Bhajeen. It's fantastic toasted in their giant stone/brick oven - basically Lebanese pizza. I chose falafel- piping hot flatbread, smeared in rich luscious falafel spread, topped with fresh lettuce, fresh diced tomato and cold, tart, pickled beets. Delish! 4*food
Why only 2 stars? The service.
TLDR: I have been wanting to try this place for almost a year. I walked in alone, and the woman that everybody loves (see other reviews) was talking to a table of people. I waited patiently by the podium that said 'please wait here to be seated'. After a few minutes of watching her casually chitchat, she finally acknowledged me with a head nod, an index finger, and commanded curtly "Wait." Then she kept on having her conversation with the table!!!! I was confused because it didn't look like she was taking an order (they already had food on their table), she wasn't delivering food, and she wasn't removing dishes. So I shrugged it off... and kept waiting. Then after a few more minutes of chit-chatting, she walked over and offered me a choice of tables. Only 3 out of 10-12 other tables were taken at 4:30pm, so I sat at a table near the middle. Soon after, the first table left and she gave them a very friendly goodbye and asked them to come back soon. I watched her sit down at every other table to have a conversation, admiring the young children at 2 different tables, and listening patiently to all the questions they asked--- 2 of the tables were families of 4, dining there for the first time. She asked them where they were from, how they heard about the restaurant, on and on. Meanwhile, I just waited. I watched her walk back-and-forth many many times past me without ever looking at me, or wondering if I was ready to order. When she brought me water, she had three glasses in her hands, dropped mine off without a word, then went to the next table, delivered their water, sat down and started a new conversation with them! Finally, a handsome older gentleman from the back kitchen came out to take my order. He was very friendly, smiled at me, and was kind enough to explain that some people like to put hummus on top of the falafel bhajeen. I declined in favor of the original simple tahini dressing. I also ordered a spinach pie and thanked him. When I was done eating, I kept trying to make eye contact with the woman to ask for a box to go for half my bhajeen, and a check. But she kept sweeping past me over and over, ignoring me. I tried placing my credit card on the table, first on the table, then on a white napkin to make it easier to see, and then further down near the end of the table, but she still didn't see it? Finally after taking all the other orders, delivering food, and having sit down conversations with the two other tables, she pointed to my half eaten bhajeen and asked "box?" as she was already walking almost past me. As much as I enjoyed the bhajeen, I doubted I would be coming back based on the cold treatment I was getting from her, and I didn't want to leave without at least having tried their dolmas. And I was so relieved to finally be noticed that I hurriedly said "yes please, and also a half order of stuffed grape leaves to go." She repeated the order and turned away abruptly. Instead of the woman, the sweet gentleman brought out my box and took my check and card. I noticed he didn't serve any of the other customers. The second star is only because he treated me like a valued guest. After several more minutes, the woman brought out the warm dolmas in a go-box, and set them down on top of a closed plastic bag, and walked away without another word. If it had been a language issue I would have understood, but she was having perfectly normal, laughing conversations with all the other tables in English. I felt like she didn't want to spend one extra second near me, ugh, so uncomfortable. I read through many other reviews and found another single Asian woman who managed to have a lovely solo meal and was served by this same woman in a warm friendly way. So it wasn't my appearance. And FYI, I was appropriately dressed ie, I didn't look like I was homeless or a working girl, lol! The restaurant was not even 1/3 full. At no point were there ever more than 4 tables including me. One was a 2-top that already had their food when I walked in. I just could NOT understand why the woman was so obviously treating me so differently from all the other tables. At no point during the entire meal did she:
1. make any suggestions re: what to order,
2. ask me if I have any questions about the menu,
3. ask if my food was all right,
4. ask me if I needed anything else,
5. acknowledge me leaving.
I watched her do all of these things with every other table.
Bizarro. read more