Arabesque

With the promise of ice-cream at the "store with the cars", my lovely daughter, Logan, agreed to escort me while I checked out another restaurant. At the tender age of four, her reading skills need work, so she couldn't read the list of ingredients she would consider "yucky" in the Arabesque pizza, and quite enjoyed it. It was a nice little snack for just $2, with a soft tortilla cleverly disguising the tasty combination of beef, parsley, onion, zaatar, sumac, and sweet spice mix spread throughout. The Bedoin Omelette (peas, corn, onion, zaatar, spices) was huge and less than five bucks. It was a great combination of sweetness and mild spice. The owner brought over a nice pastry, very fresh with a dinner taste and dessert-like texture, the bite-sized version of which would be a hit at any cocktail party, with cilantro, feta and olives. Logan wouldn't even try the dessert because she was too busy drooling at the thought of the impending visit to the ice cream store, but I tried three different versions of the classic baklava, and they were all bursting with flavour. One version was made with walnuts, which was a refreshing change from the typical pistachio-based version, and nicely cut through the sweetness of the honey. Located on a quieter corner of College Street, Arabesque Middle Eastern Food is an inexpensive deli-style way to try out something new. They have a small patio with wicker furniture, and nice stone and cast iron furniture inside that adds a touch of class and old-world feel.

Arabesque Middle Eastern Food,
1068 College Street, www.arabesque.ca,
416-504-8146

Review by Melissa Peters