Description
Jasmine’s Syrian specials aren’t many, given most of OC’s Levantine community is Lebanese and Jordanian, but they’re promoted instead of hidden away. Primary among them is the tray on the counter filled mini-disks called fatayers, which will remind the more-savvy among you of a sphiha (pita topped with meats and veggies), except these are hand-sized and eaten by folding them: think of fatayers as Arabic tacos. The toppings range from a tart pomegranate paste to another in which ground beef and almond slivers fight for your palate; they’re spectacular when served fresh, but only great when reheated, as the bread part tends to harden a bit too much. Always consistently outstanding on the other hand is the kibbeh, a type of meat falafel that finds the cooks mixing bulgur wheat with ground beef, then frying the results.
