Cafe Nile

Cafe Nile was something of a surprise because the listing in Gambit had a price legend of $$, the same as at Cannon's (formerly 4141), but Cafe Nile was a lot less formal than I expected. It was pretty plain, with a dozen or so tables, and the kitchen behind a big counter in the back corner. Good thing we had drinks elsewhere first because Cafe Nile doesn't serve even beer or wine. I was wondering if we shouldn't have gone to Byblos a couple blocks away, but decided to give it a try anyhow.

We started with a chef's combination appetizer plate for two with hummus, baba ganouj, tabouleh, falafel, and kibbe, accompanied by good, fresh, hot pita bread that kept coming throughout the meal. There was enough food on the appetizer plate for four. The hummus and baba had a splash of hot sauce in the middle, which we all enjoyed, so much so that when the main courses came, I asked for more hot sauce.

Main courses came with either soup or salad. Two of us had salad; two soup, which turned out to be lentil, not too thick or thin. The salad was basic with lettuce, tomato, and onion in an oil and vinegar dressing with paprika and other spices.

Rice and more hummus arrived with the main courses, but we all like hummus, and the bread was wonderful. My combo kabob plate with chicken, beef, and kafta was very tasty. My wife had the kafta plate, and our friends both had the chicken shawarma plate.

The food would have passed muster anywhere from Cairo to Jeddah to Riyadh, in our collective culinary experience, as we have all spent quite some time in those places.

We enjoyed Cafe Nile but would want to try some other local Middle Eastern restaurants before going back.