There is one abiding truth to Middle Eastern cooking and this is it: Respect your baba ganoush. Your eggplant should be a little smoky, a little spicy, and not embarrassed to be a hearty eggplant.
The Ishtar Inn truly respects its baba ganoush as it does most other items where family recipes are an inspiration. Here the family roots also reflect a Chicago specialty; our rather large Assyrian or Iraqi Christian community.
What does this mean? Take your basic Middle East cooking, add some Turkish verve, some Indian spices, and a fierce pride about such important things as how to pickle cauliflower.
The lentil soup ($1.75) is thick, and somewhat sweet, reflecting a twist on a real staple. The falafel dish ($5)-patties of ground chickpeas-is light and not a greasy visitor to the chambers of your heart.
Inspiration lurks behind the mushaheb plate ($8.50), which is boneless breast of chicken marinated in oil, garlic and vinegar.
The prices are reasonable, allowing you to get away with $8.50 for a main dish of beef shish kebab. The desserts come from the Shatila bakery in Dearborn, Mich., the best Arabian bakery this side of Beirut.
This is a comfortable downtown place for a meandering meal and more. To owner Jonathan Youkana, it is a piece of his culture. The walls are filled with hand-painted murals depicting Assyrian history.
The pace is hardly hectic in the two front dining rooms. Schmoozing, a truly Middle Eastern art, is observed here. A large room in the rear that has been added since the restaurant’s opening earlier this year seems a good place to gather friends and recite the real joys of a delicate baklava ($1.50)dessert.
More Top Picks Best Preacher Curl Attachments For Weight Benches
Wander toward the kitchen to review the writings on the wall about Assyrian history, and ask cook Yusuf Yusuf what his mother really thought about baba ganoush.
———-
Ishtar Inn, 615 N. Wells St., Chicago, 312-587-0721. Daily 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Weekends, 12 noon to 11 p.m. Free parking nearby, ask. A.M.V.