Mediterranean Grill
1152 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC

In Vancouver, we have seen some cuisines/styles spread like wildfire. In the last two years or so, for example, we have seen several izakaya open: Kingyo, Toratatsu, Kakurenbo, et al, came along to challenge long time established Guu and then recently opened Zakkushi and Hapa Izakaya. A cuisine that has silently crept around Vancouver’s Downtown and West End is Lebanese/Middle Eastern. At one time, in the couple of blocks around English Bay, there were easily over 6 of these shops and, as mentioned in a previous post, Falafel King was my personal favourite. But, rather than blog about a place I have visited previously, instead, I chose to visit a place that went through renovations and recently re-opened.

Talk about creep, to the right is supposed to be Babylon Cafe location #3!
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Tagged as:
Lebanese,
Middle Eastern,
Vancouver,
West End
Semiramis Restaurant
4639 N Kedzie Ave
Chicago, IL 60625

Sun-Tzu said “keep your friends close, and your enemies closer”. Using a similar logic, you usually have friends and then you have FRIENDS. These friends are those that will not hesitate to tell the blunt truth, knowingly that although it will hurt you, in the end, it is for your own good. On those lines, I have a really dear friend, FYZ. In fact, if I need a reality check, I can rely on her.
Unfortunately, we have not seen each other for close to a decade – until a couple of months that is, when she was travelling to Seattle and we agreed to meet each other. Now, don’t get me wrong, we did send/receive emails once in a while but still, that is not the same. She is currently living in Chicago and, since it was on my way from/to Merrillville, I knew we had to meet each other. Of course, since she lives in the area, it was up to her to choose the place… And here is where we went, Semiramis Restaurant.

Sorry for the fuzzy picture, it was COLD!
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Tagged as:
Chicago,
Lebanese,
Middle Eastern