My first fatoush. Was it in a quiet cafe under tall trees or in a noisy courtyard? It was the perfect working person’s salad-toasted pita bread that had nearly gone stale, tomatoes, green peppers, parsley, mint and spices.
The Beirut is like fatoush, the classic Middle Eastern salad. It makes no pretense. It’s an old-timer. It is basic. And it is an honest-to-goodness bargain, a way to stretch a thin buck. Most entrees are less than $7 and that includes heaps of fresh pita bread, soup and a salad.
It is such a bargain that normal folks will depart pleasantly full while calorically-correct boomers will feel absolutely guilty-for less than $10 a person.
If you are not famished, two can order one combination deluxe dinner for $11.95, which offers a taste of nearly every entree, add some appetizers and flee into the night.
An all-you-can-eat lunch buffet of $5.95 is available from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday through Friday.
Another alternative would be to dawdle over a mazza, or a selection of appetizers. This approach rarely works this side of the Nile, because it is so difficult to find appetizers worth the attention. But the Beirut holds up well on this count.
A plate of ground chickpeas and tahin for $3.25 stands out because it is fresh, tasty, and the olive oil correctly swims in the middle, surrounded by the slow rising mound of hummos. So, too, a felafel plate for $4.25 is a winner.
The lentil soup, a small bowl for $1.25, is another Middle Eastern regular that shines. Even the rice offered with the entrees shows a careful touch.
Most Middle Eastern basics are here, from stuffed grape leaves for $6.45 to Lebanese style chicken in a lemon-garlic sauce for $6.95.
A renovation last year spruced up the restaurant, which owner Mohammad Faraj opened 16 years ago in the memory of his old restaurant in Beirut. So a large window looks onto Andersonville, and spiffy brick walls are lined with pictures of Lebanon.
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Beirut Restaurant, 5204 N. Clark St., Chicago, 312-769-1250. Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. A, DC, M, V.
