From The New Orleans Menu Daily By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published November 19, 2007 Lebanon’s Cafe 2$ Riverbend: 1500 S. Carrollton Ave. 504-862-6200 Lunch and dinner, seven days. AE MC V Lebanese. The best Lebanese restaurants each have a unique quality that sets it apart. At Lebanon's Café, it's the presence of a charcoal-burning grill. Think of the difference that makes for Bud's Broiler, and you have a good idea of what it does to kebabs, lamb chops, and steaks. All of those are major specialties at Lebanon's Café. But the menu--one of the most extensive to be found in any local Lebanese restaurant--also offers fish, vegetarian dishes, and enough appetizers that a table of six could order one each of all of those and probably not need an entree. The dining room is bigger than it appears from the outside, extending well back from the corner of South Carrollton at Jeannette. This allows for a spacious setting, with tables well apart from each other. Much of the waitstaff is clearly not Lebanese, but they all know the food well, and can spot regular customers at twenty paces. Enough frequent falafel-munchers exist that the place stays busy at all hours. That idea I planted two paragraphs ago about ordering all the appetizers is, indeed, a great strategy for dining here. The six-way chef's platter at $14 is a meal for at least two people. Add to that the light spinach pie, the two cold eggplant salad/dips (both spicy and irresistible), and the cabbage rolls, and you've covered most of the high points of the first course. About half of these are less than $3 apiece, revealing another part of this restaurant's appeal: it's a tremendous value. From that point, the charcoal-grilled meats beckon. The plate of marinated, rosemary-scented grilled lamb chops contains some half-dozen little, juicy, slighty-smoky ones for under $20--perhaps the best lamb-chop bargain in town. All the kebabs create excitement in their flavor and aroma, particularly the chicken and shrimp versions. The lula kebab is ground lamb blended with parsley and onions to make a sort of sausage-shaped meatball; it too benefits from its walk across the charcoal grill. All of this is as good as you'll find anywhere. And we find a half chicken, tender and spicy; a thick tuna steak; a very generous filet mignon for around $20, another great buy. All this pushes chicken shawarma--an automatic order for many fans of Lebanese food--into the secondary category, even though it's certainly good enough. They make wonderful, herbal Lebanese iced tea with pine nuts floating about. (I never quite understood the flavor or texture function of that, but go along with it anyway.) Lebanon's Café is a credible candidate for leadership in the Middle Eastern category locally. What it brings to the table is consistently excellent, and the prices almost make you feel as if you're stealing. They don't serve alcohol, but you're allowed to bring your own. This was a restaurant in the 2007 Top Sixty Ethnic Restaurant Countdown. To view the entire list, click here. Click here for an index of all restaurant reviews. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com.