Good Taste: New look for Lebanese standby

After nearly 30 years in Queen Village, the five Sawan brothers decided their family restaurant, Cedars, was ready for a makeover.

So after a three-month closure, the space reopened a few weeks ago with a sultry new look: candles flickering in nooks, colorful pillows along a room-length banquette, and a wall lighted by the illuminated silhouette of the namesake cedar tree.

What hasn't changed, however, is the family's solid interpretations of classic Lebanese cooking, with the added boost of a new oven for baking pitas to order.

Our favorite dish, though, is the crispy kibbi fritters. The outer shells are made of bulgur wheat blended with ground beef. Crack one open, and a soft ground meat filling tumbles out, its moist and oniony steam aromatic with baharat, a house-blended spice scented with cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, and clove.

– Craig LaBan
Kibbi, $9, Cedars, 616 S. Second St., 215-925-4950; cedarsrestaurant.com