AL BASHA RESTAURANT
dining out
A“ Little Ramallah” Standout Al Basha brings the flavors of Lebanon to Paterson
WRITTENBYESTHER DAVIDOWITZ PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL KARAS
MEAT PLATTER
Many food lovers in North Jersey( anywhere, actually) will drive for hours— heck, even get on a plane— to dine at the most recent, most fashionable, most buzzworthy spot they’ ve just read about. But they never step foot, and thus dine, inone of the most interesting cities in New Jersey: Paterson.
Not only is the“ Silk City” rich in history( America’ s first industrial city, home of the Great Falls, birthplace of Lou Costello), but one of the most ethnically diverse communities in
America. Many consider it to be the capital of the Peruvian Diaspora. Plus, Paterson is home to the largest Turkish-American population in the U. S., and the second largest Arab-American population after Dearborn, Mich.
Which brings us
Paterson
AL BASHA RESTAURANT
1076 MAIN ST.,( 973) 345-3700, ALBASHAUSA. COM
to Lebanese / Mediterranean Al Basha, one of the many Middle Eastern restaurants that dot Main Street in the southern part of town. There are so many Syrian, Palestinian, Jordanian and Lebanese residents, shops and dining joints in South Paterson that this thriving, colorful section of town has been nicknamed Little Ramallah.
Twenty-yearold Al Basha may be its most popular spot for grabbing eats that speak ofhome, if home was once in the warm Middle East. FYI: I have often quizzed Patersonians about where to get good hummus in the area( I devoured lots of it growing up in Israel), and most often the answer is... Al Basha.
38 FALL 2018 WAYNE MAGAZINE