Description
Wander into this extremely plain-looking Como Park deli and you will find yourself in a wonderland of lovingly crafted Palestinian treats, all made by Bishara and Izabelle Ailabouni, who are basically the Palestinian Christian Arab grandparents you wish you had. The Ailabounis make everything from scratch, mincing the parsley for their fantastic, light, and lemony tabbouli by hand, and spending two days making the sauce for tomato-touched, spicy grape leaves that have the intense flavor of that much attention. Pita breads are about two billion times more tender and lovable than the store-bought kind. Baba ghanoush is radiantly smoky and intense, and always available in the deli to-go case. In fact, the Bisharas do a lot of catering; call in advance and they'll make as many batches of pita, silky hummus, or even gorgeously light and chunky baklava as you like. Set them all out on your table and when your friends ask you how you did it, you can just say, Oh, it's an old family recipe. This will be true. Just be sure you walk away before they ask whose family.
