Arab American View Newspaper Online

 

Maza restaurant
October 3, 2003
2748 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago
773-929-9600

By Ray Hanania

For years, one of the best Arab restaurants to enjoy stuffed grape leaves (wariq duwally in Arabic) was at Uncle Tannous on north Clark Street. But Uncle Tannous, with its huge portrait of a strutting, young Danny Thomas on its wall, closed sometime in early 2000.

I always enjoyed the banter with its founder, Yousef (Joseph) Skaff, and the array of Lebanese and French wines with the great dinner. Youseff's mother worked the kitchen and the food had the homemade excellence that you rarely enjoy at fastfood restaurants of any ethnic group.

Just before it closed, Skaff partnered with his longtime manager, Yousef (Joseph) Kuri who welcomed everyone with a professional class to Uncle Tannous which while serving the very best food was lacking only slightly in its decor. Good, but could have been better. But who cared when the aroma of the great food filled the air, Kuri insured that every order was delivered on time, and Skaff would regale in stories about the Lebanese and Arab American community long past.

Today, the tradition of Uncle Tannous' high quality food has been preserved by Kuri at a new restaurant that he opened several years ago but that only recently came to my discriminating palate. Maza's Restaurant at 2748 N. Lincoln, not too far from where Uncle Tannous reigned supreme on Halsted Street, has a cozy frontage but a marvelous interior.

This is a classy place. The Ambria of Arab American restaurants. Kuri dots over every customer and order personally insuring that the plates are delivered as ordered, hot and fresh. Any problems, he's on it like syrup on an Arab pastry -- you can't imagine eating one without it.

And of course, Kuri insures that his restaurant lays claim to the title of King of Grape Leaves, offering the tastiest entree on decorative china. When you can eat rice and taste each kernel individually, you've achieved something in culinary art. (The worst is rice that is blended together either by being overcooked or aged). The lamb is just perfect and gives each grape leave selection a sensation of being a feast.

The lamb tartar (kibbee nayeh) is my ultimate side dish that some often eat as a main menu. You really have to trust a restaurant to eat any meat raw, even sushi. But Maza prepares it with precision, freshness and in a manner that would compete with its French counterparts. It's just the right mix of olive oil, pine nut slivers, chopped parsley and ground, lean lamb with seasoned burgal (cracked wheat), the main ingredient of my next favorite Middle Eastern dish, Tabouli.

Tabouli is made many different ways. It's basically a parsley-based diced salad. The Lebanese and many other Arabs make parsley the main feature with touches of diced tomatoes, chives and spices. Olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice are essential. Some Palestinians add diced cucumbers, my favorite variation. Still, Maza offers a high quality tabouli dish the old fashioned Lebanese way and the parsley is fresh and its aroma is overwhelmingly appealing.

The street features several other very good Middle Eastern restaurants and even a Turkish restaurant, and is a wonderful place to explore. Driving past, it's hard to really appreciate the array of Middle East ethnic offerings. Slow down. Park on the street. And start at Maza. Tell Yousef Kuri is said hi and expect a nice dish of sweetened pudding or Arabian pastry.

This place is tops!

For more information read Ray Hanania's online history of Chicago's and the nation's Arab community, "The Door of God." (In PDF format) Go there now?

(Ray Hanania is a Palestinian-American author. Reach him by e-mail at rayhanania@aol.com. He is the winner of the Society of Professional Journalists Lisagor Award for Column Writing. His columns are archived at www.hanania.com)