DarSalam Restaurant & Catering (Alberta)

"Set in an old carriage house, the colorful Dar Salam is the place to taste Iraqi food like stuffed onion dolmas and curry-rubbed whole fish, all freshly prepared from scratch and mostly built from family recipes. The restaurant’s smoky baba ganoush is an essential order, as well as the tangy pickled mango salad and crispy falafel, molded into tiny doughnuts for maximum crunchy surface area. Pair your meal with Iraqi beer — extremely difficult to find in the United States — or cardamom-scented coffee." - Rebecca Roland, Brooke Jackson-Glidden, Nathan Williams

"This Northeast Portland Iraqi restaurant is home to both a front and back patio, the building flanked by eye-catching murals. Diners devour lamb keema or crispy, doughnut-shaped falafel under the covered, heated patio, or out in the front courtyard steps from the bustle of Alberta. On chillier, rainier days, it’s best to warm up with a cup of cardamom coffee; on warmer days, snack on meze in the sunshine." - Thom Hilton, Eater Staff

"Portland’s most famous Iraqi restaurant, Dar Salam serves its doughnut-shaped falafel and queema, a lamb stew with chickpeas, on both sides of the river. At its Alberta outpost, families eat slow-cooked lamb shanks accompanied by jammy eggplant stew or pickled mango salad. All of Dar Salam’s meats are organic and halal; with its various celebratory dishes, it’s a strong option for iftar." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden

"Founded by Iraqi refugee Ghaith Sahib in 2012, the now-iconic DarSalam house has become one of the longest-lasting restaurants on Alberta, offering countless Portlanders its rich, flavorful take on Iraqi cuisine. The platters and entrees are ideal for sharing, many including creamy hummus and well-cooked rice. Standout appetizers include slow-cooked red lentil soup and tangy, electric pink beet salad. Accompany dinner with the restaurant’s floral Iraqi Pilsner — brewed in Portland by Hopworks — plus Lebanese wines, an anise-flavored cocktail, or nonalcoholic options like Arab coffee or mint lemonade." - Nathan Williams

"DarSalam owner Ghaith Sahib lived through a war to get where he is now. The chef and business owner grew up in Baghdad, living through wartime until he narrowly survived a car-bombing as a sophomore in college. He and his family members lived as refugees in countries throughout Europe, eventually landing in Portland in 2010. Sahib went on to open one of Alberta Street’s most beloved spots, a colorful Iraqi restaurant often filled with devotees and his own family members; in 2015, he opened a second location, a DarSalam lunch buffet popular with downtown workers." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden