Sunnin’s Lebanese Café: Friends

“I am willing to expand my white girl taste buds for ya ♥”

The wonderful woman who wrote the above words is one of the reasons I haven’t gone completely crazy in Los Angeles. This is someone who will put her P.F. Chang-appetite on hold because she knows I have a “thing” for food. That’s a big deal for me and it’s just one of the reasons why I love her as ridiculously much as I do.

We went ethnic for the past few Tuesday-night-Dinner-extravaganzas and we followed through with that pattern last night as we moseyed along to Sunnin’s Lebanese Café. I definitely have a soft spot for Middle Eastern food and I’ve been wanting to try Sunnin’s for a while. The place was packed (as usual) with a healthy mix of poor grad students, Middle Eastern diners and a good handful of old ladies. We quickly added ourselves to the mix and looked through the menu.

Of course, we ordered a large side of hommos ($4.50) and, because the people who work at Sunnin’s are pure angels, the hommos came with free baskets of pita bread. Yes, that was not a typo – basketS…as in, they swoop with more pita the moment they see your own basket emptying up. The hommos was a pile of creamy deliciousness. This is actually my first time trying Lebanese hommos – it’s a lot smoother and milder than Greek styled hummus. Being a MSG-raised Hong Kong-er, I personally prefer the stronger types of hummus but I still lapped up Sunnin’s version like nobody’s business. The two of us went through two baskets of pita and were close to finishing all the hommos and yes, we are now attractively bloated and gassy.

(I love the above)

Along with the hommos, Alyssa ordered the Chicken Kebab plate ($7.75) and I settled on a large Mousaka ($5.50). The mousaka was definitely different from what I was used to; unlike the Greek mousakas, the Lebanese version is not arranged in layers but is served, literally, as a glop. On top of that, it’s served cold instead of piping hot. But, differences aside, did I like it? It’s eggplant! OF COURSE I liked it! And plus, the Lebanese mousaka is vegetarian which makes me incredibly happy since none of the Mediterranean places I’ve looked up seem to serve a beefless version of this fantastic dish. I polished off my moussaka – more chickpeas, more bloatage. Nice. Well, it was worth it.

("Mousaka" is code for love-in-eggplant-form)

Prices are great. Service is fantastic (the owner is super friendly). Food is :) I definitely love Sunnin’s. Determined to continue with the glam-ness of our chickpea bloatage fest, we spent the rest of the night with cheapass rum and VH1 reality TV. I love friends. …Oh yes, and I might even really go to the beach just for her.

FOOD: 4.5/5
SERVICE: 4.5/5
ATMOSPHERE: 3/5

SUNNIN'S LEBANESE CAFE ($)
1779 Westwood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 477-2358
http://www.sunnin.com