the number one lamb

Just a quick post because I'm up to my neck in mutant mouse brains. I have to briefly sing the praises of Maalouf's. This family are (is?) the Maaloufs that you can trust. These Maaloufs will not try to trick you into building them an arena. These Maaloufs don't hang out with Tara Reid. Maalouf's is a Lebanese restaurant on Fulton (just take the Arden exit, turn right on Fulton, and it's a few blocks up in a strip mall on your right). It is run by a very nice family with very nice gold jewelry. The owner was once lamenting the lack of business and I suggested that he put a coupon in the News and Review and he replied that that would attract the wrong kind of clientele, people who just want a bargain and then he could no longer afford to serve "the number one chicken, the number one lamb". And let me tell you, this is the goddamn number one lamb. I recommend the mixed appetizer platter to start for two or three (actually for two it could probably be your whole dinner but don't be a cheapskate). It comes with pita, labneh (yummy thick yogurt), kibbeh (chopped sirloin with spices and fried in a ball), falafel, tabouleh, hummus, and baba ganoush. I also recommend the lamb shish kabob. This isn't actually lamb on skewers, it is chunks of lamb on saffron rice mixed with green pepper, onion, grilled tomato, and seasoned with some bbq type sauce (did the lebanese invent bbq sauce, I wonder?). So good! Then for dessert, turkish coffee will kick your ass and you must order THE BEST DESSERT IN THE WORLD, which I can never remember the name of, but it's the one that is french bread soaked in honey and rosewater and topped with this custardy (but not eggy) kind of stuff and chopped pistachios. It's very subtly flavored and not too sweet.