texture. In this case, it's a benefit there's so little of the grain. The falafel and kafta are similarly decent, but not great. The falafel has a soft crust and light interior. The onion flavor is almost overwhelming and occasionally the ground beans inside are not softened enough, giving the fried patties a grainy texture. But this suggests the falafel are not made from a box, at least. The kafta come nicely charred with a side of tasty rice topped with roasted sliced almonds. The interior of the lamb sausages is very smooth. The subtle spicing is overwhelmed by the lamb flavor.
The two worst parts of a mezza platter at Al Amir are the grape leaves and the pita. The grape leaves are so tangy you can taste little else. The interior is creamy, but tastes like nothing at all. The pita is commerical quality. You can get equal bread in any Middle Eastern market. The baklava was similarly bad, maybe even worse. It had no crispiness. This is one case where I wished they'd ordered theirs from Michigan.
At $17 for the "Maza Al Amir" (their combo platter), the price is high. Their prices for mezza are more competitive when ordering single items. For example, an order of falafel is only $5.50 while an order of tabouli is only $4.50. I suspect it's because they charge $14 for their kafta kabob entree, which they also include in the sampler platter. However, if you're looking for acceptable Lebanese with a nice atmosphere and attentive service, Al Amir is a good choice.
233 SW Stark Street
Portland, OR
503.274.0010
http://www.alamirportland.com
La Villa
I've actually already introduced readers to La Villa in the Brazilian report. Every weekday La Villa offers a Brazilian lunch special and the first Saturday of each month, they have a Brazilian lunch buffet. But most of the time they're a Lebanese restaurant that gets passed by for Nicholas just up the street. However, for mezza, La Villa is better.
Their best item is their baba ghanooj. It's one of the best in town. Like Aladdin's, it has a strong fruitiness and ultra-creamy texture. Howevever, it also has a light smokiness brightened by a hint of lemon. The tabouli has the same fruitiness and is also one of the better versions in town. The lemon doesn't overpower the other flavors, just adding a tangy fruitiness to balance the rich fruitiness of the oil.
The falafel are freshly fried. They're dense and spicy with a thin, but distinct crust. The kafta, made with lamb, are equally flavorful with a strong meatiness and underlying sweetness. The hummus is very smooth and light, though arguably overwhelmed by tahini and lemon.
The one truly disappointing part of their mezza is the pita. The pita tastes like it comes from a bag. Worse, the texture suggests it was a bag that had been sitting around for a while.
719 SE Morrison Street
Portland, OR
503.872.9696
http://www.lavillarestaurant.net/
Nicholas Restaurant
Nicholas Dibe escaped ravaged Beirut and opened one of Portland's early Lebanese restaurants in 1986. Members of Nicholas's extended family went on to open Hoda's, Ya Hala, and Karam, spawning a love for Middle Eastern food in Portland. Karam owns Long Island Pizza and Nicholas also owns Arabian Breeze. Nicholas is probably the most often recommended Lebanese restaurant in town. Until this survey, it was part of the small set of Lebanese restaurants I always recommended as well.
The two worst dishes are Nicholas's falafel and baba ghanooj. The falafel tastes like it comes from a box. The flavors are muddy and dead. The dense patties are dry, but that dryness doesn't even produce a crispy crust. The baba ghanooj is drowned in liquid smoke. A little smokiness can be nice, but not only does their baba ghanooj taste like little else, it has that terrible chemically aftertaste that liquid smoke imparts. The second strongest flavor isn't even eggplant; it's lemon. The eggplant is lost against the other flavors. Both of these are among the worst versions in Portland.
The hummus, tabouli, and tzaziki are all dominated by lemon. The hummus barely tastes like garbonzos. An off-tasting tahini permeates the puree instead. The tabouli is full of stems with a small number of poor quality diced tomatoes. None of the flavors stand up to the lemon. The tzaziki is more balanced. Its strong yogurt works well with the lemon.
The best part of a mezza platter at Nicholas are their sausages, the makanik and kafta. The makanik is the better of the two. It's studded with garlic and fragrant with spices like clove and cinnamon. The kafta is dense and chewy. It also has a strong clove flavor and a tanginess that adds a good balance to the meaty and earthy flavors. Both are made with beef, sometimes oversalted.
Their pita isn't especially good, but it's cooked in-house and better than most. It's browned on one side and not overly soft or Wonder-like. They also have a large, over-sized pita that comes out steaming, and is set on a pedestal.
Nicholas Restaurant is small and busy. They've upgraded their interior with a padded bench around one side. However, they still do not accept credit cards. Prices are very reasonable. All appetizers are under $4.50. Mezza platters are only $8.25. Avoid Nicholas's mezza, though. Even at the cheap prices, most of it is not worth the cost.
318 SE Grand Ave
Portland, OR
503.235.5123
http://www.nicholasrestaurant.com
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