by George T.
Its not like I eat Lebanese food all the time, but with sage Yelpers like Tony C. covering Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, burgers, Soul Food and almost everything else like a blanket, I figure I'll add my two cents where I have a bit of knowledge and experience. Thus, whenever a Lebanese place pops up, I'm there to check it out. I suppose the grass is always greener at the next restaurant to open.Zahle reminds one of Wahibs in Alhambra. Both are Lebanese-owned (as opposed to Lebanese-Armenian owned), both have outdoor patios with hookah (nergila, argile, shisha) pipes. Both have an indoor restaurant with music at night . . . and both are solid representatives of the food of the Phoenicians. Notes:Parking is abhorrent . . . but the staff are always ready to step out there and direct traffic.The Plus-Minus:(+) Kibbe Nyee: (raw ground meat . . . traditionally from the leg of lamb) comes two ways . . . one mixed with cracked wheat is topped with olive oil . . . the other is literally pure meat and topped with a garlic paste similar to Zankou Chicken's. Both are winners.(+) Taboule: very Lebanese and made in the Lebanese manner (i.e. greener and more lemony) as opposed to Syrian or from Lebanese-Armenians (who make it with more cracked wheat and tomatoes)(+) Chicken Kebab: juicy, flavorful and nice char marks(-) Beef Kebab: nowhere near as good as Hollywood Carousel . . . someone should break in there and steal their secret marinade or find out their meat distributor, because no one comes close(++) Shanklish: WOW, someone actually has this on their menu? Shanklish is best described as a pungent golf ball made of dried, aged sheep's milk cheese formed into a very hard ball. It is made by mixing the cheese with zaatar, thyme, Aleppo pepper and whatever else is chosen to give it some kick. Its the Middle East equivalent of stinky tofu or 1,000 year-old eggs . . . and its good! It is cut up or crumbled, topped with chopped tomatoes, onions and doused liberally with olive oil. Mint can also also be added. **hint**Shanklish is best with some arak or vodka (this place has beer and wine only, but I'd risk bringing a flask of arak and ask for a cup of tea, so as not to draw attention to the milky substance. Dump the tea into a glass of ice (now you have iced tea). Pour arak first, then room temperature water, then ice. The order is important because the arak can curdle if made too cold, too fast. If you don't want to sneak in the arak, just order a Lebanese beer (al-Maza) it goes well with the shanklish too. (+) hommus: solid, not spectacular(+) pickled vegetables . . . I recall the pickled cabbage having a nice sour tang . . . the pickled turnips were as good as any other Lebanese place(+) stuffed grape leaves: the vegetarian kind (rice, onions, tomatoes and spices) cooked with olive oil and then eaten cool or chilled, but not cold . . . pretty good and just a touch lemony, but its so difficult to make these just right so that the rice melts just as you chew each time . . . consistency is the key and I can only comment on this time(-) rice: I hesitate to call this pilaf, because it really fell well below that description . . . served on a plate with no serving spoon, just a lonely and inefficient tea spoon. *Note, buy some serving spoons for the rice. (+) ashta dessert: clotted cream topped with sliced bananas, sweetened floral water (rose water or orange blossom water) as I recall rose water was used at Zahle, and topped with crushed pistachioWe ate a lot that night and I don't recall all of it. The hookah attendants were very attentive and the patio (in front, not back) is a nice spot to lounge all night. (+) A big bowl of fresh fruit and some Middle Eastern coffee is a nice way to top off the meal.If I were in the North Hollywood area, I'd stop by again.
by Sarah D.
Finding a place to eat with my staunch vegetarian friends is always a challenge. Yelp to the rescue! After reading a good review, I decided to try Zahle with my friend Nikki. The rumors were true. The parking WAS challenging. The servers DID look at us like we didn't belong there. There WERE two large dinner parties going on. The hookah smoking WAS plentiful. There WEREN'T any cocktails. Even so, once we settled in, we felt quite comfortable. (We had to sit outside on the patio, though, because the Middle Eastern singer/keyboardist was belting it out so loudly in the dining room that sitting inside would have been unbearable.) I had the lamb kebab dinner and Nikki had a salad. The food was decent, but not the best I've ever had. My lamb was savory, but slightly overcooked, and the accompany rice and hummus were average. Our favorite item was the spinach and onion samosa appetizer: soft, flaky, hot, oniony goodness.Zahle was just fine, but it probably wouldn't be my first choice unless I lived around the corner.
by christine l.
*gasp*how on yelps green earth is there no review to this place!? when my husband moved from van nuys to woodland hills i cried me a river cause i LOVE LOVE LOVE it here.my dads measure of great food is if the people of that origin are eating there. and let me tell you... they eat there and they eat GOOOOD! they just had major remodeling inside and is good for large parties, although you will find most people choose to sit outside while they hookah it up. they even have misters outside to keep it cooled down. my personal faves are the babaganoosh, hummus, tabbouleh (which tastes even better the next day... that is if you can wait that long)! however what i love to crave is their falafel sandwiches. its not fried to a dry mess, its super flavorful and moist and wrapped in some kind of flat bread thats a lot thinner than pita and gives you more of the flavor of the actual sandwich instead! the fried fish is also really good! they also have middle eastern beer there for your liking, ive had it a few times but it was more to fit in than the taste... blah.ok so what may throw you off, it can get a little intimidating sitting outside with everyone looking at you like you dont really belong there while they all understand whats on tv and you dont. the parking is quite tricky and theres only one way in and one way out and the later it gets the more crowded it gets, so you might have to look for street parking. the entrance is on the side of the building where the parking lot is, not in the front. be prepared to wait... in sometimes a long time. it is not uncommon to have large groups of business men or family celebrations and they all know how good the food is so they usually hookah it up in the meanwhile. it even took awhile for the servers to stop looking at us crazy cause we were there so often that they were forced to like us! =P with all this said i still would rate it with more stars if i could. you feel like you are eating in their mamas kitchen. i miss their falafels on a daily basis. its that good. i measure all middle eastern cuisine to this place. what are you waiting for? go already and eat some up for me!!!
by Tiffany r.
One of the worst mediterenian restaurant. Very loud music cold appetizers may be eatable hot food not tasty very very pricy parking is a nightmare. service far from being profesional. they don't know what's in the kitchen.I love mediterenian food I was there long time ago I gave them one more shot but no more.
