Lebanese Taverna

By Jonah Turner

The Lebanese Taverna market has always been a special place for me and my family. We’ve gotten takeout from them too many times to count. It is located on Langston Blvd. The marketplace offers fresh, hot, and cold food selections, and other goods. It contains many different items including multiple types of pita bread, drinks, jams, sweets, teas and more...

At the counter, they have a large assortment of food to order including grape leaves, salmon, fatayer cheese, kafta kabob, chicken kabob, lamb kabob, falafel, kibbeh, rice, and hummus, etc.

In addition, you can order beef and chicken shawarma cooked on a vertical spit,  a genius way to slow cook meat.

This can be eaten as a sandwich or purchased per the pound. There are tables where you can sit, but it is primarily a great place for take out.

We usually order beef and chicken shawarma, rice pilaf, grape leaves, and, of course, it wouldn’t be complete without the tahini and garlic sauces.

The meats are perfectly cooked and flavored. A little salty, as well as tangy from the marinade. Personally, I think that beef is better than chicken. The rice pilaf has thin pasta in it, but you can also get rice with lentils . It is always very moist and flavorful. We put tahini and garlic sauce on the meat and rice . The tahini sauce is a little sour if that’s your thing. The garlic is salty and creamy. The overall meal is a little salty but still very good.

Alternatively, you can order pita sandwiches. This creates a little taste of everything. You have your choice of chicken or beef shawarma. The sandwich also contains sliced tomatoes, lettuce and sauce wrapped in fresh pita bread.

Beef shawarma sandwiches usually contain tahini whereas the chick shawarma sandwiches usually have garlic sauce. I usually choose beef. The meat, as said before, is juicy and tender. The tomato and lettuce add a fresh clean taste to the wrap. In addition, the tahini adds a tangy taste. It can get really messy so get lots of napkins. However, some things are worth the mess!!. Finally, the sandwiches are wrapped together in fresh, soft, fluffy pita bread. The sandwich is very well balanced, from the meat and sauce to the tomatoes and lettuce. Again, napkins are heavily advised. Overall, I give the market a 7.5/10.