FIVE STARS


1. Tanoreen
We’re not unreasonable people. We wouldn’t send you to the ends of the earth (not the earth, maybe, just the R line; it’s the third-to-last stop) without good reason. That reason is spice alchemist Rawia Bishara, whose métier is the cuisine of the Middle East, as her mother cooked it in Nazareth and as Bishara brilliantly reinterprets it. The modest storefront’s display case contains treasures untold, garlic-amped parsley-ringed platters that challenge long-held perceptions about the true nature of things as pedestrian as hummus and baba ghannouj. Eggplant is a means to many sublime, deeply smoky ends. Lamb is chopped and encased in a crunchy kibbeh shell, or braised for hours on the bone. As you savor your meal in a kind of stunned silence, try to discern the individual components of the signature Tanoreen spices that Bishara scatters about like pixie dust.
7704 Third Ave., Bay Ridge, Brooklyn; 718-748-5600

Tanoreen Caterers
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7704 Third Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11209
nr. 77th St.
718-748-5600 Send to Phone

Price Range
$$ Moderate
Cuisine
Middle Eastern
Reader Ratings

9.8 out of 10

9 Reviews | Write a Review
Profile

Chef-owner Rawia Bishara benevolently reigns over a modestly appointed dining room and open kitchen, supplementing exceptional renditions of traditional Middle Eastern cuisine with her own creative riffs on a Mediterranean-flavored theme. Tanoreen’s menu lists more than 50 items and instructs customers to order by number. You can’t go wrong with the selection. Unless, that is, you’re one of the sad few who can’t abide garlic, a defining feature of Bishara’s cooking (the others being lemon, parsley, and olive oil, plus her closely guarded blend of “Tanoreen spices”). These flavors resound in everything from a crunchy fattoush salad, strewn with toasted pita and sprinkled with sumac, to one night’s special baby eggplant, stuffed with ground lamb, in a bracing lemon-garlic sauce. If you love lamb, you’re in the right place. Fragrant grape or cabbage leaves stuffed with an expertly seasoned mixture of rice and ground lamb are an irresistible prelude to the menu’s lamby leitmotif. Ditto the double lamb whammy of deep-fried kibbeh balls—three crisp, golden shells made from finely minced lamb and bulghur, encasing a juicy mixture of ground lamb, pine nuts, and onions. Visiting Tanoreen without ordering lamb in some form seems as perverse as skipping the porterhouse at Peter Luger. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Recommended Dishes
Smoky, tahini-free purée of eggplant, $5.50; voluptuous fried slices of eggplant topped with tomato and jalapeño, $5; grape or cabbage leaves stuffed with rice and ground lamb, $13

Related Stories
New York Magazine Reviews
Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite's Full Review (2/3/03)
Best of New York Awards
Best Meze (2003)
Featured In
Cheap Eats Guide 2006 (8/7/06)
Reader Ratings
9.8 "Highly Recommended"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10

Amazing Middle Eastern fare, Shockingly rude waiter
lfekete from 11215 | Posted on 4/28/07

Overall Reader Rating: 8 (Recommended)
Food: 10

Service: 2

Décor: 6

Value: 10

The food is divine. Don't miss the hummus, smooth and full flavored, arguably the best in the city, or the eggplant napoleon, two slices of expertly fried eggplant layered between dollops of savory babaganoush on a plate of fresh tomatoes...Read More

Simply the best!
boog from Whitestone | Posted on 11/28/06

Overall Reader Rating: 10 (Highly Recommended)
Food: 10

Service: 9

Décor: 8

Value: 10

You won't find better tasting food anywhere. Rawia and her staff are very helpful. Make sure you ask your waiter for the list of things that aren't on the menu or the specials menu...there's always something. We...Read More

Read All 9 Reviews >>


Hours
Tue-Sun, noon-10:30pm; Mon, closed

Nearby Subway Stops
R at 77th St.

Prices
$10.99-$21.99

Payment Methods Accepted
American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard, Visa

Reservations
Recommended

Restaurant Special Features
Lunch
Breakfast
Take-Out
Delivery
BYOB
Alcohol
BYOB
Delivery Area
67th St. to 100th St., Shore Rd. to Sixth Ave.

