Review by Jen Blazis

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Reviews | Send mail to The Voice Lebanese cuisine served fresh at Nicholas' Restaurant An authentic Middle Eastern experience is the game plan for family-owned Nicholas' Restaurant. Located on Southeast grand in Portland, the restaurant offers Lebanese and Mediterranean cuisine that will please the ethnic food lover on a college budget. The restaurant's stucco walls painted in bright hues meet a red ceiling and shelves are decorated with ancient-looking pottery and stylish beaded lamps. Music that combines techno and Arabic sounds mingles with loud conversation. The volume at Nicholas' best suits a gathering of friends rather than a quiet, romantic dinner for two. Service is fast, and steaming group-sized pita bread arrives in minutes. Nicholas' owners pride themselves on making everything from scratch "with no shortcuts," and diners in the back can watch their bread get rolled, pounded, flattened and placed into an imported oven. The hummus provides a pleasant creamy texture and slight tang that dresses up the chewy bread. The menu offers a half-dozen choices of appetizers, all vegan except boiled grape leaves stuffed with rice and beef and boasts the best lentil soup in Portland. Sandwich fixings are rolled in fresh pita bread. Meat lovers can order lamb, beef, chicken or homemade Lebanese sausage. Sliced into two halves, the sandwiches fill an entire plate. For the less adventurous eater, the common gyro is only $4.75 and enough to satisfy two people. For the more daring who are new to Lebanese cuisine, Nicholas' offers mezza sample platters. The meat mezza is $7.75 and comes on two plates with hummus, yogurt, falafel and taboule on one plate; sausage and beef come second. The meal's falafel are small, round delights that taste similar to hush puppies. Cilantro and parsley lovers will appreciate the taboule, a tangy, Mediterranean salad. Nicholas' makanik leb sausage is made in-house and has a tough skin and spicy kick. Beef kafta, ground beef mixed with secret spices, comes kabob style and has an aromatic, heady flavor and chewy texture. Despite its authentic flair, Nicholas' Restaurant started out in 1986 by selling Middle Eastern-style pizzas and calzones. These reliable dishes are still available in seven varieties. Nicholas' fresh-cooked food and inexpensive prices will keep you coming back. Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Reviews | Top Of Page Send mail to The Voice| Journalism department website © 2003 The Voice. No part of this publication may be reproduced in written or electronic form without prior written consent from the journalism adviser of Multnomah Bible College. All rights reserved.