I came in years ago, when they first opened, and was less than impressed. The food was edible, but nothing special. Compared to previous local restaurants serving similar fare, it was a rough start.

I am very pleased to report that this place is no longer mediocre, but totally awesome!

I eat a LOT of Middle Eastern and Meditation food and tonight's rice was not just some of the better yellow rice I've had, it was the best rice I've ever had anywhere. I'm not a bad cook, myself, and all of my friends are foodies, so I'm used to eating well. I was eating so fast that I bit one of my fingers...

Both the steak and chicken kabobs were delicious, but my kid loved the kofta the best. How could we possibly choose between all of our favorite sauces? The tahini, tzatziki, and garlic sauces were all phenomenal examples of their type.

The side salad was crisp and the sprinkling of house made croutons and the amount of dressing were perfect.

The hummus was smoother than any I've had and not overwhelmingly garlicky, as it's too common (not that we don't love a too garlicky hummus once in a while).

The pita were inoffensive, which is a huge improvement from the embarrassingly terrible pita they served years ago, but they didn't need to compete with all of the other flavors and did their job admirably. The texture was especially improved, as the original pita were exhaustingly chewy and these were almost delicate by comparison.

The lemon lentil soup had all of the right flavors, but didn't have any texture. I don't know if it is supposed to be more of a blended style or if it was just a little overcooked, but I wouldn't hesitate to try it again, even though I like mine with a bit more of the texture intact. The flavor was deep and not too sweet or too peppery, in spite of looking like it might have had too much black pepper and more carrots than I was expecting.

I've had better dolmas out of a can, but they weren't bad. A little smaller and blander than I'm used to, but a very serviceable snack. I might have been more impressed with them if I had eaten them as an appetizer.

That yellow rice is a hard act to follow! It will haunt me for the rest of my life, because nothing else will ever measure up. This is the new standard for me. This rice broke me. You must try it.