Dinner in the Holyland
There used to be a restaurant at 27th and Q-R called Peace
Restaurant
. Before 9/11, it had a different, Arabic name that I
sadly can't remember. Along with some colleagues, I went there for lunch
some time ago and was underwhelmed. The menu was not friendly to
vegetarians—falafel was your only choice—and an old TV set
blared in the corner.
The place closed, though, and reopened about a month ago as Holy Land
.
One of the reasons Barbara and I enjoy our neighborhood is the variety
of restaurants all within walking distance of our house, and the new
Holyland bears this out.
There are still no vegetarian entrees on the menu, strictly speaking, there are plenty of dishes (appetizers, soups, sandwiches) to choose from, which can be mixed and matched. I've been there twice, now, and neither time did I leave wanting.
Both times I was went there, I had the falafel: I like falafel. My first experience was with the sandwich. It was satisfying, but in the flurry of dips, soups, and breads that were flying around the table, I never really got a handle on what the falafel itself was like. When we went back, I ordered the falafel plate to share with Barbara, specifically to give the falafel the center stage. It's tasty; not as bold as Jerusalem Cuisine's, but crisp and savory. Thumbs up.
The soups, also, are vegetarian. Barbara had the white bean soup the
first time we went. It looks something like a bowl of canned baked
beans, but looks can be deceiving. Barbara says, It's tomato-y and a
little lemony, not hot or sweet. Yummalicious!
(In her
defense, I asked for an adjective, but asked her to avoid good
and
tasty
"—I wanted to reserve those for myself.) When we went
back—by the way, going back is a good sign—we supplemented
our falafel plate with bowls of spinach soup. It has a zing to it, and
richness of the spinach flavor is a surprise.
The proprietor, Mr. Farhan, told us he gets the bread he serves from a variety of sources, sometimes baking them on the premises. Wherever our pita came from (it was off-site this time, I was told), it complemented the meal well, serving both as accompaniment and untensil for transporting tangy fool dip or smokey baba ghanooj.
Along with my food, I enjoyed a glass of hot tea. It's just black tea, as far as I can tell, but it lends an feeling of authenticity to the dining experience that Diet Pepsi lacks. (And it comes with the meal, free!)
Mr. Farhan told us he hopes, by varying the bread supplier and the menu every now and then, to keep his restaurant a fresh and interesting place to eat. We haven't experienced a menu change yet, but he's doing a decent job so far. J.J. Harder hit the nail on the head in his review for the Daily Nebraskan:
The environment won't make you pity refugees and their struggle, but instead might impress you with immigrants' abilities to transfer entrepreneurial skills to another country. Farhan knows what he is doing and runs a service-oriented, welcoming restaurant.
The restaurant's surroundings are utilitarian, but inside is clean and inviting.
It's enough to make us end our period of mourning for Jerusalem Cuisine, and even better because it's just down the street instead of across town. We're looking forward to our next visit.
Comments: 1
Sun Jul 30 16:08:12 2006, by Mahmoud Hashemi: