Sakib Mediterranean Restaurant

SYRIA 🇸🇾

It is hard to believe that it has been three years since a first experience with Eat Offbeat at the Queens International Night Market. That first taste offered small bites from Iraqi and Nepalese chefs, but the company has continued to grow exponentially, primarily as a catering source offering cuisines from the countries of its chefs, all refugees to the United States.

As the years go by and chefs make a name for themselves, even bigger things are starting to happen. Recently the company announced that Chef Diaa would be following another dream, opening up his own restaurant in Williamsburg, a neighborhood that could always use some better food options. This new place called Sakib opened on the 12th of July and is now in full operation.

Sakib (or Shakib) is a common name with origins in Sanskrit meaning either "reward" or "patient." It was not pressed during conversation whether this was the chef's own name or just the feeling he had when opening up this new restaurant, but either way the name seems fitting.

Again with the ketchup!

Dining alone only afforded the opportunity to try the classic Arabic shawarma ($13.50, above and below), but this ended up being almost a buffet as it comes served not only with the standard fries but also a decent amount of hummus and babaganoush. As you have seen, this type of shawarma plate has become something of a trend in recent years.

At this seemingly regular corner restaurant, order and pay at the start, find a seat, enjoy the sound of falling water from their homemade water features (one of which is not yet in operation and asks patrons to use their imagination), and your order should be ready soon.

The shawarma is good and benefits from its dips. And who knew how good babaganoush was as a complement to fries!

With quite a bit of hipster and upscale eating environments in this area, the simplicity and casualness of Sakib is a welcome relief when other business might bring you into the neighborhood.

A small conversation was desired before leaving to congratulate the chef on his "graduation" from Eat Offbeat and his new endeavours, but this turned into a chance for him to show his appreciation. A small package of cookies and slice of baklava were given free and greatly enjoyed as Chef Diaa was noticeably happy to have a customer who knew a bit of the history of his journey. It was a wonderful end to an all-around good experience.

🇸🇾🇸🇾🇸🇾

WILLIAMSBURG Brooklyn
349 Bedford Avenue

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Al-Sham Restaurant

SYRIA 🇸🇾

If you know nothing else about restaurant life in New York City, you know that it can be very fleeting. Interesting (and not interesting) places open up here and there, a neighborhood reacts and checks it out, maybe only for a short time, and by the time you think of going back, another place has opened up. This has happened on this exact corner of Bay Ridge twice in the last few years already, but after two recent visits to Al-Sham this trend is hopefully coming to an end.

Like many shawarma and gyro joints on 5th Avenue, Al-Sham has a spit right in the window. But the colossal rotating mass of chicken speaks to you almost in a different language. The meat just seems better than anything you've seen up and down the street. Or is that just the imposing size? Any place that plans on serving enough shawarma to get rid of this gigantic beauty must mean business.

On the first two visits, the neighborhood was definitely interested in Al-Sham. Men, women, old, young were all coming to place takeout orders as a few groups of young men stayed in to eat. At any place, muhammara is always at the front of an order queue, but unfortunately they had already discontinued the Aleppo red pepper and walnut dip and do not offer it any longer.

In its place was a refreshing bowl of smooth and creamy hummus ($6, above), the only dish that gets served on a real plate. The chickpeas, sesame, lemon, and olive oil are all working seamlessly together in their version, which comes with a side of warmed up pita bread for dipping.

The vegetable salad ($6, above) probably could have used some salt, but was useful in between bites of otherwise rich and fatty foods.

It was initially of note that every table had at least one bottle of ketchup on it, but after a while on that first visit it was noticed that the top orders here all came with the addition of fries. This is not much different than ordering a shawarma sandwich in many parts of the Middle East, the match is made in heaven.

Like first sampled at a nearby Jordanian restaurant Ruzana, Arabic-style shawarma ($7, above and below) seems to be taking over Bay Ridge. These sandwiches are served with the thin taboon or laffa flatbread popular in the Levant, crisped on the grill, and cut into sections. The fries ($2 extra on sandwich orders) are dusted with a subtle spice mix that makes them just a bit more enjoyable than most, probably not even needed that ketchup.

While the sandwich is lined with one pickle and plenty of garlic sauce, more of both are served alongside an order, ready to be eaten on their own or stuffed into the bread.

The sandwich actually outshines the kababs, which can be sampled by a mix grill ($15, below), one chicken kabab with two kufta kababs. While the chicken is moist and full of good seasoning, the kufta is a fair bit on the boring side. Fortunately the garlic sauce cures all ailments and can be mixed with bites of the ground beef and lamb and the fragrant rice.

The tastiest bit of the platter surprisingly may have been the toasted pitas that are brushed with some kind of spiced oil.

At least temporarily, Al-Sham is cash only, which led to an amazing gesture of hospitality. Noting that the bank would have to be traveled to before paying, the lady taking the order suggested it was not a problem and payment could be handled tomorrow if that was more convenient.

The decision was made to settle the debt immediately, but the gesture will not be forgotten.

🇸🇾🇸🇾🇸🇾

BAY RIDGE Brooklyn
7701 5th Avenue

Map of Eat the World NYC:

Mar Mar Restaurant

SYRIA 🇸🇾

Middle Eastern foods on Staten Island are not nearly as plentiful as they are just across the Verrazano Bridge in Bay Ridge, but this creates a problem for the island's inhabitants who want foods from back home but are not so hot on the $17 toll. A relatively new restaurant on Forest Avenue in West Brighton is trying its best to fill this void, with a range of fresh meze plates and grilled meats.

The Syrian owners have created an elegant atmosphere that is dressed up quite well, but the service is unfussy and relaxed. A good way to ease into the place is with the Mar Mar combo ($17, below), a selection of four homemade cold meze dishes. Along with staples like hummus, baba ganough, and lebneh, the 4th item is muhamara, a must in any Syrian establishment.

At the bottom right, muhamara uses the famous red peppers from Aleppo mixed with crushed walnuts. The nuts make it slightly sweet, the rendition here is very good.

Popular in Syria, Lebanon, and surrounding areas, arayes are stuffed pita appetizers or snacks that are easy to eat with your hands. They have three options here, including the arayes sujok ($8) seen below.

In this version, the pita is stuffed with spicy lamb sausage and cheese, and pairs very well with the yogurt-based lebneh.

As this meal was only for two, the Mar Mar mixed grill ($22, below) offered the best chance to sample a few different kebabs. It comes standard with shish tawook (chicken) and kufta (ground beef), and then offers the choice between a filet mignon or lamb kebab.

After your meal, a small Arabic coffee ($2, below) is a strong way to settle all those meats.

🇸🇾🇸🇾🇸🇾

WEST BRIGHTON Staten Island

370 Forest Avenue

Aleppo Restaurant

SYRIA

Main Street in Paterson, New Jersey, south of the interstate has already been documented as a Middle Eastern paradise on this website and many others. When I spend the day in New Jersey, I often gravitate here and stand in wonder of all the restaurants I need to try. Aleppo has always been near the top of this list, and finally a proper lunch was eaten on a recent snowy day.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: In addition to SYRIA, please make meal decisions that help put money into the pockets of our city's most vulnerable people from the recent #MuslimBan. These countries include IRAQ, IRAN, YEMEN, and SOMALIA. For now, the city does not have Sudanese or Libyan restaurants.]

Inside, the vibe is relaxing and Middle Eastern hospitality is always on another level. Pistachio walls with dark wood wainscoting is the main decor, while one plant creates vines for an entire wall. News on the television shares time with Arabic music videos. The small child of one of the women working here runs around happily, smiling at customers.

