Semiramis Lebanese Cuisine [Pictures]

LTH,

So there I was happily sitting at my desk counting the ants in my ant farm, I think three may have gone South, and the phone rings........brrrrrrinnnnng, brrrrrriiinnnng. Who should it be but M'th'su to tell me about his morning run, which if you know me is quite humorous.

Just when I think Mike has lost, at least, a couple of his marbles he gets to the meat of the conversation, or should I say the shawerma, a new restaurant has opened in the Shawerma King space and did I want to meet him for lunch. The restaurant in question, Semiramis had, in fact, opened that very morning.

No day one jitters at Semiramis, the owner, Joseph, had owned ZouZou past home of the ReneG approved French fries sprinkled with sumac, served with garlic mousse, and currently owns Leo's Lunchroom. Speaking of fries, Joseph said he plans on serving fries in the very near future, in the same fashion as ZouZou.

Joseph completely remodeled the space resulting in two open, airy, and spotlessly clean rooms. One which houses the kitchen, including delicious looking, and tasting, shawerma.


We split a very tasty Lamb and Beef Chawarma Special w/roasted eggplant, red cabbage, tomato, pickle, tahini and harrissa.


The marinated rotisserie chicken, served with thin lavosh and garlic sauce, the same garlic mousse as at ZouZou, was excellent and, at $3.75 for half, $5.50 for whole, a heck of a deal.


Mike and I also tried a couple of daily specials.


Fasouyla Bayda, white beans with tender lamb was very flavorful.
(Picture taken by Mike S)


Sambusik, ground meat encased in a flaky crust served with yogurt, is something I'll order whenever available.


Of the dishes we tried the Dahoud Basha was my least favorite. I liked the tomato sauce, thought the flavor of the meatball good, but the meatball itself seemed dry, especially in the center.
(Picture taken by Mike S)


Joseph completely remodeled, the dining room is now quite comfortable.


The two tables in the window would be a very nice place to while away the afternoon drinking Arabic coffee w/cardamom, munching olives and pickled turnip.


Service was pleasant and, given it was their first day in business, surprisingly efficient. Semiramis is one of the rare casual Middle Eastern spots that do not seem to mind BYOB, at least judging by the warm reception a group of 6 men received when they walked in with wine and beer.

I'm looking forward to many return visits to Semiramis, and am very happy Mike spotted the opening on his jog. Almost enough to make me take up running, Almost.

Enjoy,
Gary

Semiramis
4639-41 N Kedzie
Chicago, IL 60625
773-279-8900
11am - 10pm
Monday - Saturday

Wow, nice pics. I think I just found something to do on Saturday morning.

Gary,

Excellent pics. This place looks wonderful. More Lebanese food makes me a happy man. I am so glad that this spot didn't turn into a cell phone/phone card store.

Do you know if they're using Al-Khaymeih lavosh? I would imagine that they are.

Best,
Michael

Gary,

I think (and I'm sure that someone more knowledgeable than I will correct me if I'm wrong) that the garlic spread is called toum. Sounds great.

btw, did you happen to notice anything interesting on the veggie front?

zim wrote:btw, did you happen to notice anything interesting on the veggie front?

Zim,

I have the menu in front of me and yes, pretty good veg options. Green beans with garlic and tomato, Falafel, Fattoush, Hummus, Ful, Grape leaves stuffed with rice, Smoked eggplant and Tabbouleh. To name a few.

I was very impressed with the way the Tabbouleh looked, very parsley heavy, which I understand, from a long ago rec.food.cooking post by the Tabbouleh Princess, signifies Lebanese style. I plan on ordering the Tabbouleh next time I'm at Semiramis.

I'm most certain both you and the vegetarians in your group can build a very nice meal at Semiramis.

Enjoy,
Gary

eatchicago wrote:Do you know if they're using Al-Khaymeih lavosh? I would imagine that they are.

Michael,

I didn't ask, but it makes sense that they are. I'm sure if you asked Joseph he would be very happy to answer. He seemed a very forthright person.

Enjoy,
Gary

On the basis of the name "Joseph" and other evidence which I am not able to disclose at the moment (:roll: ), I suggest that the proprietor is a Lebanese Christian and therefore has no problem with the consumption of alcohol in his business.

This place looks swell; thanks m'th'su and G-W for the tip... I'm headed there very soon.

Antonius

Kibbeh nayeh? Please say yes.

I assume that Joseph is a Christian, or better said, non-Muslim Lebanese person, explaining the BYOB? Relatively common in Lebanese and Syrian places, no?

I knew where I wanted to go for lunch today. I am happy to report back, there was no second day slump. Everything was as top notch as it appears from the reports (and pics) above.

