When I worked in northeast Ann Arbor more than a decade ago, I enjoyed occasional lunch-hour trips to a Middle Eastern deli/diner in the Courtyard Shops. I remember being puzzled by its name, Exotic Bakeries, since I always ordered real food: a pita sandwich or a combo plate trisected into colorful fields of fresh-tasting tabouleh generous on the parsley (green), creamy hummus (beige), and a wild card third choice of meat or spinach pie, or perhaps a tempting vegetable stew (rainbow). When I learned the place had recently celebrated its twentieth year of business, I decided it was time to revisit.
Bottom line, except for the view of a new Panera out the big front window: the homey eatery has barely changed. There are still a few big tables, covered with plastic cloths, crowded into the unassuming storefront. There’s still a checkout counter in front dwarfed by a long and tall glass display case packed full of main dishes labeled with handwritten cards. Parking is plentiful, and there’s no alcohol served.
Friendly owners Jinan and Monib El Khatib are still in the kitchen and behind the counter, respectively. I’d noticed that “Syrian Cuisine” now figures more prominently in the signage, but when I asked how the El Khatibs felt about the unrest back home, their smiles dropped away. Monib shook his head, said “Very bad,” and walked off. Conversations about the food went better and lasted longer.
You won’t go wrong ordering the hearty cheese or beef pies, which are warmed on the grill to bring out soft flakiness in the fresh doughy crust–one advantage of having a bakery in the back room. Chicken shawarma sends up a garlic alert, but it works well wrapped into a pita sandwich with tomatoes, lettuce, and pickles. Sampling two types of poultry kafta (ground meat rolls) revealed surprising differences. The turmeric-yellow chicken kafta was a little dry and spicy hot, whereas the darker brown turkey kafta’s dominant flavor was mild mint.
On the vegetarian side, Syrian potato salad combines cumin, parsley, and lemon juice for a flavorful dressing that works cold or hot. Mild beet and onion salad tasted OK, and I shouldn’t have been disappointed that the beets had came-from-a-can blandness since their telltale thin-sliced shape telegraphed their source. I’ve just been spoiled by the fresh beets on the salad bars at Whole Foods and Plum Market over the past years. The what-you-see-is-what-you-get glass case approach is generally a wonderful thing. I might never have been able to talk one timid companion into trying baked eggplant makmoor if he wasn’t able to first observe the large amounts of onion and tomato in the stew. He loved it, saying it almost could have been called ratatouille.
Again, with several shelves of desserts on display, getting to peer through the glass case before ordering is a blessing–and a bit of torture, since you’ll surely want several (go ahead, they’re small and not too pricey). I recommend the thin and crispy honeyed sesame cookie (almost a florentine), the fluffy but rich mocha and peanut butter brownies, and dark-chocolate-drenched whipped cream eclairs–I didn’t miss the usual custard filling at all. A couple of baklava-like pastries could have been fresher–especially a chocolate iced variety that stuck to its paper doily–and some of the traditional Syrian cookies are made with rose or lemon flower waters, intense flavors that might seem soapy to Western palates.
After a few satisfying meals in the warm kitchen of Exotic Bakeries, topped off with hot anise or cardamom tea, I started wondering why I hadn’t been back in so long. I’m not sure of the answer: different personal traffic patterns, perhaps, or more Middle Eastern choices now than there were a decade ago. With memory and tastes refreshed, I don’t think I’ll forget about it again.
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Exotic Bakeries & Syrian Cuisine
1721 Plymouth (Courtyard Shops)
665-4430
exoticbakeries.com
Sandwiches and salads $6.46-$9.49, combination plates $8.95, desserts $1.50-$3.99
Mon..-Sat. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Closed Sun.
Wheelchair friendly.
