Spencer Williams, Contributor
What strikes you first about Habibi Latino is the apparent authenticity of its décor, once you walk through its sliding glass doors from the terrace of the hip Market Place along Constant Spring Road. With red, black and white 'Aladdin' rugs hanging from the ceiling and Arabic music playing in the background, it's easy to forget that you're in the West. Even the waiting staff is dressed in traditional Middle Eastern costumes. It's a shame that the service follows our small island's tradition of mediocrity.
Better than the rest
But the food makes up for it. Typical of many restaurants in the Corporate Area, there are certain items on the menu that are better than the rest. There ought to be a separate guide to the dishes within these establishments!
Biting into the Sambusek B'Lebneh soft dough triangles filled with gooey cheese and dried herbs is like visiting my great grandmother who used to bake the most amazing savoury pastries, not too dissimilar to these.
The Falafel, deep-fried chick pea 'cakes', has a crispy exterior coating, a velvety filling, and is served with a fistful of shredded salad. There's clearly a secret to cooking these. You don't want them to be greasy, but when they're too dry, it's like eating crumbled clay. The chef at Habibi has mastered the balance here, but falls short with the Warakinab, warm grape leaves stuffed with rice and vegetables. Perhaps the few times I have ordered them, the kitchen had used up their supply of vegetables! Were the nearby supermarkets out as well? Surely a handful of raisins could have been mixed in with the cinnamon-seasoned rice to give it more body.
If you like the tartness of pickles, and you're fond of seafood, then the shrimp ceviche with fresh cilantro is the shot. A generous helping comes in a large brandy glass that is lined with lettuce. It actually makes it rather difficult to get the little peeled crustacean out, but this is something that can be corrected.
Cheapest ingredient
The Tabbouleh has the same problem with the lettuce. Why would you garnish parsley, cracked wheat, onion and tomato salad with iceberg, or the like? Could it be the owner's way of using up the room on the plate with the cheapest ingredient? It turns out that the large helping is really small after all! A little annoying because once you get started on eating this you won't want to stop.
I can't say the same for the Arabic salad which is described as 'fresh vegetable mix', supposedly unlike the Fattoush - fresh greens, tomato, cucumber and pita chips. The thing is, apart from the latter ingredient and a good dousing of the urgently needed chili powder, the two salads are exactly the same concoction! I truly thought that the former consisted of the likes of broccoli, carrots, onions and zucchini - all pickled maybe!
The chicken and lamb Shawarmas, though slightly expensive for what you get, are unbelievably delicious with a hint of garlic sauce that comes laced through succulent slices of meat. Perhaps they both ought to be listed under the Meza (appetizer) heading, as 'sandwich' insinuates that it'll sufficiently substitute a meal (like other Lebanese joints I've eaten at).
Entrée selections
Unfortunately, the entrée selections are a hit and a miss; the lamb kebab was fairly tender, but the chicken one was tough. And what were they thinking when serving par-boiled rice that I find wrong? They did't use it in the grape leaves so why here? However, don't let this deter you from going there. Simply order an array of Meza, salads and sandwiches for a 'hubba-hubba' feast at Habibi.
Habibi Latino, Market Place, 67 Constant Spring Road, Unit 36, Kingston 10
Telephone: 960-5026, 968-9296
Opening hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Look to spend: $400-$750 on a salad, $250-$700 on an appetizer or soup, $350-$600 on a sandwich, $800-$1750 on a main course and $250-$500 on dessert; meza combo and lunch specials are also available.
