Great Meals in Albany Park

The question becomes, can you have a bad meal in the Middle-Eastern mini-neighborhood surrounding the Kedzie Brown Line stop? I suppose anything is possible, but so far it seems rather unlikely. There’s Noon-O-Kabab, the much-celebrated (since its Check Please! appearance) Persian place, where the dilled rice is wonderfully savory, the kabobs are tender, and the borani (spinach, onions, and garlic in thick yogurt) especially delicious. There’s Semiramis, a newer Lebanese spot with a particularly good chicken special and excellent falafel. And next to the really splendid Nazareth bakery (which, in addition to exceptional baklava, offers a range of traditional sweets), is the simply named Salam, a Palestinian place with zero ambiance, friendly service, and generous amounts of terrific, cheap food. (Three of us got full on one combination plate.) We have yet to try City Noor, which was recently awarded an LTH Forum Great Neighborhood Restaurant sticker, and which has the characteristic Egyptian soup melikheya—which my husband grew up with—on its specials roster, but we’re confident we have something wonderful to look forward to.

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