Middle Eastern – Rays Picks NYC

Ilili
236 5th Ave
New York,NY 10001
(212)683-2929
Official Site

Lebanese cuisine is rarely mentioned in the same sentence as high-end dining in New York City. It’s mostly associated with small falafel shops and food carts. Up to this day there are still only a handful of venues, such as Al Bustan and Almayass. So in 2007, when Lebanese born chef, Phillipe Massoud opened the restaurant Ilili steps away from Madison Square Park, in the Flatirion District, it was an ambitious undertaking that was eventually followed by success and consequently was embraced by the dining public.

Visible along Fifth Avenue passerby’s can’t help but notice the bustling dining room of Ilili, occupying a huge space that can seat at least 200 diners. Guests are greeted by a spacious lounge with wood panel walls, suede benches, and long bar in back with a thick stone top. The main dining room is designed with an abundance of wood and dominated by uncovered large round tables with cherry red armless chairs. The room’s high ceilings create an echo that can get loud on busy nights but that’s what gives Ilili its fun atmosphere. Tucked in the corner of the room is chamber that has more of an intimate settings and much quieter compared to the main dining room, the tables are covered in white cloth are setup for two people.

Leading the kitchen at Ilili is Chef Massoud. He left Beirut for New York at a young age to escape the civil war and after college; his love for Lebanese cuisine led him back to Lebanon cooking with some of the country’s best chefs. He returned to the US in the late 90’s to head the kitchen at Neyla in Washington D.C. before settling in New York.

Ilili offers a la carte lunch and dinner menu to go along with their $25 lunch pre fixe special and the lounge offers small bites and drinks. Small plates or Mezzes are separated in hot and cold. For the hot mezzes I had an excellent Octopus-lamb bacon, Piquillo peppers, garbanzo beans, eggplant. Firm but tender octopus meat was flavored beautifully with the intensity of the lamb bacon. Meanwhile the grapes gave it a touch of sweetness along with the vegetables creating a balanced dish. The Riz-Lebanese rice, toasted vermicelli, mixed nuts was more of an accompaniment with the main dish and exuded wonderful aromas. Cold mezzes to dip Ilili’s freshly baked warm pita bread were the Mouhamara- walnuts, sundried peppers, pomegranate molasses and the Hommus-chickpea puree, tahini, lemon and olive oil. The Mouhamara’s has a complexity that includes some tanginess and sweetness while the hommus was slightly refined than a regular one. Presented neatly before being mix by the server the Chankleesh –feta cheese, onions, tomato and zaatar . The assortment of spices and herbs, tomato and onions had the character of a salsa and with the addition of the feta cheese giving it another dimension.

Some of the entrée that I’ve had were the Mixed Grill-chicken shish taok, beef kebab, kafta lamb chops, garlic whip trio, seasonal grilled vegetables, a carnivore delight for two. It’s a plate of nothing but perfectly grilled meats. With both beef kebab and lamb chops that are extremely moist and flavorful and the chicken and lamb sausage was terrific. Chicken Taouk Duo-chicken breast & thigh, sumac, tender juicy chicken skewered and grilled with aromatics seasonings.

Served as a whole from head to tail, Citrus Trout-citrus cells, orange tahini, arugula, smoked almonds, was grilled perfectly and placed on top of a light cream citrus sauce. The orange and grapefruit cells added another level of acidity that went well with the trout. The lone non-meat entrée was the Semolina Gnocchi-yogurt, pine nut, orange zest. It had an excellent hint of orange that paired delightfully with the sourness and thickness of the yogurt used to blanket the gnocchi. A garnish of pine nuts was added for extra texture.

Warm Date Cake with coconut sorbet, carob, chocolate was the one sweet plate that highlighted the dessert. The duo of warm and sweet with refreshing cool sorbet played on the palate in both temperature and flavors without being muddled. Pieces of carob and melted chocolate were brushed on the plate where the cake and sorbet sat on top and added some sweetness.

Chef Massoud reinterpreted classic Lebanese cuisine using non-traditional ingredients and incorporating his creative approach with a Mediterranean twist while keeping the flavor profile. Cooking contains a lot of grilling and searing, yogurt, fruits and vegetables appeared constantly on the plate. Paired wines and drinks are tailor fitted with Ilili’s food. It’s vast list was curated with wines from different parts of the globe while also focusing on local Lebanese wines and “Arak” traditional spirits in the Middle East. Its cocktail program is another strong point. The drinks are creative, one of my all-time favorites “From Beirut with Passion” a refreshing fruitiness that also can be dangerous if you don’t take note on how many you’ve had.

