A New Spot in Bay Ridge Serves the Best Grape Leaves in New York | Eater NY
"A glossy newcomer has arrived at 8530 Third Avenue, corner of 86th Street: a Bay Ridge branch of Laila, opened by Damascus-born couple Amal and Alan Dakhlallah from a Staten Island original. On a sunny weekend my friends and I pushed the small teahouse tables through French doors onto the sidewalk; the 70-seat interior features exposed red brick, beaten brass trays, and flowering foliage. The comprehensive Syrian menu is divided into eight sections with 90 dishes, including a dozen 'Grandma’s Kitchen' plates, and as we waited a bowl of green cracked olives in a peppery red sauce and continuously replenished warm pitas arrived. Standouts among the dozen dishes we tried were the homestyle fava beans seasoned with thyme, lemon, and copious garlic served warm with pitas; the beef kibbeh—ground with onions, olive oil, and bulgur—resembling an exceptional steak tartare; made-to-order grape leaves filled with lamb and rice served warm in a lemony broth with herbed yogurt (notably recommended from the Grandma’s Kitchen list); a superb bread dip of fried eggplant with fried sweet peppers, olive oil, and cracked wheat; and a joyous casserole of toasted pita chips, yogurt, garlic, eggplants stuffed with ground lamb, tahini, and crunchy roasted almonds from Grandma’s Kitchen. Laila also holds a full liquor license (we relished a fig martini), offers refreshing mint lemonade, and among desserts I preferred the fresh-tasting baklava and the warm, gooey kanafeh." - Robert Sietsema
