Dining review: Kareem’s is an exotic adventure not to be missed

Our next dining adventure takes us on an exotic adventure to Kareem’s Lebanese Kitchen, next door neighbor to the Indian-infused 21 Spices in East Naples.

Things got off to an appetizing start from the Mezze menu, with the Kibbeh, “oval-shaped stuffed beef meat balls, bulgur, pine nuts, almonds and labneh aioli.”

Looking at the consistency alone, it was like eating a box of chocolates. A hard outside with a gooey inside. Just trade the sweet for savory and you’ve got yourself the beginnings of a delicious journey. 

For his main entree, my partner-in-dine chose the Beiruti platter from the ‘Taste of Beirut’ section of the menu. You have your choice of beef of chicken shawarma -- he chose the latter -- falafel, hummus, fattoush and Lebanese rice. 

The shawarma was tasty and stringy, just as it should be; the rice light and fluffy. The hummus was so fresh, light and delicious; it will make you swear off store-bought for life.

For my main dish, I wanted the specialty wraps -- shawarma on house-made bread with your choice of salad or fries. After all, if was on the menu. And if you look online, it still is. So imagine my surprise to learn it was no longer available. Instead I got an apology and an explanation: apparently it causes delays in the kitchen and they oftentimes run out of bread. So kudos to all you shawarma carts out there. Daily you pull off the impossible from a cart on the street.

So instead I got the fattoush salad. It features romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, radish, mint, sumac, pomegranate dressing, pita chips and for me, chicken shawarma.

With all those ingredients, I was most surprised to see out each one stood out in such a complex blend. I lot of that is skill from the kitchen. The cucumbers, for example, were larger-sized chunks than you might expect. And the ingredients were expertly blended, not separated into little piles.

Kareem’s Lebanese Kitchen is a welcome addition to East Naples expanding list of eateries. 

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If you go

Kareem’s Lebanese Kitchen

4270 Tamiami Trail E., Naples

239-315-4167

kareemskitchen.com