TLDR: Must-go Middle Eastern when in Dearborn. Easy trip from the Ford Museum/Greenfield Vlg.

Our experience: On arriving we were possibly the only "outsiders" in the place. We were greeted a bit coolish by the staff. The place was around a third full, but with 10K sq ft and seating for upwards of 200, it was fairly busy. So perhaps they didn't want the trouble of explaining menus, us possibly not liking unfamiliar items, etc. Ordered chicken haneeth with mandi rice, lamb haneeth with roasted vegetables (haneeth being a slow-roasted sauced style) and chicken agdah (chicken and vegetable stew) with mandi rice. One lamb soup, two salads. Salad was excellent, later found out that the dressing (a sumacy/lemony vinaigrette) was a secret family recipe. Lamb soup was tasty but just a broth, no solid pieces.

Things picked up considerably once the manager (owner's son) showed up to ask how we were enjoying things so far. Entrees arrived with an extra order of tannour bread (excellent soft thin flatbread, very done and blistered on the surface but still soft). The mandi rice turned out to be fluffy basmati rice with about 1/4 cooked with an orange coloring (mild dried peppers?) mixed with 3/4 white. Very pretty. My chicken haneeth included a few roasted carrots and celery and a couple big chunks of roasted yellow potatoes. Interesting because each vegetable had a different spicing. The agdah was very good as well, even getting a high endorsement from a kid who doesn't usually like stewed vegetables that much. Lamb was superb, tender, lean, reasonably assertive lamb flavor without being gamy or overly seasoned. I think that sums up why this meal was so good: Everything was seasoned just enough for generous, distinctive flavor without overdoing it, allowing both the basic ingredients and the flavorings to come through.

As we were getting ready to leave, the young man engaged us again, seeming genuinely concerned that we enjoyed our visit. When he found out that 2 of us are from Chicago, he told us the story of their venture. He also explained that, in Dearborn, they are trying to draw in the vast quantity of Ford employees for lunch with more familiar, non-Yemeni dishes like kebabs, then offering complimentary samples of Yemeni food to get them interested in coming back to try something less ordinary. Looking over the customers, I'm not 100% sure this was working on Friday evening. But, they are completely booked tonight in the huge space with Ramadan. Every reservation for 8:00. When he realized we hadn't tried the Yemeni tea, he sent us on our way with to-go cups. Also delicious. Similar to Indian tea, but less tea flavor and far more cinnamon.