I thought it was high time to add an entry to my long-neglected Food & Drink category. Last night, after my Mother magnanimously offered her baby-sitting services at the proverbial last minute, Peggy and I decided to check out a new Lebanese restaurant up Fifth Avenue a way. We rang up Peg's sister, Suzie, and met her at Ilili.
As far as Manhattan is concerned, good Middle Eastern food -- let alone specifically Lebanese food -- is in relatively short supply. We're quite fond of Al Bustan up on 3rd Avenue, but beyond that, the options are few and far between. So when we'd heard of this new spot, we were summarily intrigued (if I haven't mentioned it already, my wife is half-Lebanese and knows good Lebanese chow when she tastes it). Located between 27th and 28th streets (right across from The Museum of Sex, for those of you in need of a landmark), the spot Ilili now occupies was formerly a failed spa (which evidently never opened). Back in the fifties, the space was purportedly an old automat called Horn & Hardart. Currently, as restaurants go, it has precious little competition in either direction on this particular strip of Fifth.
Once inside, we were greeted with a cathedral like space covered entirely in warm, auburn Cedar (the national emblem of Lebanon). We were shown to a lovely table in the rear of the place -- suitably busy for a Monday evening (especially having only been open for under two weeks). I'm not a food critic, but I was hugely impressed with the fare. All I can tell you is that the lamb kebabs and the falafel completely blew a new part in my hair. Absolutely excellent. Peg and Suze sampled a regional wine, whereas I was thrilled to find that they served my favorite Lebanese beer, Almaza. I celebrated this discovery by drinking many. Augmented with a second order of the amazing falafel, the evening was a complete delight. Ilili gets a Flaming Pablum thumbs way up.
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