I’m Lebanese, so I ventured to Carousel Restaurant in Glendale last week, which makes authentic Middle Eastern cuisine.

I have been wanting to try this restaurant since I moved to SoCal in 2010. Seven years later, I finally made it. Yes, I am that far behind in time, but keep in mind I also live an hour and 20 minutes away from the location, depending on if traffic is good. If you’re wondering how I learned about Carousel, of course, I found out about it after watching an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

The inside of the restaurant reminded me of Lebanon instantly with the decor and furniture. The restaurant opened in 1982 and is considered one of the top authentic Middle Eastern cuisine restaurants in the U.S. Pretty amazing! The staff is also very friendly and helpful in choosing out the right dish, I had sooo many questions!

Jallab ($4.50)

I only tried a small sample of the Jallab, which is a type of fruit syrup popular in the Middle East made from carob, dates, grape molasses and rose water. It also had pine nuts in it. It didn’t taste too sweet and it was very refreshing, but decided not to order a full glass because I wanted to save my sweet tooth for dessert. I ended up ordering an unsweetened, flavored ice tea instead. Next time, I will probably get a full glass of Jallab!

Manté (Shish Barak, $9.25) 

Manté (Shish Barak) is meat pies that are oven baked and topped with tomato sauce and yogurt sauce. This was probably my favorite dish that I had. They mini pies were crunchy and the yogurt really added a lot of flavor to the dish.

Chicken Lula Kebab (Chicken Kafta, $16.50)

Chicken Lula Kebab (Chicken Kafta) is basically minced lean chicken mixed with fine chopped onion and spices. I am not sure if I was a fan of the chicken part, as it looked more like a sausage than a kebab (I thought it might be on skewers or something, having never tried it before). It didn’t taste bad, but the texture was not for me. The pita bread and rice were amazing!

Halaweh B’Jheben ($8.50)

I was a little skeptical of this dessert at first because I was afraid it might have a funny texture to it, but I’m so glad I went for it. It is to die for! Halaweh B’Jheben is a blend of semolina and Lebanese cheese, filled with Carousel made fresh cream. It is also topped with an agave nectar syrup and pistachios. It was very unique and tasted amazing, not too heavy either with all of that cheese and cream.

I definitely want to come back for a dinner and show, which has award-winning Jillina and Sahala dancers on Friday (9 p.m. – 1 a.m.) and Saturday (9:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.) nights. The cost is $46.95 but it would be worth it!

Address: Glendale location: 304 N. Brand Ave., Glendale, CA 91203

Hollywood location: 5112 Hollywood Blvd., Suite #107, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Phone: Glendale: 818-246-7775

Hollywood: 323-660-8060

Website: www.carouselrestaurant.com

Email: info@carouselrestaurant.com

Hours: Monday: closed.

Tuesday – Thursday: 10 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Friday – Saturday: 10 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.

Sunday: 10 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Price range: $7.50 for a Jalapeño salad to $36.95 for a Family Style, Carousel Feast. You can check out the full menu here, which has over 60 entrees. You can also order online for pick-up.

Rating: 9/10

Facebook and Instagram: @carouselrestaurant. Twitter: @carousel411

Astamtae! 🙂