A Fork on the Road: Kabobji Finest

Kabobji may conjure images of djinns emerging from magic lamps, but the word means a maker of kebabs. And there are kebabs aplenty at the new North Bay Village restaurant by that name, along with appetizers, wraps, salads, soups and seafood meals including whitefish in spicy tahini sauce.

Owner Ali Kanaan was born in Southfield, Mich., to Lebanese parents. When Ford laid off his dad in 1981, the family went back to a farm they owned in Baalbeck in Lebanon’s north-central Bekka Valley, returning to Michigan in 1987 when the automaker called him back to work.  At age 13, Ali got a part-time job in a Middle Eastern restaurant, working his way up to prep cook. After high school, he followed his father into auto manufacturing, but took a buyout in 2007 and joined a cousin in South Florida. A year later he opened the original Kabobji in North Miami Beach with the help of his dad, who had always been the family cook, and a Lebanese chef.

Lebanese cuisine evolved through successive invasions, with the Egyptians, Persians, Greeks and Ottoman Turks leaving their marks. A popular drink, jallab, melds rosewater, date syrup and grape molasses with ice water and pine nuts. Starters include moussaka with stewed eggplant, bell peppers and tomatoes served cold; kibbeh made with cracked wheat, tomato puree and ground walnuts, and batata harra, fried cubes of potato tossed with hot spices, lemon and cilantro.
The veggie trio wrap pita is stuffed with crisp falafel, creamy hummus and chewy tabbouleh with nutty tahini. Ghallaba is a stir-fry with choice of protein and strips of bell peppers in garlic lemon sauce.

There are also daily specials, from Monday’s green pea stew with beef in tomato-cilantro sauce to Thursday’s mallow leaf stew with lemon and chicken. On Friday and Saturday there’s roasted leg of lamb with rice pilaf. Finish with pistachio baklava or puff on a fruit-flavored hubble bubble pipe. As they say in Lebanon, may you eat in gladness and health.

This story was originally published November 9, 2010 at 8:11 PM.