Chef Wissam Zayat, also a native of Beirut, brings that beguiling blend of Middle Eastern spices applied with a light touch so that nothing dominates the flavor profile. The result is a pleasant memory on the tongue.
The cafe's atmosphere and the menu lend themselves to sharing. One of our favorite dishes was Fool ($5.75), a puree of fava beans simply seasoned with lemon, garlic and lots of olive oil, served with freshly made pita. Traditionally this is breakfast food, but for our American palates it works well any time of day. It's served only on weekends at Manakeesh.
A better-known dip, of course, is Hummus ($3.25 with bread). While I won't pretend that this rivals my local favorite - Zahav's Turkish butter version - Manakeesh Cafe also makes hummus light on the tahini so that the chickpea flavor is dominant. It is very good, and I like Zayat's light hand with the salt, so often overused in this dish.
A word about the pita here: It's right out of the brick gas oven, and it doesn't get much fresher or lighter. Think bread pillows. The same dough is transformed into a crisp flatbread by poking holes in it with a spiked roller before baking to let the air escape.
The cafe is named after the Lebanese flatbread sandwich baked in an open flame oven, so there is, and rightly so, an emphasis on a variety of manakeesh.
Our favorite was the Tawook ($5.75). It comes spicy or not, but there is never a "not" for me. The spicy version was perfection - tender chicken accented by a garlic sauce and authentic Lebanese pickle. When this is baked with the flatbread and folded over, it gives new meaning to the fast-food expression "special sauce and pickle on a bun."
