Okay, well now banker Felipe Basulto is saving up his appetite for authentic Lebanese fair.
He's a regular at this pick where he always orders his go-to favorite dishes.
From the great portion sizes to the welcoming atmosphere, he says this place is a must try
for everyone. It's located in Pinecrest and it's called Shaddai Fine Lebanese Cuisine.
My name is Tony Sammour. I'm the Chef and Owner
of Shaddai Fine Lebanese Cuisine in the heart Pinecrest, Florida.
First of all I was born in Bethlehem, in Palestine and I start cooking when I was eight years old.
My specialty at the beginning was hummus and falafel. And with time my hobby became a business.
Shaddai is a blessing from the skies. Shaddai was a God-given name to my wife, Elizabeth,
in a dream. Shaddai means God almighty. When Shaddai was born, everything fall in the place.
The location, the crew, the business, the customers, everything was falling perfectly.
There's a say back in the Arab world say, "Greet me before you feed me". Everything
we cook here is from the heart. And a specialty here is tapas which is called an Arabic mezze,
where customers walk in, they order a few different plates and they make as a meal.
The hummus, the falafel, the grape leaves. Everything I do, I do myself.
When the customer walk in through this door they're automatically feel like
their family. They feel like the blessing. I have customers telling me, "I feel like I'm at home.
I feel the energy when I walk in your restaurant. There's
something so special about the restaurant here." And I told her, "This is Shaddai"
Felipe you've been a regular there for a long time, huh?
Many years.
So tell us about it a little bit and tell us about the last thing that you ate.
The last thing I ate is actually my favorite dish overall. It's a lemon chicken and
it is served with the rice with the vermicelli, Lebanese rice,
and I just love mixing it all together and soaking up that garlic and lemon
all together with the chicken, it's fantastic. I really really enjoy that food. All of it. And
the appetizers, the kibbeh, the grape leaves, the labneh. Kibbeh, I find it like, not like
a croqueta but it almost is in the sense that it's a fried little meatball, if you will, but
it's got like pine nuts and meat and the flavor inside is just outstanding because of the spices.
My favorite, kibbeh nayeh. Okay, and then let's talk about labneh.
It's a strained yogurt and it's just fantastic because I love it with the pita bread.
Just to dip it in there, they have the warm pita bread. We alternate between the labneh
and the hummus and it is fantastic. Both of them, they have some za'atar and some olive one on top.
So let's jump right into Greg. Greg, tell us about your experience at Shaddai.
At Shaddai, well I love Mediterranean food. I've been eating Mediterranean food,
going to Mediterranean restaurants since I was 17, 16 or 17. It's a little bit of a drive for me but
I wanted to go a little bit around lunchtime and I really just went to get the things that I like.
I always loved getting a Jerusalem salad, chopped cucumber, chopped tomatoes, onions, a nice light
salad, crunchy. I just loved eating it anywhere I ever go. Just love it. Just a nice light salad.
And you had grape leaves.
I did, I could not leave, you know, I was getting really full but I had to get my grape
leaves because I love grape leaves, really nice. The rice and the meat grape leaves,
delicious. With a nice lemony sauce. Just delicious. Love the grape leaves.
So David, they didn't have outdoor seating
and you didn't wanna eat indoors so you took takeout food, correct?
Correct. Right. And you know, it's quite a drive from where we live but
Lebanese food is hard to come by. And I figured if this has been recommended,
let's do this. To me one of the metrics of a good Lebanese restaurant is can you make hummus
or not? This was, I think, the best I've ever had and that's saying quite a bit 'cause I've tried
it in many places. It was wonderful. And half of my family is Lebanese so I grew up, my aunts made
this food for my cousins and for my brothers and me. So it brought back a lot of great memories
because these are the flavors and the labor that goes into making these things that we grew up with
and frankly, have a hard time truly finding this stuff. The chicken shawarma is, the chicken is
tender. It's perfectly prepared because, again, it takes time. Very healthy portion. These are things
that, frankly, it took us twice to eat through all of this stuff because the portions were so
large. It was frankly among the best I've ever had, if not, certainly I've never had better.
So tell me a little bit about the location.
The location is comfortable. It's open. You don't have the outdoor seating as we stated.
However, inside it is very spread out during this COVID time in order to accommodate its guests.
Okay, well Felipe, Shaddai Fine Lebanese Cuisine was your pick. Sum it up for us.
Home cooked Lebanese food with great flavors and great portions.
Greg.
Ample portions, a little bit of a schlep for me from Delray but
worth the schlep. I love Mediterranean food. This did not disappoint, loved it.
David.
Delicious, subtle, authentic and varied.
I could go there 20 times and I don't think I'd eat the same thing each time.
Well, that's great. Yeah. For authentic Lebanese dishes and other Middle Eastern
specialties, head on over to Shaddai Fine Lebanese Cuisine located at 9519
South Dixie highway in Pinecrest. Opened daily for lunch and dinner,
reservations are accepted. And the average price for dinner without drinks is about $35.