Belly dancing shows every weekend may intrigue some, but for foodies the unusually large selection of Middle Eastern dishes is attraction enough. There isn’t just kibbeh (minced meat, bulgur, and spices); there are three kinds—fried, baked, and the seldom-found raw version. Vegetarians do especially well here, with numerous exotic meat-free options that venture beyond hummus: mahamra (roasted red peppers with nuts and seasonings), bamia (sautéed okra with tomato sauce, cilantro, and garlic), foul medamas (fava beans with garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and tomato sauce), labneh (luscious homemade yogurt cheese), much more.
Let's set up an economic model here, based on the law of averages. On one side we have Coral Gables, perhaps Miami-Dade's most culinary-minded town, home to more excellent restaurants in every price range than anywhere else. On the other side we have West Kendall, which has plenty of budget finds, but not so many good ones on the fine-dining side.
So when Samir Al-Barq, who ran the inexpensive Mediterranean restaurant Maroosh in West Kendall for more than a decade, decided his place needed to take a step closer to the ''upscale'' column, did he swoop in to help fill the void out west?
No. Wouldn't you know it? Last summer, he moved to Coral Gables. And the result is more good food news for City Beautiful, as if it needed it. In a town where one of the few cuisine gaps was in hummus, tabbouleh and fried kibbeh, Maroosh deftly fills the breach.
Ensconced in a beautiful, two-story Mediterranean building just off Ponce de Leon Boulevard, Maroosh looks as good as it eats. There's a cozy, smoke-free dining room downstairs with original art; upstairs, you may smoke or sit at the bar -- 80 seats in all. Servers attend but do not hover. It's classy and comfortable.
Food will please the devotee of the exotic and familiar, and in generous portion. The menu is so vast that for a moderate to large party, you should zoom in on the appetizer combo ($21.95), a choice of any five appetizers from a lengthy list. We selected hummus, outstanding, creamy, with just the right lemon finish ($4.45 a la carte); green beans simmered in tomato sauce and olive oil with onions and cilantro, fruity and colorful ($4.45); foul medamas, the traditional blend of fava beans and tomatoes with garlic, olive oil and lemon ($4.75); slices of meaty, deliciously spicy Armenian sausage, made with lamb and beef, flavored with cayenne pepper, allspice, nutmeg and cumin, sautéed with olive oil ($4.95) and mjadarrah, or rice and lentils cooked together with cumin, allspice and cinnamon, topped with sautéed onion and cooled with homemade yogurt ($5.45). This sampler could make an entrée for two, really.
But don't do that. Entrées will surprise and delight -- the first pleasant surprise being a free go-along Greek salad, which they'll coat to snowdrift with fresh-shaved feta for a dollar extra.
Our Mediterranean fish filet ($15.95) started with wonderfully fresh grouper, and plenty of it. The Mediterranean treatment comes from a sauce of garlic and lemon, flavored with cilantro, with pine nuts scattered on top. The sauce has all the elements -- tartness, savoriness, fruitiness and a crunchy finish. The fish is pearly white and tender.
The meat and potatoes of Mediterranean cooking is the kebab, succulent grilled meats on a skewer. The indecisive facing a choice of chicken, shrimp, lamb or beef should go for the kebab combo ($18.95), which includes two long skewers threaded with chicken plus kafta (savory ground lamb with parsley and onion, flavored with allspice and black pepper) and either sirloin or chunks of juicy, highly seasoned lamb. Excellent. On the side were rice pilaf and the day's vegetable, sliced steamed carrots.
Lamb is a star here: An entrée of lamb medallions ($16.95) is thinly sliced boneless loin of lamb, grilled to order and topped with tomato, onion and green pepper, with rice and carrots, as well. Meaty and tender.
Homemade baklava ($3.25) for dessert.