Visiting to dine or to have drinks Ilili’s staff shares an enthusiastic approach to each guest. The front of the house greets everyone that comes through the door with a huge smile while the dining room personnel provides service that is efficient and personable without being too patronizing. With a packed dining room that can get a bit loud, confusion and not being on the same page can occur but the staff is able to handle this without any issues.

This restaurant had polished a humble cuisine with sophistication and with a price tag to go along with it that New Yorkers are willing to pay. For the past eight years they have created a following of locals and celebrities alike. Its kitchens cooking techniques, mixologists artistic libations draw inspiration from Lebanon and the restaurants urbane atmosphere make Ilili one of the finest in the city for haute Lebanese dining places.

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*This venue is now closed.

When the Michelin guide awarded Shalazeh on the Upper East Side a star in 2010 and 2011 it was not enough for the dining public to travel north of Manhattan. Except for the people that live in the neighborhood, no one has heard of this Persian restaurant. Nevertheless, the few people I know that have dined at the place all have nothing but good things to say.

Located in the Yorkville section of the Upper East Side, Shalazeh is a neighborhood restaurant where the locals are the majority of the patrons. Regulars are greeted like family members, while new comers are welcomed with opened arms.

The interior of Shalazeh is simple, the spacious front space is dominated by tables covered with white cloth and chic French windows that open up on good weather; a portion of walls are exposed bricks while the rest are purposely colored in rust. A large 19th century map of Persia and its regions are on display next to marble bar; and a curtain in the middle of the restaurant serves as an entrance to a more intimate space in the back.

When I first visited this restaurant and I must admit that I have very little knowledge about Persian cuisine. The menu, however, listed dishes that looked very similar to that of other nations in the Middle East.

My entrée was the Saffron Chicken breast meat. Marinated in saffron and onion, the scent was unforgivably delightful. The chicken was soft and tender, and with each bite the saffron-marinate comes to life creating a nice flavor profile.

I started with the Yogurt Trio which consists of individual yogurt with cucumber, shallots and beet. It’s addictive—especially when it is graciously given as a dip to the bottomless basket of bread that the restaurant provides. The yogurt was light and each individual has distinguishable flavors of the ingredients.

I was impressed with my previous meal that on my most current visit I brought along three dining companions who were curious about trying Persian food.

Just like my first time at Shalazeh the staff was welcoming and pleasant. We started out with some appetizers that are mainly vegetarian like the Sambusa, Dolmeh and of course the Yogurt Trio which I recommend to them. The Sambusa is an appetizing chickpea puree stuffing and is very similar to what you use to stuff an Empanada. Along with the Dolmeh, these starters are more like an Amouse Bouche. My companions enjoyed the Yogurt Trio a little bit too much that I had to tell them to ease up on the unlimited bread to save room for the entrees.

Our entrée consisted of Salmon Kebab, which cooked so simple. The salmon was moist in the inside and nicely seasoned. We also had the Fesenjoon or chicken stew made with pomegranate juice. The juice provided the sweetness of tender pulled chicken meat. I’m not big fan of lamb but when one of my companions ordered the Lamb Stew I had to try it. The meat was soft, clean and has a lot flavors from the herbs and spices used in the stew. It was tasty but there just something about lamb meat that my taste bud rejected.

The Branzino on the other hand was the best dish I had at Shalazeh; whole fish excluding the head, deboned grilled and sits on a bed of sautéed spinach topped off with asparagus and creamy sauce. The fish was grilled to perfection; the cream sauce is absorbed into the meat of the fish creating a very rich buttery taste.

It is typical in Persian cuisine to have rice to be eaten along with other dishes. In Shalezeh there are two types of rice that compliments their dishes; the basmati rice with lentil, saffron and raisin, (which I prefer with the stews to soak up all its goodness) and the basmati with marinated cherry that goes well with kebabs.

The Roasted Pineapple with ice cream for dessert was to my liking topped off what was already a fantastic meal. The caramelization of the pineapple created a nice texture while the ice cream on top gives the sweetness.

Surprisingly, Shalezeh has a respectable six pages wine list that is mostly French and California. Never would I expect for this restaurant to have bottles that cost as much as $425 to as low $20.

At the end of this dinner, my companions and I were satisfied and in agreement that there were no dishes that we disliked.

My visit at Shalezeh has been no less than stellar. Their food is flavorsome, the staff is friendly and accommodating and the atmosphere is casual with a local vibe.

In a city that has over ten thousands plus restaurant it’s easy to overlook the likes of Shalezeh, but dining here is a wonderful way to experience the flavor of Persian cuisine.

Shalezeh
1420 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10028
(212) 288-0012
Official Site

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