I had heard about this new Middle Eastern restaurant from a couple of people over the course of the last 2 or 3 months. We used to frequent a Greek restaurant quite a bit when we lived in New Jersey, and we miss good hummus, so we figured we’d give it a try.

Tabbule (pronounced Tah-boo-lah) is conveniently located on the corner of 8th Street and 25th Avenue across from Cafe Andrade (a local hangout) and caddy corner from Wal-Mart. The outside rather unassuming, but the inside is warm and welcoming. There is a decidedly Middle Eastern theme going on, from the teak furniture with cushions in bright fabrics to the hookahs on each table. On one wall there is a projection television playing Arabic and Hindi music videos.

Many of the dishes on the menu are Lebanese, as is the owner, although he has also included some more international dishes to suit everyone’s palate. We started with the hummus (our main attraction). An interesting thing happens when you live in a country that doesn’t have access to yellow lemons, everything gets flavored with lime, and this hummus was no exception. At first it was a little odd, but after a minute we both agreed that it was actually rather tasty. It was served with a basket of grilled pita bread.

I orded Pollo Embarazado for my meal, one of the more international dishes. It was a grilled chicken breast topped with cheese (possibly gruyere) and then crowned with a couple slices of bleu cheese. The chicken was atop a delicious succotash of corn, peas carrots and more, but with a nice Middle Eastern spice combo. It also came with a fresh side salad of lettuce and tomato. I thought mine was quite good, though definitely not low fat!

My partner ordered the beef kabobs. His came in two separate dishes, one for the beef, served inside two halves of pita bread to keep it warm, and a separate dish of roasted potatoes. He reported that everything was delicious.

As we were finishing up another couple came in and chose to begin their meal with a hookah. Tabbule serves flavored tobbaccos to be smoked in these traditional water pipes. Their hookah smelled better than a regular pipe.

All in all, I would go back, but probably not anytime soon as the food was a little heavy. However, the next time I would like to order a hookah and enjoy some of the Middle Eastern music videos.