Like the phoenix rising from ashes, Marianne’s Kitchen is a sign of renewal among several vacant storefronts in the tired Golf Glen Mart Plaza on heavily traveled Golf Road.
There’s a large pizza oven just inside the door, and hamburgers and Italian sausage are on the menu. Don’t succumb to these distractions. What should make Marianne’s a dining mecca is the “authentic Lebanese and Middle Eastern cuisine.”
Those familiar with cliched Middle Eastern dining spots–where all too often the food is heavy with grease and light on flavor–will realize how much a compliment it is to say that Marianne’s food tastes homemade.
Two of the dishes, a tabbouleh salad that correctly features chopped parsley as the main ingredient and a miraculously unsweet and unsticky baklava, are as good as you’ll find anywhere. Almost as impressive are the beautifully crisp, virtually greaseless deep-fried falafel, made of ground chickpeas.
These three items are among the eight appetizers ($1.50 to $3.95), six salads ($1.50 to $3.95), two soups ($1.50), nearly a dozen-and-a-half entrees ($6.95 to $12.95) and three desserts that make up the Middle Eastern selection. There also are combination platters. A vegetarian section lists eight items ($4.95 to $5.95).
Co-owner Marianne Maloyan avoids sameness by deftly applying spices such as cinnamon, cumin and black pepper, as well as lemon juice, in different proportions to various preparations. Lemon, for instance, lightens and freshens hummus, the chickpea and tahini (sesame paste) spread, and enlivens chicken served as kebabs or as tender nuggets on a “shawarma” plate.
Other dishes likely to haunt your memory are the onion-accented spinach pie encased in a particularly soft and agreeable pastry and lamb specialities such as kibbeh (with cracked wheat and pine nuts) and kafta kebab.
Entree portions are served on platters with a generous amount of rice pilaf and, according to the dish, rings of bell pepper and onion. Pita bread, warmed in foil, is dispensed freely.
Not everything is executed as well as the dishes cited above. Lentil soup had a gruellike consistency, the beef in a shawarma platter was overcooked to the point of dryness, and the texture of the rice was uneven.
Marianne’s open kitchen is well-prepared to process carry-out orders, but behind a grape arbor room divider is a pleasant carpeted seating area with booths for two and four. At meal’s end, satisfied beyond expectations and relaxing with a tasty Lebanese coffee, it’s easy to believe the floor covering is really a magic carpet.
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Marianne’s Kitchen. (fork) (fork) 9072 Golf Rd., Niles, 708-635-1131.
On Friday Phil Vettel reviews Maple Tree Inn in Blue Island.
