Explore Orange County’s Little Arabia By Crawling These 10 Delicious Destinations
"Little Arabia is a hotbed for Middle Eastern flatbreads thanks to bakeries like Al Amir Bakery and Forn Al Hara, which both specialize in round Lebanese-style manakish, also known as sphiha. Koftegi started as Al Sanabel Bakery in the same space. After chef Mehmet Kaplan and wife Lisa Matarazzo took over this colorful quick service business, they expanded the menu to include Turkish comfort foods and continued serving Lebanese flatbreads. They also added Turkish boats, traditionally called pide, that feature different shapes and fillings. Walnut lahmbaajin is a crispy oval topped with tangy ground beef and vegetables, finished with crumbled walnuts. The cheese and Turkish soujuk “boat” is both softer and pointier, topped with salty white cheese and sliced house-made beef “pepperoni.” You can’t spell Koftegi without Köfte, their signature grilled ground beef and lamb patties. The version filled with Kashkaval (sheep’s milk cheese) is particularly noteworthy, served with hummus, fluffy house-baked pita and salad. Döner, spit-shaved beef and lamb, stars in Iskender. Tomato sauce, browned butter, and toasted pita chunks accentuate this historic döner fueled dish, named for Mehmetoğlu İskender Efendi." - Joshua Lurie