Tanoreen Caterers Menu
7704 Third Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11209 nr. 77th St. 718-748-5600
Takeout Available | Delivery Available
Delivery Payment: $15 minimum
Delivery Hours: Tue-Sun, noon-10pm Delivery Area: 67th St. to 100th St., Shore Rd. to Sixth Ave. Email This Print This
appetizers
cold appetizers
1Baba Ghanouge grilled, pureed eggplant blended with toasted sesame paste (tahini), fresh lemon juice, garlic and olive oil 5.50
2Hummus pureed chickpeas with sesame paste (tahini), lemon juice and garlic 5
3Tabbouleh finely chopped parsley, mint, scallions, lemon juice, bulgur wheat and olive oil 5.50
4Fatoush salad composed of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, mint, sumac, olive oil, lemon juice and toasted wedges of pita sm 6 lg 9
With Grilled Chicken sm 9 lg 12
Add Feta Cheese sm 2 lg 2.50
5Eggplant Salad roasted eggplant, fresh tomato, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and parsley 5.50
6Vegetarian Grape Leaves stuffed with rice, parsley, onions, tomatoes, lemon, olive oil and tanoreen spices 5.50
7Cauliflower Salad browned cauliflower buds topped with tahini sauce, pomegranate syrup, and parsley 5.50
8Turkish Salad a classic mediterranean red pepper and tomato spicy spread usually served next to grilled entrees 5
9Makdous pickled baby eggplant stuffed with garlic, chopped walnuts and red pepper 5.50
10Labaneh middle eastern yogurt spread topped with mint and olive oil 5
11Olive Spread chopped black olives, capers, olive oil, garlic and tanoreen spices 5
12Feta Cheese Salad feta cheese with tomato, cucumbers, zaatar, olive oil and lemon juice 6
hot appetizers
13Eggplant Napoleon crispy eggplant slices layered with baba ghanouge, and topped with chopped tomato and basil salad 6.50
14Meat Grape Leaves stuffed with rice, chopped lamb and tanoreen spices 5.50
15Falafel vegetarian fried chickpea patties served with tahini sauce and salad toppings sm 5.50 lg 8
16Kibbie a shell of finely chopped lamb, wheat germ and spices stuffed with chopped lamb, pine nuts, onions and tanoreen spices, deep-fried 5
17Sujok armenian dried meat, sautéed with garlic, olive oil and red pepper 6.50
18Sambosek dough pockets filled with vegetables or ground lamb and tanoreen spices, deep-fried and served with cilantro-basil dipping sauce 5
19Chicken Fingers lightly breaded chicken tenderloins, deep-fried and served with french fries 7.50
20Pies meat, spinach, feta cheese or combination of three 4.50

entrees
21Baked Mediterranean Eggplant thinly sliced eggplant, layered with chopped lamb, onions, garlic, tomatoes, potatoes and tanoreen spices, baked and served with rice pilaf 14
22Kafta finely ground lamb, onions, parsley and spices, topped with tahini sauce or tomato sauce, baked and served next to rice 14
23Stuffed Cabbage cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, chopped lamb and spices, slowly cooked with whole cloves of garlic and served with a lemon-garlic dipping sauce 13
24Shepherds Pie garlic mashed potatoes layered with chopped lamb, pine nuts and tanoreen spices, baked to a golden brown and served with salad 14
25Kibbie finely chopped lamb, wheat germ and spices stuffed with lamb, onions and tanoreen spices, baked and served with salad 14
26Vegetarian Combo shulbato, lentil pilaf, vegetarian grape leaves, sautéed dandelion and salad 13
27Mediterranean Grilled Chicken boneless chicken breast marinated in basil pesto sauce, with sundried tomatoes and mushrooms, served with rice pilaf 13
28Half Chicken roasted with potatoes, onions, fresh tomato and tanoreen spices, served with rice or salad 14
29Okra stewed in tomato sauce with cubes of lamb and tanoreen spices, served with rice 14