As it was just the Condiment Queen and myself, we could not quite sample as much. We did try the baba ganoush (called something else on the menu), highly smokey with a bit of eggplant back-bitter, the ultra lucious green-beans (with the olive oil surely playing a co-starrying role), a meat schwarma sammy, a roasted chicken with the garlic sauce sammy, and a bowl of lentil soup. One interesting note, the sammys are rolled and then pressed in a pannini machine, crisping up the bread. The meat itself of the spit was very well spiced and delicious on its own, but with all the add-ins as show above, even better.

Today's specials were the same as yesterday. We were proudly shown all. They all looked as good "in real time", but smelled a lot better. We were told that tomorrow's specials would be stuffed zuchini and stuffed something else (it escapes me now) and okra.

Thanks again to alerting us to this place.

Rob

Vital Information wrote:One interesting note, the sammys are rolled and then pressed in a pannini machine, crisping up the bread.

I'm not 100% sure but i think the practice of rolling the sandwiches like that is traditionally Lebanese. At least, I've only had it this way in Lebanese places. I first fell in love with these rolled, pressed sandwiches at a Lebanese hole-in-the wall in NW Washington, DC during college. I was happy to learn, years later, that Taste of Lebanon on Foster rolls 'em the same way (but not hot-pressed).

I'm even happier to learn that Semiramis continues this practice. I love the thin lavash, rolled around the meat and slightly crisp.

Best,
Michael / EC

Seems great.
We haven't had great luck with 'real' shawarmas in the past couple of years we've looked in Chicago. Especially nobody seemed to have the real fluffy garlicky toum. Taste buds were sated this past December when we stopped in Dubai for a few days. I finally understood what my wife who grew up there meant by 'real' shawerma (and for the price )

We did discover El Ameer on S. 101st and Harlem or thereabouts. Good Liver & Kidney fry. Haven't been out that way in a long while, but it was good all three times we went there over a two month period a year ago.

Thanks for the info on Semiramis.

Looks great, I really liked Zouzou in its early days and the sandwich looks identical. They had very good foul and also a reddish potato salad that came with most things that was pretty damn wonderful, just a hint of lemon and some spices, I wonder if either is on the menu?

This is excellent news. I'd been missing Joseph's falafel deluxe sandwich (among other things) from ZouZou. Judging from the picture of the chawarma special it looks like the falafel sandwich might be just as before. There was something special about the combination of freshly fried falafel with the red cabbage, pickles, eggplant, and harissa all wrapped in lavash that made it my clear favorite in Chicago. The rest of the food sounds great too. I have a feeling that Semiramis is going to do very well.

Ms. EC and I made it to lunch at Semiramis on Saturday (during the outage).

We ordered just a couple appetizers and a couple sandwiches (anticipating a much larger meal at Bruna's later in the day).

The baba ganouj (known as batinjan moutabbal on this menu) was delicious. Just as VI said, very smokey and a nice rich finish. It was a great start with some warm lavosh.

We also tried one of the specials, sambousik, which is basically ground meat and pine nuts stuffed into a pastry shell and served with some plain yogurt. Not bad, but nothing I'd run back for.

The sandwiches were excellent, felafel and the special shwarema (with the eggplant and cabbage). I love the rolled and pressed style of sandwich and the fresh Al-Khaymeih lavosh (confirmed) is always wonderful. Ms. EC loved their hot sauce but I found it more tomatoey than hot. I was tempted to run across the street to Salaam for some of their house hot-sauce.

The room is very cheery, bright, and clean (credit to the Shwarema King) and the service is friendly and warm. As an added bonus, we ran into three generations of Vital Information. The VI family pulled up at the table next to us as we were getting our check. Clearly, Semiramis is the place to be!

I'm really pleased that such a nice Lebanese place opened up in that spot. I'm looking forward to exploring some more of their menu and specials.

Thanks for the discovery, notice, and beautiful pics.

Best,
Michael / EC

PS
Afterwards we walked up to Al-Khaymeih for some fresh lavosh to take home and some sweets to eat in the car. The owner at Al-Khaymeih is always friendly and helpful, even if you're just spending three bucks. I need to spend more time on Kedzie.

eatchicago wrote:I'm really pleased that such a nice Lebanese place opened up in that spot. I'm looking forward to exploring some more of their menu and specials.

Yes! (and always fun to run into a fellow 'hound at a new spot.)

I've been known to bemoan the Middle-Eastern restaurants in Chicago, but I think that sentiment is leaving. Between Babylon, Steve's and this place, I've had several excellent meals in the last month (or so), and the great thing is, the places are not duplicative.

