4.5 stars
The folks behind Mezzalians are proud of sharing their Syrian-Lebanese heritage through their cooking using fresh, seasonal ingredients! Visiting this brightly decorated restaurant was a great way to get a taste of the Middle East--my pick from the menu was the Lebanese Fava Beans, a seasonal dish made of broad beans stewed with tomatoes, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, and golden raisins, and topped with plenty of chopped cilantro. The stew had a deep, sweet flavor from the tomatoes and raisins and went nicely with the thin Arabic bread on the side. The restaurant was also known for its grilled meat dishes, and the mutton kebab was a long patty made of ground meat mixed with parsley and served over Arabic bread along with grilled tomato, grilled onion, and an "arrayes," a triangle of bread smeared with a red pepper paste. The mutton kebab was juicy and nicely spiced, and my favorite part was eating it with the red pepper paste, which had a delicious sweet and slightly spicy flavor! Overall, this was a great restaurant to experience a new cuisine, and I especially appreciated reading the descriptions about typical Syrian/Lebanese ingredients on the placemats at each table! read more