New Sahara Restaurant, Farmington Hills

Beyond crisp falafel, creamy baba ghanoush, and other familiar Mediterranean snacks, Sahara Restaurant & Grill offers dishes that may surprise the palate or astonish a newbie fork. That's because the restaurant specializes in Chaldean cuisine, which traces its roots back to ancient Babylon and Mesopotamia. Saad Attisha and his family opened the restaurant in1982, and ever since, they've been serving up specialties such as chopped salads with fresh mint, savory lamb tashreeb, and tender charbroiled quail. "The delicious meal never stopped impressing, and is highly recommended as a must-stop," wrote one Spero News contributor after dining at the restaurant's Oak Park location.