Top Hookah Bars: Alexandria Cafe

The Specs

The dishes at Alexandria Café and Restaurant are from Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Iraq. To sample the widest array of dishes, my dinner companions and I tried Alexandria's Dish, a mixed platter with both meat and vegetarian choices that arrived on two large plates with a basket of pita bread and plastic utensils. For carnivores, the kefta and shawarma are certain to please. Kefta, a charbroiled combination of ground beef, lamb, parsley, onion, and spices has a texture much like that of a sausage, with a subtle range of tastes that makes it good on its own, and even better when combined with hummus or tabbouleh. The shawarma—rotisserie roasted strips of lamb and spices—is similarly savory and tender.