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Semiramis Lebanese Cuisine [Pictures]

Semiramis Lebanese Cuisine [Pictures]
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  • Post #151 - September 7th, 2010, 4:48 pm
    Post #151 - September 7th, 2010, 4:48 pm Post #151 - September 7th, 2010, 4:48 pm
    I believe you are not supposed to drink the sludge.
    Leek

    SAVING ONE DOG may not change the world,
    but it CHANGES THE WORLD for that one dog.
    American Brittany Rescue always needs foster homes. Please think about helping that one dog. http://www.americanbrittanyrescue.org
  • Post #152 - September 7th, 2010, 5:10 pm
    Post #152 - September 7th, 2010, 5:10 pm Post #152 - September 7th, 2010, 5:10 pm
    Yeah. In Turkey they turn the cup over to let the sludge run down the sides a little then tell your fortune based on the pattern the sludge leaves.

    Oooh, your pattern is very thick. You have some money coming your way. And that long streak, mmm, you'll be taking a long trip soon.
  • Post #153 - September 7th, 2010, 5:24 pm
    Post #153 - September 7th, 2010, 5:24 pm Post #153 - September 7th, 2010, 5:24 pm
    I grew up drinking Turkish coffee, though we were only allowed to call it Greek coffee (long story...). Indeed, you are not supposed to drink it. Here is what you are supposed to do with that sludge:

    1. Leave a tiny sip of coffee left, enough so that you can swirl the sludge around a bit
    2. Slowly swirl the sludge around over the entire sides and bottom of your cup, then give it a couple of quick swirls at the end.
    3. Turn it over quickly onto your saucer and leave it for a minute or two
    4. Transfer upside down cup onto a napkin and leave it there for another minute or two
    5. Hand cup over to old family friend who can tell fortunes from the patterns left by the coffee grounds
    6. Watch her intently study the grounds, brows furrowed
    7. If you are a single woman, the fortune will almost always include some prediction of marriage. Blush as everyone around you squees and giggles and makes comments about impending, though still imaginary, nuptials)
    8. If you are a married woman, your fortune will almost always include a prediction of babies. Again, blush.
    (7 and 8 are based only on my experience based on my Thea Nafsika's readings) ;-)
    9. When she is finished, the coffee ground reader will fake spit into your cup and hand it back to you.
    10. If you thank her, her predictions will not come true, so don't say "Thank you." Unless of course you don't want to get married and didn't like her prediction that you would be soon. Ignore your mother's scowl.
    11. Go finish helping your mom lay out a huge spread of desserts.

    That's how we did it. Some more info here with a pic of what the grounds look like for a reading.

    Reading Coffee Cups
  • Post #154 - November 26th, 2010, 8:15 am
    Post #154 - November 26th, 2010, 8:15 am Post #154 - November 26th, 2010, 8:15 am
    LTH,

    Been a while since my last visit to Semiramis, nice crowd for a pre T-Day eve, service spot-on, though I remember it always being good, and, with the exception of the dried out chicken on my wife's fatoush salad, all five of us enjoyed our meal.

    Of note, crisp exterior, moist interior falafel, daily special of zatar crusted baked salmon and crisp fries dusted with sumac served with deliciously garlicky toum for dipping.

    My juicy flesh, crisp skin half chicken was as good as the first time I had it at Semiramis, in other words very good, but I got the last of the chicken at 6:30, not an uncommon occurrence. I am guessing there were a number of disappointed Semiramis chicken lovers between 6:30 and close.

    Enjoy,
    Gary
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #155 - April 10th, 2011, 7:17 pm
    Post #155 - April 10th, 2011, 7:17 pm Post #155 - April 10th, 2011, 7:17 pm
    Thanks, LTH, for putting Semiramis on my radar.

    First trip was last night: I wasn't that hungry, so I just ordered a lamb kabob sandwich. The first couple of bites had pieces of lamb that were a bit chewy but had excellent char-grilled flavor. I thought, pretty good bang for the buck for seven dollars. But in the rest of the sandwich, the lamb was damn near perfect -- tender with terrific flavor. My friend's hummus was the best I've had: creamy texture and wonderful balance of flavors.

    I'll be back often.
  • Post #156 - December 8th, 2013, 11:30 am
    Post #156 - December 8th, 2013, 11:30 am Post #156 - December 8th, 2013, 11:30 am
    a whole chicken is $9 to go, so picked one up on my way out of city. Had it 2 hours later for dinner, VERY VERY dry, not a good bird at all.

    They did wrap the bird in the lavosh bread so perhaps that took some of the moisture out of the bird.

    Perhaps this is just not a spot to get to-go items from?

