5 must-try dishes at Mazah Mediterranean Eatery on Grandview Avenue
Mazah Mediterranean Eatery has been a Grandview Avenue staple since 2009.
Opening in a space down the street from its current location, the restaurant moved about five years later to a larger storefront with a bigger kitchen at 1453 Grandview Ave.
Founder and chef Maggie Ailabouni is using time-honored recipes from her family, which has Lebanese roots.
“It’s a family business,” said Katy Ailabouni, Maggie’s daughter and employee at Mazah, which means "small plates" in Arabic.
The family’s culinary roots were displayed more than 30 years ago, when Maggie Ailabouni’s parents opened Sinbad’s in Columbus' University District.
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“They brought their heritage and culture here,” Katy Ailabouni said. “Back then, there weren’t many options for Lebanese cuisine. I knew my grandfather wanted to keep it in the family so it doesn’t get lost, and the easiest way to do that is through food.”
The grandparents later sold the restaurant but ran a Mediterranean food import business for several more years.
It was long known as one of the few places in the Columbus area to get Bulgarian feta, considered a superlative style of the salty cheese, and one that’s used, incidentally, in the Greek salad ($8 for small, $13 for large) at Mazah.
Maggie Ailabouni missed the restaurant business, so she decided to open her own place, said her daughter, who recently opened Falafel Kitchen at the Dublin North Market in Bridge Park.
An expansion of Mazah is not likely, she said.
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“I know with Mazah, I don’t think my mom would ever plan on duplicating it,” Katy Ailabouni said. “To me, the soul of the kitchen at Mazah is my mom.”
Here are five must-try dishes at Mazah Mediterranean Eatery:
∙ Fattoush salad with mujadara ($8 for small and $13 for large). The plate starts with a freshly built salad chunky with tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers and onion, fried pita chips and dressed with parsley, mint, lemon juice, sumac and olive oil — “key stuff to making something good,” Katy Ailabouni said.
The warm mujadara, in the center of the dish, is made with brown lentils, basmati rice, cumin, black pepper and “lots of onions.”
“They key for this is not how much you put in but if you’re putting in enough onions,” Ailabouni said.
∙ Stuffed grape leaves ($9.50). Hand-rolled on a daily basis, the tender leaves are wrapped around a mixture of lamb and beef ground in house and mixed with rice and robust spices. They are placed in a big pot and cooked on low heat for several before serving. (A chickpea-centered vegetarian option is available for $9.50).
“You can’t do a Middle Eastern restaurant without having grape leaves,” Ailabouni said.
∙ Kefta kebab ($15). Using the ground lamb and beef, seasoned with parsley, onions and a host of other ingredients, the meat is shaped into little patties and grilled. Then it is topped with shakshuka, a mix of tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices and olive oil.
“It’s married very well,” she said.
∙ Shish tawook ($16). The dish starts out with boneless chicken thighs marinated in “lots of garlic” and yogurt. The chicken is skewered and grilled and served with toum, a thick garlic paste that’s similar to aioli.
“I would say it’s very tender chicken thigh,” Ailabouni said. “Being served with the garlic sauce, it’s one of those dishes you can’t get enough of. It’s like a comforting thing to have chicken on your plate and have a sauce to dip it in.”
∙ Kenafi ($12). This layered, made-to-order dessert offers crispy strands of kataifi dough, filled with sweet, unsalted cheese drizzled with syrup flavored with orange and rose water and garnished with crushed walnuts and pistachios. (A vegan option, halawi, is $12).
“You can make that your full meal if you want to,” she said.
Hours at Mazah are 4 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. It's closed Sundays. Mazah will be open for lunch starting in January. For more information, call 614-488-3633.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Five dishes you should try at Mazah Mediterranean Eatery on Grandview