While the list of appetizers (meze) is quite large, the rest of the menu is not gigantic, so they have their specialties. We selected a few of the meze, starting with musabaha ($6, below), a type of hummus that also incorporates whole chickpeas. Here they also sprinkle on some dried Aleppo peppers, which add a noticeable kick. Like every hummus in Paterson, this is of excellent quality and very recommended.

After recently falling in love with the muhammara ($5, below), at Al-Basha down the street, an order of this dish that calls Aleppo its home was essential. Fresh Aleppo peppers are ground up and combined with walnuts and olive oil. If your meze samplers are getting too similar from meal to meal, try spicing it up with a plate of this next time.

A little too sour for our palates, an order of the labaneh extra ($7, below) also made its way to the table. The "extra" in this case is walnuts and garlic added to the yogurt. To combat the sourness, mixing with the muhammara and rice seemed to do the trick.

Not wanting to select just one meat, an order of the Aleppo mixed grill ($15, below) with rice was necessary. Of the four kebabs, the favorite was the chicken, a very juicy and well seasoned piece. The two kufta kebabs were also nice, and I always love eating these with some of the meze. The beef shish kebab dried out a bit too much and the seasoning did not make it past the skin.

For only $1, don't miss the enjoyable tea they make here. $1 also gets a cup of very strong Arabic coffee.

Watch out for early closing times if the restaurant does not have many customers. On a previous attempt, the shutters were down about an hour before their listed closing time of 9:30pm. On the weekday lunch visit, the restaurant was mainly empty, but they do have room to take on large groups. One table is set for 12 people.

PATERSON New Jersey

939 Main Street

Eat Offbeat

IRAQ 🇮🇶

In its first couple years of existence, the Queens International Night Market had less sway on these pages than it should have. Usually the festivals visited are country-specific and vendors are reached in their natural environment. New York City has a way of making its similar gatherings into massive, over-populated events. But this market has consistently made the right decisions and continues to be an essential experience for quite a few cuisines that are underrepresented in the city or have none at all.

When relative newcomer Eat Offbeat announced that they would be a vendor, plans needed to be made fast. This company's plan is about hiring chefs that are refugees in the United States from various countries and giving them the opportunity to cook the foods they love for others here that might not have tried them. Their chefs currently hail from Syria, Eritrea, Nepal, and Iraq.

The only problem (for individuals, not office folk) is that until Saturday, the food was only available as a catering menu that required large orders. Since New York City no longer has an Iraqi restaurant (although check this one out in Paterson, NJ), it was decided a market night was in order to try out the food and support what seems to be a great organization.

Like most orders at the market, one tray of three small potato kibbeh costs $5. They are served plain and leave the meat and internal spices to do the talking. The thin layer of potato mash wraps the beef and is lightly deep fried.

At least three of the chefs were there helping, but only two dishes were available. In addition to the Iraqi croquettes, a Nepalese dish called Manchurian ($5, below) was also being served. Colorful peppers and onion top a deep red cauliflower that is also fried in a mild sauce, and it is served over an unseen bed of basmati rice.

It was their first night at the market, and first time in public as far as could be told. The sweltering evening with "real feel" temperatures hovering around a hellish 45 degrees made their job all the more tough. It was obvious that everyone involved in the operation was kind though as the company's co-founder was introducing them all to each patron.

Best of luck to Eat Offbeat, check out their website and cater your next event with something new.

As portions are small at the market, there were a couple extra dishes ordered from other stands, which are included below.

Deep fried fish skin, HK Street Food

Ceviche, Inti Sumaq Peruvian Cuisine

🇮🇶🇮🇶🇮🇶
FLUSHING Queens

Queens Int'l Night Market

I COULD USE YOUR HELP

Eat the World NYC is and always has been free. No advertisements block the content or pop over what you read. If this website has helped you explore your city and its wonderful cultures a little better and you have the means to contribute, please consider doing so. Eat the World NYC is a labor of love, but also takes a lot of money and time everyday to keep running.

You can Venmo me @JAREDCOHEE or click here to send PayPal donation, no account is necessary. Thank you!

