Hayat's Kitchen

The kitchen here puts out some perfect meza that really stands out in an area saturated with Lebanese and Armenian places. From the moment that they set the pickled turnips, cucumbers and olives on the table to the time they served the complimentary baklava, everything we tasted was of the highest quality, made with the freshest ingredients, and seasoned so perfectly that I would not dream of adding a single thing. And when you eat this food, I promise you that you will not feel poisoned and bloated afterwords. If the old adage you are what you eat is true, I would rather be a plate of meza than one of those cows sitting in the Harris Ranch feed lot off the 5FWY. The vegetarian combination was a very generous platter of the usual suspects like falafel, baba ganoush, taboulleh, dolma. and hummus but all of these dishes were outstanding on their own. The falafel here is particularly delicious, crispy and redolent with extra cumin. The baba smokey, creamy, and tart simultaneously was very memorable. I very much liked the taboulleh, as well. We also ordered a fresh and simple cabbage salad that was spot on as well. The mousaka was more subtle than the version that I am accustomed to and contained a fair amount of garbanzo beans. This delicately flavored dish is just awesome. The fries with garlic, cilantro, dipped in garlic sauce and ketchup are what garlic fries at most places only dream of being. Of course the fries are hand cut and served sizzling hot the way god intended them to be served. There is enough garlic on top even for a Thai person or a Mexican to be more than happy. The server made both of us feel welcome, and was very attentive without being cloying. The two pieces of buttery baklava they gave us kicked ass. My wife wanted to take some home, but I told her not to bother because I know we will be coming back very soon.