Al-Baraki

Sun streams in through a wide front window at Al-Baraki, illuminating a decorative hookah and servers placing falafel, marinated meats, and flaky baklava on cloth-covered tables. A menu of simple Lebanese fare makes use of imported spices and local ingredients, infusing each dish with an assertive punch of flavor. Their moulouki, or "royal dinner," treats patrons to a traditional Lebanese meal that begins with a gaggle of appetizers, a meaty main of shawarma and lamb kebab, and goat-cheese pie. Alternatively, vegetarian dinners, such as falafel, can be ordered à la carte and washed down with traditional lemounada, a fresh-squeezed lemonade scented with water droplets handpicked off of rose petals. In Al-Baraki's feature in the Times-Union, correspondent Cheryl Clark describes the aroma of cumin in the air alongside the decorative baubles—from a fez to an inlaid chess case—chosen by Owner and Chef Paul Chedrawee and his wife, Simone.