Middle East Bakery & Grocery was started in 1981 by Hisham Khalifeh in an effort to bring to the area healthy and simple foods from his homeland. In what started as a small shop offering freshly baked…
Longtime fan of the grocery who had somehow never tried the restaurant until yesterday. This is our second order in as many days. The first time we split a meat combo plate and order of baba ghanoush between 2 people and had leftovers.
This morning, when I'd run out of pita, scraped up the last of the perfect, smoky eggplant with a spoon, and was plumbing the grooves of the container with my finger, I knew I was down bad. We ordered more stuff this time with trying the menu & leftovers in mind. For frame of reference, Kabobi is our go-to joint and will stay in regular rotation, we're just adding Middle East Grill. Here are the standouts in in descending order of whether I would lick the container:
GHANOUSH. The best I have had in the city, hands down.
Beef Kebab - juicy and perfectly done.
Chicken Shawarma - melts in your mouth. I liked the beef on the Mixed Shawarma plate and generally go for beef if choosing between them, but the chicken is so good it wins.
Chicken kabob- spicy, nice char on the outside, juicy on the inside (trying to avoid "moist"
Hummus: Lemon-forward, how I like it
Rice: yellow, buttery, reminds me of Semiramis.
Dolma = A+ no notes
For kefte, nobody's beating Kabobi, IDOF, or original Naf Naf probably, but theirs is good.
A good Ramadan to all who observe and thanks for feeding this infidel all week long!
S
Sarah V
Nuevo experto • 5 contribuciones
Loved
• 8/1/23
• Orden de DoorDash
Everything is the best here: I'm obsessed with the chicken kebab and amazingly smoky baba ganoush; my husband LOVES the combination meat platter (says the chicken shawarma in particular is the tenderest and most flavorful he's ever had). Fast delivery, everything is always fantastic.
S
Sam B
Experto local • 249 contribuciones
Didn't like
• 20/2/26
• Orden de DoorDash
The food wasn't very good. I don't know what was up with the chicken shawarma wrap. It didn't taste like shawarma and there was no garlic as far as I can tell. The meat quantity in the Combination Meat Plate wasn't very good.
I'm Lebanese so maybe my standards are higher. Chicago doesn't hit for Lebanese food.
L
LaQuan M
10 contribuciones
Loved
• 14/2/23
• Orden de DoorDash
This restaurant is fire! cheap and high quality is hard to come by and they do it well. I usually always grab lunch from here but dinner is an option too.
M
Matthew V
13 contribuciones
Loved
• 3/6/24
• Orden de DoorDash
Without question, the most incredible hummus I've ever had. There's not even a close second.