Semiramis has a LOT to offer. Even though I know the kefta casserole's been on the steam table for several days, I still ordered it on Saturday. Worth eating too. Enjoyable, homey, Levanthian version of meatloaf, with the added bonus of potatoes and rice. Better though was the stuffed stuff. Zuchini, eggplant and grapeleaves with rice and meat inside, covered in a thin but rich red gravy. I tried a ton of other things on Saturday, none less delicious than the next including roast chicken with crisp skin and garlic glory; well cooked fresh falafal, and nicely salty tabouleh. Joseph, ever engaging, provided us with on-the-house, cardomon heavy, Arabian coffee for finish, then went outside to wave bye to one of the chowhounditas after we left.

Rob

FWIW, Joseph promised a fine kibbeh nyi with 24 hours notice. Good drinking food, we agreed.

Vital Information wrote:I've been known to bemoan the Middle-Eastern restaurants in Chicago, but I think that sentiment is leaving. Between Babylon, Steve's and this place, I've had several excellent meals in the last month (or so), and the great thing is, the places are not duplicative.

It is a very feeble scene, all the same, Rob.

I know, I know, as Akhnaton said, "To be satisfied with a little, is the greatest wisdom." But, when a city like LA offers the likes of Al-Cazar, Carousel, Mandaloun, Wahib's, Shamshiri Grill, Sofra, Heidar Baba, Chameau, Oasis, Magic Carpet, Moun of Tunis, Shah Abbas, etc., you can colour me foolish.

And, hey, Jeff, let's hear it for a city where raw beef kibbe doesn't have to be a back-alley-deal.

Erik M.

Erik, are you speaking of Detroit?

I'm not sure what the deal is here with raw kibbeh. Maza has it, but I don't think too much of it. Certainly, raw meat can't be the problem. It shows up with decent regularity at German and Polish places. The unwillingness to provide raw meats for Vietnamese dishes that I have heard about in Florida does not seem to be an issue here. As I understand it, the problem is demand, or lack thereof.

I know that even the humblest Syrian or Lebanese place in some parts of this country will have raw kibbeh; it's a very basic dish. I'm guessing that there are not enough "Middle Eastern" folks here looking for it, meaning not enough people from that particular part of the Levant?

On a similar note, I visited the butcher shop in the Kedzie/Lawrence stripmall (Albanian pizza, Clark Market, Jaafer Sweets, etc) looking somewhat naively for house-cured basturma. No dice. Just some very expensive, pre-sliced stuff with Arabic script from Bayonne NJ. The rub seemed right, but the meat itself was well-done, fairly bland except for salt, etc. That is, not Sahag's. Then again, basturma is one of those Armenian things that has been coopted and spead through the Arab world. I think I like the Armenian style better, if Sahag's is in any way typical.

Today I followed the ant trail to Semiramis. I was really in quite a sorry state: no breakfast, an intense exercise class followed by a meeting. I was totally starved when I arrived. I followed all the recommendations I could remember including the special of meat and pinenut filled pastry with yogurt.

I will focus on one item: the whole roasted marinated chicken served on lavosh with a garlic-potato sauce. All I could think of was Lebanese Taverna in Washington, D.C. It is as close to this a experience I have yet to come across in Chicago. Yes, the garlic sauce could be more intensely garlic, though not quite as intense as I made for Erik M's Basturma Party a few years ago. My only quibble, and maybe just personal to me, I'd prefer the lavosh slightly warmed and served separately rather than catching the meat juices causing it to get soggy. Outstanding whole chicken for $5.50, it made no sense to buy a half at $3.75.

My friend Helen had me marking up the menu so she could bring her family back for more of the same. They don't have any desserts yet which they hope to have very soon.

Don't scrub the ant trail yet, I want to find my way back!

Hi everybody!

Thanks to my cell-phone service deciding to temporarily crap out, I missed G Wiv's call(s?) as to where we were supposed to meet for lunch today (Hey, Gary, I love explaining personal business in a public forum, don't you??). Gary's message, and about 4 others, all arrived at once, just as I was sitting down to eat at Semiramis. Fate is funny, I guess - I missed lunch with Gary but found myself on Kedzie at the beginning of the dinner hour (no early bird special, here, though, not that it's needed with the prices being so reasonable anyway) and decided to follow up on all the good reports about this place in the former (RIP) Shawerma King spot.

