A table of Lebanese classics: baba ganoush (top left); ful madammas (top right); hummus (bottom); labneh with garlic (left); and tabbouleh (center). Instagram @beirutcafeslc
Since I had moved to Utah from Michigan nearly 10 years ago, I had been pining for Lebanese cuisine. I grew up in the Detroit Metro Area, which has the highest concentration of Lebanese people in the United States. Utah ranks 43rd.
After nine years in Utah, I began to doubt that I’d find the Lebanese food I craved. Every time I’d get a recommendation for a Lebanese restaurant, I would arrive to find the restaurant serving lackluster marinated chicken with dry pita and tahini.
I had all but given up on the search until I wandered into Beirut Cafe. In the most unlikely of spots, sandwiched between a convenience store and a gas station, I found a restaurant that reminded me of home. I knew that I was in the right spot as soon as I walked in the door.
Beirut Cafe does it right—from the charcoal grill specifically designed for kabob and kafta to the spits roasting beef and chicken shawarma (picture a trompo from your favorite al pastor spot). The fatoush has just the right amount of lemon and sumac, the shawarma is perfectly crisp, and the pickled turnips and house pickles are exactly what you want them to be. Beirut Cafe’s hummus and baba ghanouj are the best in the valley (Karem Bakery is also right up there in the baba ghanouj conversation), but what puts the final touches on the meal is the freshly made pita. Throw away your fork, order an extra pita and use the pillowy bread to eat the meal.
This is the Lebanese restaurant that I’d been waiting to discover. In a culinary landscape that generally far exceeds the Midwestern United States in Western Asian cuisine, this hidden gem satisfied my craving for authentic Lebanese cuisine.
The Details
Beirut Cafe
1326 E. 5600 South, Murray
(801) 679-1688