Luna Bakery

SYRIA 🇸🇾

[UPDATE: Luna has unfortunately stopped selling their beautiful baklava to walk-in customers. You can find their creations at nearby Sultan, or they will take catering orders]

The bright orange awning outside is a bit off-putting to the casual food explorer, but thankfully I was amongst some people in the know about the wonders inside this Syrian bakery. From the moment we walked in, we were treated like family by everyone inside. The guy running the show kept handing us pieces to nibble on as he put together the assortment below, a mixture of filo-rolled pastries that came to $16.50 after weighing.

While munching, we were also entertained by his description of the process they go through and what normal shortcuts they avoid at this shop. If you have ever eaten sweets like this, you know one or two is likely your limit because of all the honey and syrup that collects at the bottom of the treat, but these are carefully drained and we got to see a couple sheets that were going through different stages of this process. He was proud of his work, and also told us this benefits in price for the customer as well, since you did not have all that extra weight at the bottom.

While we all looked on in awe, he kept offering more bites, my favorite of which was an excellent date cookie (pictured below). After a while we started feeling embarrassed by all the free stuff, but he wrote it off to tradition, explaining even people coming in and not purchasing anything are treated this way, explaining the inner-workings of karma.

For my money, this shop is the best pastries of this type that you can find in the area.

PATERSON New Jersey

1069 Main Street

Alsalam Meat Market & Grocery

SYRIA 🇸🇾

I like the old sign too much to delete it.

There are two counters, both very busy, at Alsalam. The one in the far back is a halal meat market, but the one in the front has a nice selection of hot sandwiches and plates for takeaway, and a few stools for eating along the wall. The guys who run the place usually have plenty to do, but are friendly to everyone, as most people walk in with a polite "As-Salamu Alaykum."

The place also has some random groceries and a nice olive bar for customers. When the place is busy, you have to be aggressive and keep your place at the counter, using elbows if necessary. Well, maybe not that aggressive, but do speak up or others will order before you.

Your sandwiches appear the same on the outside.

The place to start here is with the amazing schwarma sandwich ($4, below), with chicken cut from the rotating wheel that is front and center of the kitchen. The crispy seared parts of the juicy chicken and the absolutely delightful garlic sauce make for an incredible experience. I was instantly asking questions about the sauce's availability and roots, and indeed the house-made stuff can be bought for $2.50 for a half-pound.

Come early in the afternoon for this, as they tend to run out in later hours, but don't fret if this happens. The kebab sandwiches are very good as well. The beef shish kebab ($4, below) uses the garlic sauce as well and is tightly wrapped in a pita and grilled to make it slightly crispy. The pickle is the strongest taste in the wrap, and the beef tends toward the tough side.

Another nice addition, and a really good deal, are the pies ($1.75, lamb below). The tastes are more subtle, and alone would be boring, but it does create a counterpoint to the sandwiches.

There is a steam table as well, but I did not see many people going for that. It does not look the most appealing anyways, so stick to the things that are cooked to order.

When you eat your meal at the counter, you really feel like you are traveling in the Levant; women in headscarves buying groceries and local men eating lunch while chatting are almost exclusively the clientele. It's fun to watch it all go by.

🇸🇾🇸🇾🇸🇾
BAY RIDGE Brooklyn
7206 5th Avenue

Damascus Bread & Pastry Shop

SYRIA 🇸🇾

With a few minutes to wait before a meeting, and the winds gusting to 80km/hr, I ducked into this wonderful smelling bakery first just to kill time, but eventually could not resist to try some of their savory pastries.

Despite having such a massive amount of everything, all items looked freshly made and were all equally tempting. I ended up trying only a triangular spinach pie ($2) and a samboosak ($1, below). My version came filled with cheese and was a bit on the greasy side, but was also available with ground lamb. I was also impressed by the stock in the refrigerators, as almost all of their selections came available to take away and make at your leisure.

COBBLE HILL Brooklyn

195 Atlantic Avenue