Taste of the Levant: Pita Pockets Plans Expansion

A selection of Lebanese mezze from Pita Pockets (Key News/Linda Cross)

The world is opening up for Frederico and Abeer El- Karout. Their eat in or take out Pita Pockets shop is expanding to feature dining in style.

They’re hoping their current Lebanese cuisine will be the island’s new go-to restaurant, with emphasis on taking inspiration from Frederico’s roots and heritage. This will not be a bistro or gastrobar. It will be about food customers love and crave, flavors which are layered, intense tastes that exemplify the foods of Lebanon.

Generosity and hospitality best express their personalities. It is with incredible foods — the mezzes, for example — that they bring us to their table. First the sambusiks, tiny crescent shaped house-made dough filled with either cheeses or meats. They are meant to be nibbled and sighed over, filled with either feta, mozzarella and parsley or ground beef, sour cream and sautéed onions.

Both will give you joy.

The cheese sambusik oozes onto the tongue and it’s immediately addictive. The half-mooned meat sambusik has good taste and heft with a beautifully braided spine. Next the sujak, a dry spicy sausage made of meat and spices. A delight. Frederico served it with tomatoes, onions and scallions in a warm butter lemon sauce.

This taste filled all my anticipations, as there was a balance of sweet, salty, spicy, hot and bitter. There’s a word for this taste that is all the rage – it’s called “Umami,” and at Pita Pockets, it can’t be any better. You just have to let your tastebuds experience this savory sensation.

Makali, a well-known popular mezza, is a vegetarian plate, mine layered beautifully with fried cauliflower, eggplant and onions. No herbs were added, but the tahini sauce (ground sesame paste) gave the dish that exemplary Lebanese feel. I loved every last mouthful.

Could I possibly eat more?

Out came a dish of meat totally unknown to me by the name of basterma. This on first glance was similar in appearance to the Italian bresaola. But no, it was totally unusual and different in taste. It is a highly seasoned air-dried cured beef made by using dry red wine, salt, garlic and spices. It has a ripe, chewy, almost gamey taste. The spices within the meat bring out an explosive flavor.  Exquisite, elegant and savory describes this dish best. Take a thin slice, place it on a warmed pita, add garlic labneh with pickled onions and one has a gold mine in hand.

We know labneh, yes? A strained yogurt with the consistency of really soft cheese used as a poured spread for toasts and pitas. Abeer brought out a bowl of labneh to the added mezzes. It is served quite simply with an ample well of golden extra virgin olive oil, kalamata olives and dried mint. Its simplicity was perfect paired with the other dishes.

Did I mention the great kibbeh? Fried oval fritters with a cracked wheat crust are filled with coarse ground lean beef, bulgar and onions. Spices, yes spices, complete the Lebanese cuisine. Think cinnamon, sumac, za’atar, mint, turmeric, cardamom and baharat to name a few.

Time now to come to the table, to sit, relax, to drink and to eat. This remarkable exquisite cuisine has many hidden treasures and is meant to stimulate your appetite. You cannot get enough, so enter and be filled. M.F.K. Fisher, author of The Art Of Eating, said it best: “First we eat, then we do everything else.”

Personally I cannot wait for the opening of the restaurant, but come in now and taste the future. Yes, yes indeed.