Very impressive. I stayed basic (I was by myself, after all, and didn't want to seem too much of a piggy in front of Gloria, the most fetching and very hospitable Korean waitress...) but was most pleased by all of my selections. ***Lentil Soup*** In Middle Eastern restaurants, this is sometimes quite good, sometimes a watery afterthought. The style here was quite light and on the lemony side, with the lentils in a semi-puree as is the tradition. The flavors in Joseph's version just seem fresher and truer than in other versions around town. Refreshing and tasty (though a little salt and pepper helped, as it always does). ***Falafel Mezze*** 4 pieces of falafel and a very good, creamy and tangy tahini for 2 bucks. On its own, this version rivals City Noor's - hot, crisp, deep flavor with almost no grease and not heavy at all. When put into some fresh bread with pickled radish, olive, and tahini - almost a meal in itself. ***Lamb and beef shawerma special sandwich *** Very nice. Meat had a complex, deep, spicy component that kept getting better. Nice complement of harissa and vegetables in crisp, fresh bread. Super sandwich. Some tea and walnut baklava and a Chesterfield to finish. (You know I like a place where, upon returning from the men's room, I find ice water, olives and radish, fresh bread, and an ashtray waiting for me. Nice to know someone cares.) Total tab was 10 bucks, and still have half a sandwich waiting for me later. On the whole, Semiramis seems like a casual, relaxing place with a touch more class than the other joints on the Kedzie strip - friendly, unrushed, and good, refined Lebanese cuisine. Thanks for sniffing this place out, everyone. Let's hope they thrive and keep the level of service and food where it is.

Rebbe

I am happy to report that not only is the potato salad from Zouzou there, it is there by popular demand, according to Joseph. He says he didn't know if folks in the new neighborhood (meaning actual middle easterners) would like it or what they'd think of it, but enough past clientele remembered and mentioned it that he decided what the heck.

The whole place is really good, and I say that even though the Lebanese style of sandwich (rolled in a flat pita with pickle, etc.) isn't my favorite among middle-eastern sandwiches. But good hummus, very good foul, and the rotisserie chicken may be the answer for anyone who isn't quite satisfied with their Puerto Rican/South American choices-- or in light of the other big discovery this week, maybe we need a Semiramis vs. Pico Rico chicken challenge.

Today we received a pleasant change from the usual pizza joint fliers dropped through the mail slot: a menu from Semiramis. Stamped on the back is "WE DELIVER." There is no indication of delivery area. We live in the western part of Lincoln Square, so they are at least going east of the Chicago River.

I really appreciate the people that take time to post pics, it really drew my interest to a topic that I otherwise would not be interested in, thanks!

LTH,

Went with my wife and the neighbors to Semiramis tonight, thought I'd make it a two chicken day, Pico Rico's for lunch and Semiramis's for dinner. Was not to be, we got there around 8 and Semiramis was out of chicken.

Still had a really nice dinner, our neighbors loved the place, atmosphere, food, even had nice things to say about our waitress Gloria, but, ~sigh~, no chicken.

On a happier note, sort of, Semiramis is now serving ZouZou style french fries, ie crisp, dusted with sumac and served with garlicky mousse. I say "sort of" as I didn't find out until we were done with our meal. I see Semiramis french fries and chicken in my immediate future.

Enjoy,
Gary

You know, I have only been about five or six times, so I can't provide a review yet, but I am digging this place. It would actually be six or seven times, if it weren't for them being closed on Monday.

Finding them closed on Monday, I went across the street to Salam, where I'd swear that everything tasted just a little bit better, and was presented just a little bit more nicely than ever before.

Anyone free for lunch at Semiramis, tmrw?

Erik M.

Funny...I made it there last night for dinner.

I enjoyed their stuffed plate special: 1 cusa (they call it zucchini, but it's really cusa); 2 eggplants, and 4 grape leaves, all stuffed with lamb, rice, and a few pine nuts.

Not quite being filled I ordered some of the fried kibbe appetizer (not to be confused with the baked kibbe in a pastry crust, squares of baked kibbe, kibbe rolled into a kefta and grilled, or even raw kibbe). The ground lamb and pine nuts are filled inside a bulgar wheat shell in the shape of a football, about 2 in long, and then fried. It was fried to order to a crisp, and tasted great. For whatever reason it's served with yogurt, but I really don't think the two go together.

Definitely the best Lebanese food I've tasted this side of Toledo.

Erik M. wrote:Anyone free for lunch at Semiramis, tmrw?

Erik,

If I didn't already have lunch plans I would have been pleased to join you.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:If didn't already have lunch plans I would have been pleased to join you.

OK, we will just plan to eat together real soon. How about Thai?

I kid you.

But, if anyone else wants to go to Semiramis, send me a p.m.

Regards,
Erik M.

Erik M. wrote:OK, we will just plan to eat together real soon. How about Thai?

Or BBQ

G Wiv wrote:Or BBQ

Hey, man, anything but Thai.

In the course of getting stuff done for my site, I slowly crept my way towards two Thai meals a day, pretty much every day, for weeks on end. If I wasn't at a Thai restaurant, I was eating with Thai friends, or I was cooking Thai food at home, or I was reheating Thai leftovers at home, or eating homemade Thai foodstuffs that I'd been given. Yesterday, I finally cracked. It was Yum Thai in the middle of the day, and Siam's House in the evening.

It wasn't the food. No, I think that it had to do with the fact thay they are like, what, twenty miles apart.

Erik M.