    Eating in I usually alternate between the Lamb and Beef shawarma or the chicken and have always been pleased.
    I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I thought it could be.
  • Post #157 - December 9th, 2013, 3:32 pm
    Post #157 - December 9th, 2013, 3:32 pm Post #157 - December 9th, 2013, 3:32 pm
    The last time I ordered the so-called famous rotisserie chicken, at an early lunch there, it was so dry (and so small) that I promised myself never to eat that dish again. But the Sumac fries are still good.
  • Post #158 - June 28th, 2019, 10:54 am
    Post #158 - June 28th, 2019, 10:54 am Post #158 - June 28th, 2019, 10:54 am
    We were big Semiramis fans and visited frequently, haven't in several years, but not sure why. Stopped in last night with one of our daughters while in the neighborhood.

    Neither one of us wanted the dolmas or tabbouleh that are a part of the vegetarian plate. We both ordered the mujaddarah (lentils, rice, and carmelized onions) and salad plate. Also shared an order of hummus and falafel.

    We loved the creamy and nutty tasting hummus and the falafel. The house salad was a better option than tabbouleh. We both felt cardamom really overpowered the perfectly cooked rice and lentils.

    Due to proximity to our house, our go to is Sultan's Market. Their lentils and rice are under seasoned and held in steam tables, so not the best texturally, but still satisfying when I add tahini and hot sauce. Their tabbouleh and mushy cucumber salad are a why bother. But we really enjoy their hummus and falafel. I realize SM is very inexpensive, but the bill for the two of us last night was more than twice as expensive, pre-tip.
  • Post #159 - April 14th, 2020, 6:18 pm
    Post #159 - April 14th, 2020, 6:18 pm Post #159 - April 14th, 2020, 6:18 pm
    Does anyone know if Semiramis has new owners? The food seemed different but I’m not sure if it is just Covid related. We hadn’t eaten there in quite a while so I’m just wondering if it changed hands recently or even in the last few years.
  • Post #160 - September 7th, 2020, 10:50 pm
    Post #160 - September 7th, 2020, 10:50 pm Post #160 - September 7th, 2020, 10:50 pm
    On another thread:
    carrienation wrote:Not sure exactly when it happened, as there's no Facebook update indicating it, but sadly, Semiramis is permanently closed. We called last week to confirm and their phone number was no longer in service, and it's listed as permanently closed on Google. We'll really miss this place--I really liked the whole chicken with toum, and it was one of the few places in town you could get a decent kibbeh nayyeh (I've tried it from Libanais and found it wanting).

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #161 - December 26th, 2020, 4:54 pm
    Post #161 - December 26th, 2020, 4:54 pm Post #161 - December 26th, 2020, 4:54 pm
    Looks like Semiramis is back open. Don't know anything else but open sign and lights are on. Will probably try it again this coming week and will report back.
  • Post #162 - January 5th, 2021, 12:57 pm
    Post #162 - January 5th, 2021, 12:57 pm Post #162 - January 5th, 2021, 12:57 pm
    Just grabbed a vegetarian plate from there. It seemed to be the same as before. The owner mentioned that they reopened about 3 weeks ago.
  • Post #163 - February 26th, 2021, 2:39 pm
    Post #163 - February 26th, 2021, 2:39 pm Post #163 - February 26th, 2021, 2:39 pm
    Semiramis is now called Mediterranean Grilled Kababs and is operating out of the same space, but seems to have a similar menu--no idea of whether it's operated by the same crew, though. I haven't tried it yet, either, so can't vouch for the food either way. New info below (including a new phone number):

    Mediterranean Grilled Kababs
    4639 N Kedzie Ave.
    Chicago, IL 60625
    https://www.mediterraneangrilledkebabs.com
    773-564-9333
  • Post #164 - July 14th, 2021, 3:22 pm
    Post #164 - July 14th, 2021, 3:22 pm Post #164 - July 14th, 2021, 3:22 pm
    The URL in the previous post now goes to https://www.semiramismediterraneanrestaurant.com/
    Signage is left over from Semiramis Restaurant. The web site is not very informative but contains a clue just below the make a reservation that ownership is different.
  • Post #165 - September 13th, 2021, 5:18 pm
    Post #165 - September 13th, 2021, 5:18 pm Post #165 - September 13th, 2021, 5:18 pm
    Based on what we had today the recipes have changed dramatically (special falafel wraps and ful), and sadly not for the better or same.
  • Post #166 - September 14th, 2021, 2:41 pm
    Post #166 - September 14th, 2021, 2:41 pm Post #166 - September 14th, 2021, 2:41 pm
    aaronpaul27 wrote:Based on what we had today the recipes have changed dramatically (special falafel wraps and ful), and sadly not for the better or same.

    Unfortunately I must agree - special wraps did not include any of the 'special' items, shawarma was more like stir-fry. Folks at counter were super-nice though.

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