The military follows a “No man left behind” policy. I follow a “never leave a dessert uneaten” policy. On January 29, 2009, for the first time in my life, I didn’t finish a dessert.
I understand leaving behind the crust of a pie, but I left the whole dessert on the table.
After not being able to decide on a restaurant, I decided to head to Ilili, a Lebanese restaurant, with the boyfriend to close out Restaurant Week. Of course, Restaurant Week has been extended, but at the time, I thought it’d be nice to go somewhere during the actual week – and go somewhere I know is good. I had been to Ilili and raved about it, especially because you get two appetizers, plus an entree and dessert.
To start, we ordered calamari, stuffed grape leaves, hummus and falafel. I loved the falafel and calamari – the calamari wasn’t fried and was soaked in a jalapeno sauce. The stuffed grape leaves were super tiny, and the hummus was just okay. The boyfriend hated the hummus and thought it was one of the worst parts of the meal.
I ordered the beef kebabs, and really all that was edible on the dish was the beef. A little salad was on the side, and really just tasted like salty greens. The peppers on the kebabs had a weird after taste. So I ate some more okay tasting hummus.
For dessert, I remembered I had a dense chocolate candy bar last time, so I decided to go with a traditional Lebanese dessert with simple syrup and bananas. The dish arrived. There were three scoops of creme, syrup at the bottom and maybe 6 banana slices. I dipped my spoon in. The cream had a consistency of cool whip, without the sugar. The simple syrup tasted like sun screen lotion. You know that spray on sun tan lotion? I might have well been spraying that into my mouth. After about three bites, I couldn’t take it anymore and pushed it away from me. The boyfriend did the same. When both of us turn down food, there clearly is a problem.
I understand restaurants have off nights, but this experience was not how I remembered it. Granted the restaurant was a lot busier than this time around, and maybe that’s why the food wasn’t that great. Regardless, I think I might have been more content ordering two appetizers (fries and chicken nuggets), an entree (junior bacon cheeseburger) and dessert (a Frosty) at Wendy’s.
The Basics Name: Ilili Location: 236 5th Avenue (between 27th and 28th) Who to Bring: Friends, Date Price: It better be Restaurant Week. $$$$. Overall: Give me Wendy’s instead. 2 stars.
Great imagery with the sun tan lotion.
I feel like Middle East restaurants are high risk / high reward establishments. The same dish can be made ten different ways at ten different places, and you never know what you are getting. I love a great hummus platter, but the last place I went to, the platter was literally a giant bowl of hummus and a slice of pita about the size of a sticky note. I had to eat the rest of the hummus with a spoon just to get my money’s worth. Thus, I feel like if you find a good Middle East place, stick to it, and I even fear trying a new dish.
[...] as well as enjoyed dessert – so a much better deal than some of the mediocre meals I had during Restaurant Week. According to our waiter, Halfsteak will be offered indefinitely, so if interested in trying the [...]
[...] as well as enjoyed dessert – so a much better deal than some of the mediocre meals I had during Restaurant Week. According to our waiter, Halfsteak will be offered indefinitely, so if interested in trying the [...]
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