grilled entrees
Served With Rice and Salad

30Kabob finely ground lamb with onions, parsley, tanoreen spices 14
31Chicken Kabob tender chicken breast cubed and bathed in our special marinade 13
32Shish Kabob marinated lamb cubes 14
33Grilled Combo a combination platter of our grilled entrees, kabobs, chicken kabob and shish kabobs 15

half portions of grilled entrees, except combo, available for lunch (noon-4pm) for $8.99

from the sea
34Red Snapper Stripped Bass Porgies Barbonies fried and served with salad and tahini dipping sauce, red snapper, porgies and bass may be ordered baked mp
35Shrimp sautéed with garlic sauce, olive oil, and lemon served with rice 14

sandwiches
All Sandwiches Wrapped in Pita Bread

36Mediterranean Grilled Chicken Sandwich boneless chicken breast, basil pesto sauce, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, lettuce and tomato 5.50
37Falafel Sandwich traditional vegetarian middle eastern sandwich, chickpea patties, pickles, lettuce and tomato and tahini sauce 4
38Chicken Sandwich our version of chicken schwarma is composed of shredded chicken breast, peppers, saffron and tanoreen spices with lettuce, tomato, pickles and tahini sauce 5
39Kabob Sandwich ground lamb kabob with lettuce, tomato, onions, parsley and tahini sauce 5.50
40Vegetarian Sandwich cracked wheat in tomato sauce with olive spread and sautéed vegetables 5
41Chicken Cutlet Sandwich specially marinated and breaded chicken cutlet breast with tomato, lettuce and garlic sauce 5
42Shish Kabob Sandwich marinated lamb cubes with lettuce, tomato, onions and parsley and tahini sauce 5.50

breakfast
49Foul Muddamas the classic middle eastern breakfast of stewed fava beans with olive oil, lemon, garlic and parsley 5.50
50Eggs and Potatoes eggs scrambled with potatoes, onions, garlic and olive oil 6
51Hummus With Meat hummus topped with chopped lamb, pine nuts and olive oil 7.50

side dishes
43Spinach sautéed with garlic and olive oil 5.50
44String Beans sautéed with fresh tomato, garlic, olive oil and spices 5
45Dandelion sautéed with olive oil, garlic and carmelized onions 5.50
46Lentil Pilaf whole grain lentils simmered with rice, carmelized onions and spices 5
47Arabic Tomato Salad diced tomatoes, cucumbers, onions in olive oil and lemon 5
Add Feta Cheese 2
48Shulbato cracked wheat cooked in tomato sauce with chickpeas, sautéed squash, eggplant and spices 5
Rice Pilaf with vermicelli noodles 4.50
Yogurt with cucumbers, mint and garlic 4.50
French Fries 4

desserts
52Knafeh our house specialty is composed of shredded filo dough stuffed with two kinds of sweet cheese and baked, topped with homemade syrup and pistachio nuts, large portion (allow 20 minutes) 12
53Baklava layers of filo dough stuffed with ground nuts and sweet spices baked and topped with syrup 4.50
54Sahlab custard flavored with authentic middle eastern sweet spice (mastic), topped with pistachio nuts and syrup 5
55Harissa baked semolina cake, soaked in syrup and topped with pistachio nuts 4.50

beverages
Coffee
American 1.50
Arabic 2.50
Tea arabic mint tea hot 2.50 iced 3
Tea Bag 1.50
Assorted Soda 1.50
Bottled Water 1.50
Juice 1.50






