Task 30 – Byblos (Worcester, MA)

Restaurant: Byblos

Stars:           3 Stars

I wanted to try something new for dinner.  Byblos was listed on the participating restaurant’s list for restaurant week and sounded good so I decided to give it a try. It is located in Union Station and had a very Moroccan/Middle Eastern feel the second you walked in. Directly ahead there was a great bar with huge mirrors making the room feel even bigger. To the left was more lounge and to the right was more dining area.

While we were eating a band was setting up for an evening gig. Normally I wouldn’t object but the restaurant should have turned off their music and just let the band warm up. They instead kept turning up their background music for some reason and it was a bit distracting with both at once.

We started with the Fattouch Salad and the Hummus. The salad was huge and was fresh and light. The tasty lemon and olive oil dressing brought out the flavors of mint and thyme. I was a great way to start. The hummus was different then I am used to. It wasn’t as finely chopped as I would have liked and was a bit chunky. It also was a tad dry and needed a bit more tahini or olive oil to lighten/soften it up.

I had the grilled Kaffta and my friend had the Chicken Kabbab. My kaffta was excellent and was very flavorful and incredibly tasty. It was fresh and light and perfectly complimented the rice and pita. The grilled chicken was juicy and flavorful and didn’t disappoint.

For desert I had the Rice Pudding and he had the Baklava. The rice pudding was fresh and tasty but not as sweet as I am accustomed too. The baklava was a bit soggy and didn’t taste particularly fresh.

All in all it was a mixed meal. Something’s were out of this world and others left a little to be desired. Byblos shows a lot of promise and with a little fine tuning they will really have something that could remind me of the old El Morocco.