Cafe Lebanon

I was so excited to eat here, especially after reading reviews and drooling over the online menu. The last time I'd eaten in-restaurant was probably 10 years ago and we've gotten takeout from there within the past 5 years. I remember being totally amazed by it. But this last time was a total disappointment.

First of all, there were fruit flies everywhere - so many of them. I had at least 2 dive to their deaths in my food which may not bother some people because of how tiny they are, but it grossed me out. No amount of vigilance or waving away could prevent them ending their short little fly lives in our hummus and tabouli.

And then the other "ambiance" issue was that as much as I love love love Anthony Bourdain, I really don't need to see him on a giant tv screen alongside some other man who is getting his chest hair waxed off, and then watching him eat rat stew (or "rats-a-roni" as he called it). There were a lot of other unappetizing moments during the show that were hard to miss with how huge the screens were behind my husband's head.

They had a salmon kebab special, which appealed to both my husband and my son. The waiter asked how the salmon should be cooked, and I have to admit we'd never been asked that before. My husband went with "well done" because although he enjoys sushi, he wasn't really sure how to ask for his salmon to be cooked. While the waiter was at our table taking the salmon kebab orders, someone in our party mentioned that for my son, they could do a skewer of veggies and a skewer of salmon instead of just 2 skewers of salmon. I said that wouldn't work for us because my son would prefer to have just salmon. I didn't even realize our waiter was listening, but apparently he was partially listening as he did end up bringing a veggie skewer and a salmon skewer for my son, while my husband received 2 salmon skewers. As for being well-done - I took a piece of salmon from my husband's skewer and it was raw in the center, so I'm not sure exactly what well-done was supposed to entail.

The leaf of lettuce on my plate that acted as garnish beneath my spinach pie - it was floppy and rubbery, as if the whole plate had been warmed in the oven or microwave, lettuce leaf included.

I also had some falafel, which was most certainly burned/overfried.The outside was very dark/burnt and overly hard/crunchy, and the inside was dry. The taste was alright, but it was a bummer to have it not be what I remembered.

Finally, I ordred the Sidon - the vegetarian combo plate. The taste of the babaganouj, hummus and tabouli was nice (though I only ate a few bites before fruit flies buried themselves in 2 of the 3) but the stuffed grape leaves were just sad. I don't know how to describe it exactly, but the ends were dried out and the rice texture was hard - I got a clear impression that these were pretty old and far from fresh.

It takes a lot to get me to the point where I feel like I need to write a review like this (especially one so long!), but  while one or two of these things may have been easy to take in stride, all of them together mean that I'm not really interested in going back.

The name is now Nadim's Meditteranean Grill.
The food is great, the service good.  If you have a party of 4 or more, you can try a little bit of everything by doing the Chef's selected courses.  It will take out the guesswork for those who aren't familiar with Lebanese cuisine.  There are some things that I highly recommend; the lentil soup, the grape leaves (as good as my grandmother's), and the kafta.  The chicken wings (garlic and lemon) are fantastic.  The lamb and chicken kabobs are also wonderful.  They really know how to cook lamb a perfect medium.  There is a selection of Lebanese wine beer.

Great food, friendly staff. If you're looking for something different in central Mass, this is it.