Mideast’s Spicy Treats
From its neutral name and modest facade, you’d never expect Carousel to be an exuberant (and very good) Middle Eastern restaurant. But so it is, with tassel-covered chandeliers and walls full of brass plates, ceremonial swords and ornately painted bottles.
Oh, and there’s the music. Lebanese pop songs pulsate throughout the restaurant most evenings, though occasionally interrupted by a synthesizer version of “Happy Birthday” accompanied by the inevitable singing waiters.
But the menu sizzles in a different way. It lists loads of the hot and cold appetizers known as mezzeh, plus a choice selection of meaty kebabs.
Carousel has almost four dozen mezzeh, so I can’t describe more than a few here. The distinctive mutabbal is a smoky eggplant puree with a tiny pool of olive oil in the center. The grape leaves (waraq inab) are stuffed with a delicate mixture of rice, sumac and clove. Shanklish is basically a spicy salad of chopped cheese, tomatoes and onions.
Perhaps the most exotic cold mezzeh is kibbeh nayya, an extremely flavorful puree of raw lamb and bulgur wheat, enlivened with spices and olive oil.
The hot mezzeh are equally delicious. Fatayir is a triangle of flaky pastry with a light cheese filling, rather like a Greek tiropita. Ful mudammas is a classic Arab dish of boiled fava beans doused with lemon juice, parsley and garlic. It’s the perfect thing to have with a piece of hot pita bread.
I never come here without ordering kibbeh maqliyeh. It’s four fragrant deep-fried meatballs of lamb and wheat puree, each with a juicy filling of ground meat, onions and pine nuts. Another terrific hot mezzeh is maqaniq (spelled ma-anek here), a dozen or so broiled lamb sausages, elegantly flavored with cloves, each the size of your finger.
Almost everyone who comes here orders the kebabs, which are served with either a fluffy rice pilaf or a heartier one of bulgur wheat. The best choice is the trim, tender lamb shish kebab--big, meaty chunks served with nicely charred tomatoes and onion slices. The chicken kebab is a beaut as well. The chunks of chicken breast are marinated in olive oil, garlic and lemon and grilled until deliciously charred.
The favorite among the regulars seems to be khash khash kebab. This is four cylinders of lula kebab (chopped beef broiled on skewers) arranged on pita bread that’s been rubbed with tomato and garlic, the whole thing smothered in sliced onions. One order will serve two.
For dessert, there is good baklava, Middle Eastern coffee and more music. I’d come back any night . . . that wasn’t my birthday.
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BE THERE
Carousel, 304 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, noon-11 p.m. Saturday, noon-10 p.m. Sunday. Valet parking. Full bar. All major cards. Dinner for two, $28-$55. Suggested dishes: shanklish salad, $7; mutabbal, $4.50; maqaniq, $7; lamb kebab, $11.95. Call (818) 246-7775.