A heaping helping of news & reviews from DFW’s dining scene.
Beirut Rock Cafe
It's a good bet that many Arlington residents who dine at familiar places like Olive Garden and Spring Creek Barbeque have been curious about Beirut Rock Cafe. Driving down Cooper Street near the University of Texas at Arlington campus, it’s hard not to notice the little cafe with its screaming red-and-bright-green exterior.
Hassan Ali opened the modest restaurant five months ago, naming it after a 50-foot landmark in his native town.
Inside, the decor is a lot more demur than the outside paint job would suggest. Old black-and-white photos of Beirut grace the walls. A dozen or so four-tops are pushed up against comfortable banquettes.
The menu is similarly understated. There are no surprises here, but all of the expected Middle Eastern dishes — shish, hummus, stuffed grape leaves and tabbouleh — are here, and nicely done.
The shish kafta lunch plate ($6.95) is a log of ground lamb, chopped parsley and onion that’s char-broiled and served pink on the inside (if you want it well-done, you’ll need to make a special request). It’s served with fragrant long-grained rice topped with almonds, and sides of hummus and salad.
I’d suggest the mixed maza ($19.99), a sampler of appetizers that’s a full meal for two, with hummus, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, fatoush, falafel, turnover-like spinach pies, fried kibbeh, grape leaves, mixed veggies and more.
My favorite was the football-shaped kibbeh patties, ground meat mixed with pine nuts, seasoned with cumin and sumac, and made slightly sweet with a touch of pomegranate sauce. It was a pleasing combination of flavors.
The fatoush was an eye-pleasing chopped salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and bell pepper with crispy, dark-brown pita "croutons" on top.
Everything was fresh and the dressing was well-seasoned, though ladled on a bit heavy. The tabbouleh is heavy on the parsley. The spinach pie is slightly sour.
The hummus is garnished with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika. Baba ghannouj (a pureed eggplant dish) is garnished with cucumbers. The grape leaves are slender cylinders served with lemons and a yogurt sauce.
My biggest disappointment with Beirut Rock was the dry pita bread.
Beirut Rock was busy enough, during two lunchtime visits, that the small staff had to hustle, and hustle they did, so there’s no long wait.
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Essentials:
Major credit cards accepted,
no alcohol, no smoking, wheelchair-accessible
Entree cost: $7-$10
Signature dishes: Shish kafta,
shwarma, fatoush
Good to know: With the exception of the gyros plate, all of the food is halal, meaning it’s prepared according to Muslim dietary requirements.
This review originally appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Friday, Sept. 28, 2007.