Five and Four Star Cheap Eats

Three Star Cheap Eats

Two Star Cheap Eats

One Star Cheap Eats

What the Stars Mean

Top 5 New Cheap Eats, Pizza Places, and Prix Fixe Meals

Top 5 Burgers and Brunch Spots




Some months back, our colleague Adam Platt bestowed New York Magazine’s first restaurant stars and has been enlightening diners and infuriating chefs ever since. For the most part, the worthy recipients of his inaugural ratings were the big-ticket, deep-pocket establishments you might expect—the Masas and the Per Ses, the Escas and the ’Cescas. But who’s to say that New York’s best cheap eats—the burgers and dogs, the noodles and ribs, that most of us, including those celestial chefs themselves, eat every day—don’t deserve the same starry treatment? Certainly not two obsessive eaters as ourselves, who, truth be told, spend most waking (and sleeping) hours joyfully reminiscing about past cheap meals and avidly planning future ones. And so it was decided that this year, instead of dedicating our annual issue to surveying the “Best New Cheap Eats of 2006” (the very best of which you’ll still find here, on page 39), we’d introduce our own set of stars—winsome red-rimmed white ones, rather than Platt’s solid reds. And to kick things off, we’d give them to our 101 favorite restaurants, ranked, one by one, in order.



Although 101 sounds like a lot, it really isn’t, a fact that becomes painfully clear when you realize that for each beloved Latin lunch counter or vegetarian Indian buffet you include, you’re forced to leave another out. Eventually, we hope to star every appropriately priced restaurant in town and then, having eaten everything there is to eat and passed thoughtfully considered judgments, keel over in some honorable fashion, mission accomplished.



Our criteria, of course, differ from Platt’s in some respects. When you rate a falafel shack, for instance, it’s hard to take into account the finer points of ambience or the sangfroid of the maître d’hôtel when there isn’t any. But that’s not to say a goat taco or an Uzbeki kebab doesn’t merit the same scrutiny and appreciation as a Wagyu beefsteak, or that a margherita pizza can’t be judged on its own merits. All delicious things are worthy of the star treatment (See “What the Stars Mean," page 8).



And what, exactly, do we mean by cheap? A little clarification is in order. For the purposes of our monthly “Underground Gourmet” column and this “Cheap Eats” issue, we mostly limit ourselves to restaurants where entrée prices seldom exceed $20. On rare occasions, we make allowances for the compulsory splurge—or bottom-feed at the lower end of a pricier menu. But even the most literal-minded penny-pincher must agree that in this town, cheap is a relative term. Madison Avenue cheap is very different from Red Hook cheap (unless you’re Tony Dragonas, No. 86 on our list, whose estimable pushcart stands kitty-corner to Hermès, at Madison and 62nd). In our world, and in the greater context of the New York food scene, cheap is sometimes five-dumplings-for-a-dollar dirt cheap, sometimes fancy-chef-tackles-burgers-and-dogs cheap, and sometimes, as at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery, not cheap, per se, but still a heck of a good deal. In our book, they’re all stars.

Shake Shack Menu
Madison Ave. , New York, NY 10010 at 23rd St. 212-889-6600
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burgers
All Burgers Are Served Plain Unless Otherwise requested, Please Let Us Know If You Would Like lettuce, tomato, Pickles or Onion

Hamburger single 3.23 double 5.08
Cheeseburger single 3.69 double 5.77
Shack Burger american cheese, lettuce, tomato and shack sauce single 4.38 double 6.46
Shroom Burger crisp-fried portobello filled with melted cheese and onions, topped with lettuce, tomato and shack sauce 4.15
Shack Stack trilogy of hamburger, shack burger and 'shroom burger 7.61

hot dogs
Chicago Dog vienna all-beef dog on a poppy seed bun, topped with lettuce, tomato, sport peppers, green peppers, pickles, onion, neon relish, cucumber, celery salt and mustard 2.77
Taxi Dog vienna all-beef hot dog with choice of homemade sauerkraut and tomato-simmered onions 2.54
Bird Dog smoked chicken and apple bratwurst 4.14
Second City Bird-wurst smoked chicken and apple wurst with lettuce, tomato, sport peppers, green peppers, pickles, onion, neon relish, cucumber, celery salt and mustard 4.84

fries
French Fries 2.08
Cheese Fries 2.54

ice cream
Cups & Cones vanilla, chocolate, flavor of the day single dip 2.54 double dip 3 triple dip 3.69
Kiddie 1.15
Sundaes with any one topping, whipped cream, cherry double dip 3.69 triple dip 4.38
Each Additional Sundae Topping or Mix-in 0.69
homemade toppings & mix-ins
Hot Fudge Sauce 0.69
Hot Caramel Sauce 0.69
Fresh Seasonal Fruit Pie 0.69
Chocolate Chip Cookies 0.69
Valrhona Chocolate Chunks 0.69
Chocolate Truffle Cookie Dough 0.69
Chocolate Mint Cookie 0.69
Malt Balls 0.69
Chocolate Toffee 0.69
Bananas 0.69
Whipped Cream 0.69
Peanut Butter 0.69
Salted Peanuts 0.69

