Looking for tastes from the 'banned' countries

Here is an excerpt from Craig LaBan's online chat of Feb. 7, 2017.

Craig LaBan: It's been a great, and diverse, week of eating around town. In particular, though, I want to talk about kibbeh. A colleague (the ever-witty Madame Fromage, a.k.a. Tenaya Darlington) is working with a friend to create a list of Philadelphia restaurants that feature food and/or dishes from Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, and Iraq. "The idea is to support businesses that have been affected by Trump's ban." As I told Tenaya, I'm not aware of local restaurants focused specifically on the cuisines of those nations. (This is your opportunity to chime in!) There are some Persian restaurants, of course, in particular the Persian Grille in Lafayette Hill, where you can get your Fesenjan chicken fix. But no restaurants that bill themselves as "Iranian." But with the dramatic arrival yesterday of the Assail family from Syria at Philadelphia International Airport (where more than a week earlier, they had been turned away and sent back after President Trump's ban initially went into effect), I redoubled my efforts. This kibbeh is from Al-Sham, the Middle Eastern grill that anchors a small stretch of Bustleton Avenue in the heart of Northeast Philly's Middle Eastern community. Oddly, it's now owned by a Bengladeshi man named Shoron Khan, but he has done a stellar job crafting a pan-Middle Eastern menu with authentic flavors. This kibbeh was certainly a highlight, but so was the falafel, which was moist and intensely green and well-seasoned, made, according to Shoron's Malaysia-born wife, Moni, in the Egyptian style.

Kibbeh, a bulgur wheat fritter filled with ground beef aromatic with almonds, spice, and onions, is made in the Syrian style, according to the restaurant's owners. The restaurant itself is really pan-Middle Eastern. Along with everything else I ate there (beautiful falafel, babaghanouj, and tasty kebabs), this is one of the better Middle Eastern grills in the region.

Reader: I haven't been to Aldar in Bala Cynwyd in quite a while. I know they have kibbeh but I don't know the exact origin as they are billed as a "Mediterranean restaurant."

C.L.: Aldar is owned by the Wakim family, which hails from Lebanon. I love Lebanese cooking - it's what I grew up with outside Detroit; I couldn't stay out of the walk-in where they kept the raw kibbeh. (The minted raw lamb tartare at Zahav, by the way, is an amazing update to the genre). We have other Lebanese kitchens in town - Sahara Grill, La Maude Cafe, among some others. But, of course, Lebanon is not on the Trump banned country list, so . . . I'm still looking for more Syrian flavors.

Reader: I have my dad's 60th birthday coming up; my mom is looking for somewhere like the Four Seasons, which obviously is not an option right now. I suggested Fork, Lacroix, or Le Cheri. Do you have any other recs for a big party (8-12), with excellent food and service?

C.L.: You've chosen great possibilities. Let me add one more: Jansen in Mount Airy, run by former Fountain chef David Jansen. It's not quite as luxurious in setting as the old hotel, but you'll find many of the same plates (or at least similar) and the same kind of old-school grace that made the Fountain's dining room such a hit with a clientele of a certain generation.