Phoenicia

I had to go to the ER at Mass Eye & Ear Infirmary about a week ago. As you know, if you don't have a super emergency at the ER, you'll likely wait for 3-4 hours there. Since my situation was not really urgent, I ended up having to wait for a loooooong time.

After consulting with various people in the ER, Bryan and I decided it would probably be OK to step out for a few hours to grab some dinner. We wandered aimlessly around the hospital area in Boston (not wanting to venture too far from the hospital) and stumbled upon this little Lebanese restaurant.

Phoenicia has a pretty big menu with a lot of your typical Mediterranean fare (felafel, hoomis, baba ghonooj, tabooly, and grape leaves). You can also find more interesting Mediterranean fare, such as kafta, kibby, and various lamb dishes.

The prices are very reasonable (sandwiches cost between $5.25 and $5.75, lunch specials between $7.95 and $8.95, and dinner entrees between$10.95 and $15.95). They also have lots of cool appetizers, salads, and combination plates.

I tried the cabbage rolls, kafta, and kibby ($12.95). Bryan tried the lamb & beef shish kebabs with kafta ($15.95).

The kibby was one of my favorites. Kibby is a meat pie or meat ball of sorts that typically comprises of bulgur, minced lamb, and spices. I'm not super familiar with Lebanese food (I've only had it one other time), but I thought this kibby was flavorful, moist, and had a great mix of spices. I also like the Kafta, which is a sausage of sorts that consists of ground meat, onions, and spices. I thought the cabbage roll was the least interesting of all three - kind of bland.

Bryan thought the shisk kabobs were pretty good, though not particularly interesting.

The "Tabooly" (tabouli) salad had great flavor, although since it was late in the day, the salad seemed just a bit on the tired side. The "Hoomis bi Tahini" (hummus with tahini) was fine, though nothing too unique or special about it.

The decor is a bit tired, and the service was a bit slow. Maybe it's because we were there late and only one guy was serving everyone. Other than that, the food is pretty good and if you've never had Lebanese, this is a perfectly fine place to try it out.

Phoenicia
240 Cambridge St
Boston, MA 02114