frozen drinks
Shakes vanilla, chocolate, caramel, coffee, black & white, strawberry reg 3.92 lg 4.84
Floats (with double dip frozen custard) root beer, purple cow or creamsicle 3.92

frozen custard
concretes
Dense Frozen Custard Blended At High Speed With Homemade Mix-ins
The Concrete Jungle hot fudge, bananas and peanut butter 5.77
Mocha-shack-accino espresso, hot fudge and whipped cream 5.77
Hopscotch hot caramel sauce, chocolate toffee and valrhona chocolate chunks 5.77
Shack Attack chocolate custard, hot fudge, chocolate truffle cookie dough and valrhona chocolate chunks, topped with chocolate sprinkles 5.77
Concreation design your own
Foundation 3.92
Each Homemade Topping or Mix-in 0.69
others
The Pooch-ini a chilly treat for those with four feet, frozen custard, peanut butter and a dog biscuit 2.54

beverages
Fountain Soda coke, diet coke, dr. pepper, sprite, fanta orange, fanta grape reg 1.38 lg 1.85
Bottled Soda (12 oz.) abita root beer 1.61
Fresh-squeezed Lemonade reg 1.85 lg 2.54
Fresh-brewed Iced Tea reg 1.38 lg 1.85
The Arnold Palmer half lemonade, half iced tea reg 1.61 lg 2.08
Iced Graffeo Coffee reg 1.38 lg 1.85
Fiji Water half liter 1.39

ice cold beer
draught
Brooklyn Pilsner 5
bottle
Budweiser (16oz.) 4
Amstel Light 5
Abita Amber 5
Sam Adams 5

wine
white wines
By the Glass or Bottle (750ml)
Chenin Blanc bonny doon "pacific rim", california 2004 6 24
Riesling albrecht, alsace 2004 7 28
Chardonnay talbott "kali-hart", monterey county 2004 9 36
red wines
By the Glass or Bottle (750ml)
Cabernet deloach, california 2002 6 24
Pinot Noir calera "el nino", central coast 2002 7 28
Shiraz trevor jones "boots", barossa valley 2004 9 36
white wines
By the Half Bottle (375ml)
Sancerre chateau du maimbray, france 2004 15
Caymus "conundrum" california 2004 26
Trefethen, Chardonnay california 2004 31
red wines
By the Half Bottle (375ml)
Merlot pine ridge "crimson creek", napa valley 2001 19
Chianti querciabella "riserva", tuscany 1998 28
Cabernet shafer, napa valley 2003 38
rose
By the Half Bottle (375ml)
Sancerre Rose domaine du colombier "neveu", france 2004 23
champagne
By the Half Bottle (375ml)
Billecart Brut france nv 30

Best Dim Sum

Chinatown Brasserie
380 Lafayette St.; 212-533-7000


With good Chinese chefs forever leaving town, and more and more of the potentially good ones staying in their homeland in the first place, the city’s Chinese-food aficionados are a beleaguered bunch these days. But mention the work of Mr. Joe Ng, the Hong Kong–born dim sum prodigy at Chinatown Brasserie, and their eyes light up, just like in the old days. Ng has more than a hundred varieties of dim sum in his impressive repertoire; many of the best seem to involve some form of shrimp. The perfect shrimp-themed feast begins with a platter or two of the steamy, delicate-skinned pork-and-shrimp dumplings, followed by a taste of shrimp dumplings stuffed with roast duck. After that, order the yellow-skinned, triangular shrimp-and-snow-pea–leaf dumplings, and then the little pouches of translucent wheat-and-potato skin stuffed with shrimp and Chinese chives. Get it while you can, before Joe Ng decides to skip town himself.