Petite Marrakesh

[diogeron]

My wife and I had dinner there about six months ago and, like others on the thread, we are very fond of Middle Eastern food. We had a lamb couscous dish and I thought it only mediocre (mushy and underspiced for my taste) but my wife thought it was really good. So, there you go. I would certainly be willing to try it again given our mixed experience because it certainly wasn't bad. I like to cook Indian and Turkish dishes and my benchmark is to ask if it is better than anything I could do. In the case of our particular dish on that particular night, the answer was "not really."
There is another Middle Eastern place up near our condo, between 26th and 28th (I think) on the West side of 5th, where people sit outside smoking hookahs all day. I don't recall the name but assuming it's still in business, I'm sure someone can fill in the blanks. We had lunch there and the salads we had were nothing short of spectacular. I haven't tried it for dinner, but I will certainly seek it out again.

Originally Posted by claudiadeplaya

Don´t worry be happy
Everyone is smiling!
Your comment helped improve this restaurant, it is only through feedback like this, that restaurant owners and managers can improve their product to please as many people as they can.
thank you again
Claudia

[claudiadeplaya]

Originally Posted by diogeron

My wife and I had dinner there about six months ago and, like others on the thread, we are very fond of Middle Eastern food. We had a lamb couscous dish and I thought it only mediocre (mushy and underspiced for my taste) but my wife thought it was really good. So, there you go. I would certainly be willing to try it again given our mixed experience because it certainly wasn't bad. I like to cook Indian and Turkish dishes and my benchmark is to ask if it is better than anything I could do. In the case of our particular dish on that particular night, the answer was "not really."
There is another Middle Eastern place up near our condo, between 26th and 28th (I think) on the West side of 5th, where people sit outside smoking hookahs all day. I don't recall the name but assuming it's still in business, I'm sure someone can fill in the blanks. We had lunch there and the salads we had were nothing short of spectacular. I haven't tried it for dinner, but I will certainly seek it out again.

The place you are probably talking about is Maktub café, Carmen the owner is lebanese and she is really proud of her recipes and dishes, I agree with you the salads are really good and I love the sitting arrangements inside. the address is 5th avenue between 28th and 30th street. I really like it too.
gracias
Claudia

[Big Fish]

Or this 'other' place could be Gaia....excellent place, lots of comfy seating, hookahs if you want! Try their "salad bar" which is actually 8 dishes of middle eastern veggie stuff and pita.....simply yummy and its loads to fill up on just that dish alone. It is located on the corner of 28th I believe...west side of 5th.

[diogeron]

Yes, that is the place. Thank for filling in the blanks for me. I have also been to Maktub, the restaurant to which Claudia referred in her e-mail, which is just around the corner from us. We had some decent kababs (if a bit bland/dry) and I'm happy they are there and will go back. Gaia, on the other hand, was just wonderful as I said in the earlier post, although I didn't recall the name until you reminded me of it. Of course, I'm well aware that one visit does not a representative sample make, so I'm more than willing to try all of them again when we're in Playa for the winter, starting in ten days.

My girlfriend in college was a Lebanese-American, so I was introduced to dishes like kibbe before you could find many Middle Eastern restaurants in the Midwest, and I'm a fan of that particular ethnic cuisine. One thing I know is that I'll definitely go to Gaia again and soon and just writing about it makes me wish we didn't have to wait ten days to get on a plane and leave for Playa.

h;1005444]Or this 'other' place could be Gaia....excellent place, lots of comfy seating, hookahs if you want! Try their "salad bar" which is actually 8 dishes of middle eastern veggie stuff and pita.....simply yummy and its loads to fill up on just that dish alone. It is located on the corner of 28th I believe...west side of 5th.[/quote]

[Big Fish]

Try the hot hummus appetizer dish too - I forget the name of it but its quite surprisingly different than the regular hummus....

The sports bar that is attached to this place is same owner and just recently opened too.....when it was nearly open back in september the owner told me the food in the sports bar would be "sports bar food - with his special twist"!! Not sure what that means as havn't tried it!

[diogeron]

I'll be there on Wednesday of next week and will definitely check it out and report back.

Originally Posted by Big Fish

Try the hot hummus appetizer dish too - I forget the name of it but its quite surprisingly different than the regular hummus....

The sports bar that is attached to this place is same owner and just recently opened too.....when it was nearly open back in september the owner told me the food in the sports bar would be "sports bar food - with his special twist"!! Not sure what that means as havn't tried it!

[StewartG]

Originally Posted by diogeron

I'll be there on Wednesday of next week and will definitely check it out and report back.

Please do, I'll be looking for it.

Is Maktup the one narrow restaurant in the row with the others... Ummm... Like Babe's north, I think?

If so, I was impressed by their stuffed grape leaves. OBVIOUSLY home made instead of canned, and made with rice AND meat, traditional style. Good stuff, maynard!