AFRAH-Rated 4.5 Stars TXmb

Buffet is a longstanding love of mine. Good buffet that is. Few things compare to mounds of food draping across a plate in preparation for consumption.

Afrah offers just such a delight. I’d been scoping this place for some time, anxious to try it. After my chow down at the Lebanese Food Festival recently, I thought it was only right to keep the party going at Afrah, which serves Lebanese and Mediterranean cuisine.

Hungered tummy and palate pal in tow, we hopped in Old Blue and made the drive to Afrah. Inside the open café styled eatery, sat plenty of patrons chatting amongst themselves while others carefully slid down the buffet line. I grabbed my plate, bowl and tray to join in with the famished scooters. I began with the Greek Salad, hummus then a scoop of tabbouleh. After a few fumbles with the top, I went for the lentil soup. Then it was time to make my way to the hot dishes. Holding no mercy on my already fairly full plate, I stuffed it with vermicelli rice, falafel, chicken kabab, mloukhieh, fish, and fried cauliflower. I topped the entire plate off with gloriously fluffy pita bread.

My palate pal and I grabbed a table outside and dove fork first into our plates. Both of us wore goofy satisfying grins after only one bite. The lentil soup had just the right amount of spice and seasoning, not too thick. Of all the delicious delights, I might have fallen most in love with the fried cauliflower. There was something magical about it. Sort of zesty and still offering a slight crunch. Not a deep fried crunch though. It was perfect. The vermicelli rice, and mloukhieh ran a close second. By the way, in case you are wondering, like I was, mloukhieh is a type of leaf that is very similar to spinach. After being cooked, the texture can sometimes be slightly slimy, like okra. This version was paired with chicken breast and tasted rather garlicky. My least favorite item was the fish. It was seasoned wonderfully, and I ate every bit of it, however the texture tasted somewhat off and we both wondered if it had been sitting under the lamps too long.
After chowing relentlessly on our Mediterranean/Lebanese lunch, my palate pal and I decided to finish off our fullness with a scoop of the house made gelato. There were several choices, including, almond and lemon. But I went for the wild berry. She chose cardamom, a rich and honestly incredibly hard to describe layered flavor. FYI, cardamom is a seed. Let me just say, both had their very own unique flair. The wild berry was probably one of the smoothest, creamiest wild berries I‘ve ever tasted. The cardamom is in a league of its own.

Next visit, it’s all about the baklava. TXmb

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Where to find them- 314 E Main St. Richardson, TX 75081-6045

Phone- (972) 234 9898

 

That whole parking thing-So parking is pretty hard, but here is the good news, they are building a larger restaurant next door. Looked like more room and more parking. Time will tell.