Syrian Food

Trudy and I had our first taste of Syrian food last week. The place was Aladdin's in Portland" Northeast neighborhood. I ate a lentil soup that was thick and liberally spiced with cumin. A sensory delight. Trudy had a massaka, a combination of fried eggplant and a medley of vegetables. We shared an appetizer called Mehamarra, a mixture of jalapeno. onion, tomatoes, pomegranate, toasted bread, pepper, olives and walnuts. It was a great combination with pita bread loaves the size of pizza. Trudy had a baklava drizzled with chocolate, I had a dessert called Mahalabi, a light pudding served with Rosewater syrup and almonds. A great place . Anyone else had Syrian food?

6 years ago I would have said nothing about Middle Eastern food. 5 years ago I worked for a Jordanian who's wife was the most ultimate chef. I'm not really sure how much the food varies thru that region, but I have to say, strangest ingrediants, yet the most awesome tasting food!

Hey! maybe today's Middle Eastern will be tomorrow's Thai.