Amardeen Lebanese and Mediterranean Cuisine

"Diners come to this family-owned restaurant for the traditional mezza, a meal of several small plates meant to be shared. Amardeen’s version comes with chicken, lamb, and beef shawarma, falafel, kebeh (baked croquettes of bulgur wheat, spiced minced beef and onions), dolma, tabouleh, hummus, baba ghanouj, tzatziki, and garlic spread and can easily feed two people for under $50. There are wines from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and fruit drinks made from apricot, tamarind, and dates, and the knife, a dessert of mozzarella and akkawi cheese baked in a semolina crust and topped with fragrant rosewater syrup and pistachios makes for a particularly sweet ending." - Marie Tutko