641 University Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN
612-379-4069
www.emilyslebansesdeli.com
August 26, 2009
Just in time for the end of summer, our girls finished their Twin Cities tour of Diner, Drive-ins, and Dives! After attempting to visit Emily’s twice before, turns out third time was the charm. Beyond hungry, Hannah and Claire speed-walked into the restaurant only to be stopped at the door by a building full of other hungry patrons. Stifling a hunger-scream Hannah and Claire pressed again the wall to wait for a table to open.
Okay…okay…okay…we feel this post deserve a different tone. As excited as we were about Emily’s, we left with disappointment flavoring our palate. Yes my dear readers, this may be the first (and hopefully last) time you hear us disappointed with a meal.
We arrived with bellies rumbling and left with bellies rumbling. Having limited knowledge in the world of Lebanese cuisine, we haphazardly chose dishes: Hummas and Baba Ghannui with pita bread as a starter and ½ lamb kabob and baked kibbi to round out the meal. To be completely fair I did love both of these dips and the pita bread was delicious. I think we ate 3 baskets full and I may have occasionally taken a spoonful of dip and just eaten it. I really liked those two so that was a definite positive, unfortunately I am sad to say that that’s where the positives end.
We dived into the hummas and ghannui and patiently waited for the server to bring us some silverware and our drinks. After far to long the silverware arrived, and shortly after – our food. The service I am also sad to say was not wonderful. We were never asked for drink a order and practically had to stick a foot out to get the server’s attention. We sat for a long time before someone even knew we were there. It just added to our general negative experience. You know something is up when we lunge into our food and, between bites, stop and look at each other in disbelief. It was not good. Just plain not good. The lamb was overcooked with little to no seasoning. The kibbi…as Hannah said: “tastes like a whole head of garlic…” and Claire: “like garlic mixed with *crap* and flowers…” Just plain not good. It was dry, the portion sizes of lamb were tiny, the rice that it came with was gooey and had zero flavor, basically everything was unpleasant and difficult to eat.
We picked at the dishes and when Hannah asked, “Are you eating this cause it tastes good, or are you eating it because you’re that hungry?” we realized it was time to leave. With a pain in our hearts, we left our half-eaten dishes on the table, quickly paid the bill, and ran out the door. Ok everyone I just want to point out what Claire just said because this is a rare occurrence: we left with half-eaten dishes still on the table!!! I can count on one hand the number of times we have done that.
A rumble left our bellies as we headed to the car. “Not fullllll….” we groaned. But what to do? A faint glow caught our eyes as we looked up to the glorious arches across the street. Rejoice! McDonalds – Our true friend that has yet to let us down! We zipped across the street and into McDonalds. A burger and fries later, all was well in the world! “Soooooo full!”
**As we believe there is good in everything, we are willing to give Emily’s another go. Maybe we stopped by on an off-day, or there was a new guy in the kitchen, or the fresh food shipment had yet to arrive…either way we don’t want to discourage one from trying it out, but may we suggest not ordering the Baked Kibbi! We will definitely go back if anyone wants to be our tour guide and show us which day to go and what to order!
Hannah and Claire were disappointed with:
Hummus Bi-Tahini
fresh garbanzo bean dip made with
sesame paste, lemon juice & garlic…….3.75
Baba Ghannuj
baked eggplant whipped with sesame
paste & seasoning into a light dip…..3.75
1/2 Shish Kabob
chunks of lamb with onions & zucchini brioled
with garlic butter. served with rice……..7.25
Baked Kibbi (kibbi Bis- Soyniyyi)
ground beef, cracked wheat, & spices
baked around a layer of lamb,
onions and pine nuts…………………………..4.00
Tasty Tip: Don’t go to Emily’s Lebanese Deli if it takes you three times to get there – God does not want you to go! AND If it tastes disgusting on the first bite, it does not get better on the 16th or the 43rd.
Hannah and Claire EAT 
