Storefront City Chicago

Maza Lebanese Cuisine

WHAT: Maza Lebanese Cuisine
WHERE: 2415 N. Ashland Avenue

OUR RATING: Chance it!

Maza (courtesy of restaurant.com)

Maza Lebanese Cuisine provides a pleasant diversion from the general rush of life in the city and allows one to slow down in the lazy Levantine coffee houses of the Near East, complete with the dulcet tones of the Egyptian Hakim blaring from a stereo with no discernible iPod deck. With an extensive menu featuring staple delights from Falafel to baklava as well as some strange additions (why would you ever order filet mignon at a Lebanese restaurant?), Maza is sure to please some, but portion sizes and preparations leave a lot to be desired.

Imam Bayaldi

We started our meal with a cold appetizer of Imam Bayaldi (braised eggplant with shallots and chickpeas in tomato and pomegranate sauce), which was delightfully delicate, but unfortunately small, with little to no pomegranate sauce, chickpeas or shallots. In fact, it was pretty much just eggplant in tomato sauce. They also brought a little plate of pickled vegetables, which were quite lovely.

Lentil Soup

We followed this with the best dish of the night: a tomato-based lentil soup. The soup was on the ‘almost too salty/just right’ border, but really was music in our mouths. We could definitely have eaten a few bowls of it, called it a night, and been perfectly happy.

Instead, for the main course, Adam tried the baked kibbeh (baked mixture of wheat and chopped sirloin of beef layers stuffed with minced sirloin of lamb, shallots, spices and pine nuts, with a side of yogurt). It was a good size for a main course, compared with other dishes at this restaurant and left one full afterwards. However, the meat was sorely disappointing and not consistently cooked throughout, leaving parts of it unbearably tough. While it may have been an off night, as the properly cooked areas were delicious, the overcooked portions truly degraded the nature of the food.

Baked Kibbeh (top) and Seafood Couscous (bottom)

Meanwhile, Alicia tried the seafood couscous (a combination of marinated jumbo shrimp, scallops and salmon fillet, grilled and set over couscous, topped with the chef’s sauce, complimented with braised vegetable). The plating portion in its entirety was quite generous. Unfortunately, while many of the components of the dish were well cooked (particularly the braised potatoes and carrots), this dish was disappointing because it consisted of a mere single shrimp and single scallop, and the couscous was a bit dry. The chef lovingly placed about 4 ounces or-so of melt-in-your mouth salmon, and the single shrimp and scallop were delicate and delicious, but that didn’t forgive the limited amount of shellfish on the plate. The menu promised scallops, plural. Overall, the dish was acceptable, but Alicia suggests you skip it if you’re in it for the shellfish.

Baklava and Lebanese Coffee

We finished the night with a traditional baklava – two delicious and not too sweet pieces. Although absolutely tiny for $3 (especially at a Middle Eastern restaurant), they had a unique taste, and if you have more money try a double order to really get your tongue singing. We also had two dark and sumptuous Lebanese (Turkish) coffees, which we would recommend you dump at least one Splenda packet into in order to enjoy in the traditional style.

What’s so unique about this restaurant is that Joe (the owner) is also your waiter. He was assisted by another waiter/busboy who was always waiting nearby to satisfy your every need in a non-intrusive, but immediate, manner. Maybe it was because we had a Groupon, or maybe because we didn’t order any alcohol, but we felt that Joe was much more amenable to the other customers in the restaurant than he was to us. While he was polite, he was also very short, and awkwardly looked into the distance when he spoke to us, as if he had better things to do. Yet at other tables he joked, talked to customers about what dishes he would recommend, etc. Overall, while we didn’t feel unwelcome, we also didn’t really feel welcome either. Which is unfortunate. You’d think the owner would want to give his customers the best of experiences to make them come back again and to spread the word…but I don’t think Joe really cared what we thought.

If you want a leisurely meal (be prepared to wait awhile for your food) at a reasonable price with some pretty-good/alright food in an intimate space, you can chance it!

P.S.: To learn more about real Lebanese cuisine (and how to cook it), this book is essential and really fantastic! In fact, you should cook some dishes up and send us the pics! Lebanese Cuisine: More Than 250 Authentic Recipes From The Most Elegant Middle Eastern Cuisine