A taste of Lebanon

Western New York is the home to restaurants that serve foods from numerous countries. It is possible to take a culinary tour of the world without leaving Western New York. A few months ago, two friends and I decided to do just that. Since we started going out for the occasional lunch, we've enjoyed Thai, Indian, and Vietnamese food. Yesterday, we decided to explore the food of Lebanon. To do that, we went to a restaurant in Niagara Falls, called The 755. It's located at 755 West Market Street, Niagara Falls, New York. This restaurant serves both lunch and dinner Tuesdays through Sundays. 

As Lee, Jean, and I walked toward the restaurant, we saw this message: "Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy food (and that's kind of the same thing)." Food is happiness, especially well-made food. When I go out to a restaurant, I always want to eat food that I don't usually eat at home. I've tasted some interesting things as a "culinary tourist": black rice, baby quail eggs, and much more. I have thoroughly enjoyed these unexpected and unusual taste treats. 

The 755 is a lovely, well-decorated restaurant. Upon entering, we were immediately shown to a table and were given two sets of menus each. There's the "American" menu and the "Lebanese" menu. The server guessed correctly that we were more interested in the Lebanese menu than the American menu.On the Lebanese menu was a sampler platter that normally would be shared by two. We were able to get that platter adjusted so that three could share it.

The platter included a great variety of foods. They included hummus, tabooli, babaganoush, spinach pastries, falafel, fried eggplant and cauliflower, grilled chicken kabob, grilled lamb kabob, grilled beef kafta, and pita bread. We were given the choice of rice or fries. We chose rice. The food came in platters that could be shared by three. As you can see above, the presentation was spectacular!

A little dish of a yogurt dip was on the middle of the plate. 

Here is another view of our meal, mostly of the spinach pies and the rice. The spinach pie was a real taste treat. The phyllo dough in which they were wrapped was super light and flaky. 

The tabooli is a lovely salad, made mainly with parsley and tomato and a variety of other ingredients. It has a delightful lemony flavor and it tastes good with the pita bread that was served to us. 

The most challenging part of the process was choosing what to put on my plate! This is what I started with. 

This meal was delicious. Getting a sampler platter was a good way to enjoy the widest variety of food possible. Every last item was thoroughly delicious. The service was excellent. We were attended to by two very attentive servers. Lee, Jean, and I enjoyed our food very much and plan to return. The sampler platter was not inexpensive, but, every now and then, it is fun to splurge on a bit of culinary happiness, as we did yesterday at The 755.

If you are in Niagara Falls, New York, go and check out The 755 and enjoy. The menu at The 755 accommodates a variety of diets, including vegan and vegetarian.