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Restaurant Ratings

The ratings are based mostly on the degree to which the food excites us, and a little on environment, service, and other considerations. I rate restaurants relative to all other restaurants in the New Orleans area. Here's what the stars mean to me:

starstarstarstarstar
Among the best locally.

starstarstarstar
Excellent and ambitious.

starstarstar
Worth crossing town for.

starstar
Recommended.

*
Acceptable.

No star
Unacceptable.

Cost Ratings
Each dollar sign indicates a ten-dollar range, including a normal meal for the restaurant (dinner, if they serve other meals), not including drinks, or tips. So, for example. . .

1$--$5-15
2$--$15-25
3$--$25-35

. . . and so on, with no upper limit. While this scheme may suggest mathematical precision, know that perception of price varies from diner to diner as much as the star ratings do. So consider this an estimate.

All reviews are based entirely on meals I have personally taken at the restaurant and paid for from my own pocket. I don't take free review meals, nor am I reimbursed by anybody for my restaurant expenditures.

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Lebanon’s Cafe

Middle Eastern.
Riverbend: 1500 S. Carrollton Ave. 504-862-6200. Map.
Lunch and dinner continuously, seven days.
Casual
AE DC DS MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
Every good Lebanese restaurant--and this is one of the best--has a unique specialty. Lebanon's Café has a charcoal-burning grill, making it the Bud's Broiler of Middle Eastern food. Its menu is more extensive than most, and the prices are almost laughably low. It's very tempting to eat much more than you should here. They don't sell alcohol, but you are free to bring your own wine with no corkage fee charged.

WHY IT'S GOOD
Even after dozens of meals here, I continue to find good dishes I never had here before. The quality of the raw materials is beyond reproach, and they season and cook the food convincingly. Dishes that should be drenched in olive oil and garlic are.

BACKSTORY
Hussain Sheereef opened Lebanon's in the mid-1990s, originally in the much smaller space next door. When he expanded into the former Cavallino's, he got a bigger dining room and a much bigger kitchen, whcih allowed the menu to grow to its present encyclopedic size. Over the years, he's renovated and redecorated a few times, and the place becomes more pleasant with every visit.

DINING ROOM
The premises are larger than they at first seem from the heavily-planted sidewalk entrance. In fact, the place is downright spacious, an effect enhanced by the large murals. The service staff--even the many members if ti who aren't from the Middle East--are knowledgeable enough about the food to offer suggestions for those just discovering Lebanese cooking.

ESSENTIAL DISHES
Chef's appetizer assortment.
Spinach pie.
Tabbouleh.
Fried kibby.
Hummus.
Stuffed grape leaves.
Cabbage rolls stuffed with beef.
Kebabs: chicken, lamb, beef.
Lula kebab (ground lamb with parsley and onions, a sausage-shaped, grilled meatball).
Chicken shawarma.
Chicken tecka (a roasted half-chicken with herbs).
Lamb with hummus.
Rack of lamb.
Filet mignon (12-14. oz.).
Baklava.

FOR BEST RESULTS
If you come in a party of four to six, you can make a spectacular repast out of ordering all of the many appetizers. If ncessary (and it probably won't be), fill in the appetite gaps with one or two entrees.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
The restaurant is always busy, and they serve food so rapidly that one sometimes feels rushed.

FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES

This review was updated with new information on 6/15/2010.

A list of over 350 full, current reviews is here.