Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Restaurant Review - Zorona

Yesterday, the kids and I were stuck inside due to the nasty weather. I was having one of those "hungry days" where I could never eat enough to feel full. And for some reason, every time we emailed each other during the day, Tony and I brought up restaurants -- our all-time favorites, as well as new ones we'd like to try. So of course, when Tony got off work a little early, I was quick to suggest getting out of the house and going out to eat, and he immediately agreed.

We chose Zorona, a Jordanian restaurant we had dined at a couple of times previously. They have a great deal where you can pick five items for $9.99, with plenty of vegan options.

We started with velvety, rich hummus and pita, which Jackson mostly commandeered for himself.


Olivia loved the Middle Eastern music that was playing. She practiced her belly dancing while we waited for our food.


Tony had the unsettling feeling that he was being watched.


When our food arrived, we dug in and cleaned our plates. I had baba ganoush, stuffed grape leaves, tabouli, fava beans, and falafel. 


There are different kinds of stuffed grape leaves, known as dolmas or dolmades. Some are filled with lemon rice, and some have rice with a tomato-cinnamon sauce. Oh, and some contain ground beef, so it's a good idea to ask before biting into one! Zorona serves the kind with lemon rice, a.k.a. the best kind.

Olivia ate almost all the fava beans.When I would stop feeding her to take a bite of my own, she would grab at my arm with her little hands and try to push my spoon back towards the fava beans! It always surprises me what kids like eating if you just offer it to them. With a full tummy, she contentedly fell asleep in the car on the way home.  And my tummy felt full at last, too.

3 comments:

  1. Mmm, that plate is calling my name. I love fava beans (especially prepared as ful medames), falafel and stuffed grape leaves. My favorite local Lebanese restaurant serves dolmas with lemon rice and garlicky chickpeas, and they are delicious. Maybe sometime when I'm leaving New England on a road trip, I'll check Zorona out!

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  2. Wonderful post! I LOVED Olivia's belly-dancing and the poster above Tony cracks me up. Is that Pink dressed as a Jordanian? Looks like it. Thanks for starting my day off right! Oh yeah, the food looks amazing too!

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  3. OMGoodness ... that plate looks so yummy! Actually, everything on your site looks yummy ... and it's making me seriously hungry. Do you post recipes anywhere? I'm off to drool over more posts! :-)

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