Sahara Restaurant, Worcester
We tried what turned out to be a fabulous Lebanese/Middle Eastern restaurant in Worcester today. It is called the Sahara, and it's on Highland Avenue (Route 9) a bit north of downtown in a rather funky part of the city.
We ordered several items, starting with an outstanding spinach and lentil bean soup (a calming, warm taste to it, probably from the spices added to it) as well as a couple of decent salads. For the main entrees, we tried the chicken shawarma, falafel, hummus, baba ganouj, and stuffed grape leaves. The chicken shawarma was, well, "wow" is the only word that comes to mind. The nutmeg-based sauce that was spread over the chicken was like nothing I've had, and the chicken itself was all meat and no gristle. The grape leaves and baba ganouj were very good, though they didn't stand out from what I've had at other places. But the hummus was smooth and richly flavored, while the falafel was even better. This was not the "green" falafel that I tend to prefer (I think the green color comes from parsley and mint, among other herbs and spices mixed in), but they were outstanding--crisp, no grease at all, and pretty filling, though no overly so.
I've been to some decent Middle Eastern restaurants in Boston, but Sahara might top them all except for perhaps Sultan's Kitchen in the Financial District of the city. The food reminded me of what I used to get at Bishop's in Lawrence years ago before they closed down.
hiddenboston
Jan 27, 2008 07:19PM
Nice atmosphere too. Try El Basha, whose food I prefer and compare them sometime.
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The food and atmosphere at Sahara are very nice indeed. The service, however, is so painfully slow that I think it might represent a deliberate attempt to convey the more relaxed pace of life in the food's region of origin!
Worcester has quite a bit of middle-eastern food. Try also Shiraz on Park Avenue. The atmosphere is nothing special, but the food is delicious and the service is very friendly and prompt.
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Thanks for the other suggestions for Middle Eastern food. Boston has a few decent Middle Eastern places, but I'm always looking for new ones to try outside of the city.
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Hi there hb,
I agree, Sahara reminds me of Bishops also, and is my favorite middle eastern restaurant in town. It's the first place I took my parents on their first visit to Worcester, and my Dad who grew up in Lawrence said the same thing. I just wish they had the butter beans.
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Did someone say Bishops?? Oh my, I miss that place...do any of these places have the same delicious shish and fries? I dined at Shiraz 10+ years back. Will have to ask my Armenian Mom if she has been to Sahara.
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Oh, man, do I miss those Bishop's butter beans....every time I go to Bob's Pita Bakery in Roslindale (where they have big bags of these huge lima beans), I almost get weepy.
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Did Bishops make them in Tomato Sauce?
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Yes, they did make them in tomato sauce at Bishop's--well, at least I had them that way there, but we may have been putting in a special request for them that way. It was a long time ago, so I don't remember exactly whether it was on the menu. God, were they good, though.
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Yes, tomato sauce with lebanese spices. Mmmmm...
The Phoenecian in Salem, NH is somehow connected to the old Bishop's family (not exactly sure how) but you can get your heavenly olive oil fry fix there.
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The Phoenecian relationship with Bishop's is the former people who worked at Bishop's opened up The Phoenecian after Bishop's closed.
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I got a gift card for the Phoenecian for my folks' anniversary, but they haven't used it yet. Perhaps I can take them up there one of these days to try it out.
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I went once the first year yeay were open. They always had a great prime rib and french fries. Middle Eastern and arabic food I grew up on and I rarely order it out because someone in the family always has some sort of dish available at their home for me to eat or bring home.
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