Byblos Bar and Grill, 2 generations of Lebanese excellence
If you’re interested in the pedigree of the newer rendition of Byblos Cafe , you’ll find that background here and here . Since owner Fady Khabbaz wants his new place to be known for its nicer sit-down-dinner feeling and its kebabs, we were there to focus on the food.
With main-course kebabs ranging from $15.50 to $25, we were curious about what the kitchen would do to make people happy to pay the price. We knew the owner had imported a special grill from Cyprus for the kebabs, and the dinners come with rice pilaf, grilled vegetables and salad. That sounded like an excellent start.
And excellence was the general standard we enjoyed throughout our dinner.
Byblos is a family operation, and Fady’s mom, Violette, sets a high standard in the kitchen. She is passionate about the food, and that passion for excellence and freshness showed in every course.
We enjoyed complimentary pita with dip as we sipped our Mediterranean Purple Rain (Blue Curaçao, Tito vodka, watermelon syrup and cranberry juice at $7) and our Southern Tier Hop Sun ($5.50 pint). The dip served with the pita triangles was delicious, a blend of zataar, cumin, olive oil and garlic, perhaps. Whatever the specific recipe, we agreed that it was warm and wonderful.
We started with a combination Mazza platter for which we chose spanakopita, labneh, hummus and falafel ($18). While the falafel was a little more browned than it had to be, there was nothing wrong with its taste. The pretty little salad it sat on was fresh and balanced the heavier elements of the platter. The labneh, a saucer shape of very dense strained yogurt, and the beautifully seasoned hummus made great contrasts of tastes and textures beside the falafel.
Even more striking was the spanakopita, a large triangle of spinach and phyllo pie. It was probably the best we had ever tasted, including our own, and rounded out an appetizer platter that would make a great dinner.
House salads come with mains at Byblos, and ours came to the table as we were finishing our appetizers. These were simple and perfectly fresh: sliced romaine, radishes, cucumbers and tomatoes. The house dressing made them special. Its strong lemony flavor, with olive oil and mint, was an effective, delicious palate cleanser.
Source: www.syracuse.com