Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
It happens all the time: Someone asks for a restaurant suggestion for a conservative eater or a kid who’s just starting down the gastronomic path. Unspoken is the assumption that it will be rewarding for the questioner, too.
To answer just such a query, we offer The Vine, a Lebanese restaurant with a surprisingly atmospheric storefront and an adjacent halal market, casual and family-friendly with plenty of options for the whole group. Regulars range from families using a highchair to folks using the free Wi-Fi.
Many immediately head for the appetizer combo. Silky-smooth hummus tastes of tahini, made from sesame seeds, and finger-size stuffed grape leaves, lemony with a note of dill and slightly chewy, as is their custom. Baba ghanouj, a pale celadon, is a little smoky from the eggplant’s roasting, with touches of lemon and garlic. While the falafel is crisp and well-drained, it is perhaps a little dry on its own, but it would be quite happy in a sandwich with the fresh, warm pita and a slather of tahini.
Arayis includes two layers of pita dough enclosing a layer of beef and lamb, seasoned with garlic and a little cumin. The whole thing, no thicker than a St. Louis–style pizza, is quickly grilled to crispness on either side. (This might be gilding the lily, but the dish would be even better if some of the labneh, the rich, thick Lebanese yogurt available as an appetizer, were alongside for dipping.)
Soup or one of four salads comes with each dinner. The lentil soup—so green that it could comprise split peas—is thick and properly hot, topped with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of freshly cut parsley. The Vine salad—with chopped cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes—comes with the zippy house dressing, with lemon juice, a little oil, some black pepper, and what tastes like oregano.
Sandwiches here are rolled in the house-made pita. Gigantic, grilled after rolling then tightly wrapped, the ground beef-and-lamb sujok was well-seasoned, almost curry-like, with notes of fenugreek and spicy heat. French fries are an optional ingredient inside any of the sandwiches—and a good idea for soaking up the juice. They make the meal amazingly tidy.
While there are nonkebab options for main courses—even several vegetarian options like baked kibbeh—it’s the food on a stick that beckons. Graciously, The Vine removes the skewers before serving. Beef kebab is rib-eye, juicy and tender, arriving cooked to medium. Like nearly all of the entrées, it comes on a bed of what must be the fluffiest rice in town, tossed with za’atar, a seasoning mix that includes thyme and sumac, plus perhaps a little clove, too. Shawarma (meat that’s cooked on a rotisserie much like that used for gyros) comes as beef or chicken, some of it crispy, some still moist—and some dry. Tahini seasoned with black pepper is provided to resolve that situation, and it’s pretty tasty. Almost everything comes with three kinds of pickles: a spicy cucumber pickle, peperoncini, and brilliant pink pickled turnips, which are more about salt than sour.
Three different baklavas are in rotation: walnut, pistachio, and chocolate. Our chocolate one was light and crisp, with a faint taste of rose along with the chocolate. There are other choices, too, which vary by the day, including a sliced chocolate cookie, moist like a brownie, but not so intensely sweet. Pair the desserts with mint tea or—even better—coffee with cardamom, and you’ll leave most content.
The Bottom Line: Any place that prints the following on its receipts is just fine in our book: “Please visit us online just for the halal of it.”
