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A first-time visitor to Jasmine Mediterranean Restaurant, which opened last November in Scott, might be a bit confused. What kind of restaurant is this exactly? Substantial banquettes in dark colors, low ceilings with acoustic tiles and heavy light fixtures set an old-fashioned, formal tone.
Jasmine is part of the Culinary Concepts of Pittsburgh restaurant group, which has tried several concepts in the space. Before it was Jasmine, the space held an offshoot of Downtown's Cafe Euro; before that there was the Colony, which the restaurant group purchased in 2002.
Although the space was closed for several months before Jasmine opened, there was a slipshod nature to the design that suggests the restaurant opened in a hurry. The addition of beaded curtains and vaguely "Mediterranean" pictures on the wall do little to set a scene for the Middle Eastern, mostly Lebanese, menu.
The dark wooden tables have exposed hinges on the side, which would ordinarily be covered by cloths, but Jasmine isn't that formal. Paper napkins placed beneath drinks are printed with the image of a belly dancer and the restaurant's name in a vaguely Mediterranean script, an attempt at branding that seems extremely out of place in the somber dining room.
Despite the weird atmosphere, it's possible to have a pleasant meal. The setting was comfortable and very quiet -- something that many Pittsburgh diners would commend.
Food:
Service:
Atmosphere:
Overall:
1928 Cochran Road, Scott
412-344-1001
- Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 5-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 5-11 p.m.
- Basics: Casual Middle Eastern (primarily Lebanese) fare is served in a comfortable but slightly stuffy setting; vegetable dishes generally offer more interesting options than the simpler grilled meat dishes or pita wraps.
- Recommended dishes: Meatless grape leaves, sleek, mujaddara, loubieh, baked kibbee.
- Prices: Salads and cold appetizers, $4.99-$12.99; hot appetizers, $5.99-$9.99; wraps and entree salads, $7.99-$12.99; entrees, $13.99-$19.99; desserts, $4.99-$5.99.
- Wine: The list sticks to mostly Mediterranean options, including a variety of Spanish, Italian and Greek wines. Wines by the glass, $5-$8. Whites by the bottle, $35-$40; reds, $22-$60, most in the $35 range. Mark-up is consistently 300 percent retail price. List includes vintage dates and tasting notes.
- Summary: Wheelchair accessible; credit cards accepted; corkage, $10.
- Noise level: Low.
Pita bread -- from Pita Land on Brookline Boulevard -- was served warm, with small bottles of olive oil at the ready.
As at many Middle Eastern restaurants (although probably not the best), it's worth weighting orders toward the appetizers portion of the menu. Cold appetizers consist mostly of those Middle Eastern salads and spreads, now supermarket staples. No need to pick just one, order a mezze platter ($12.99), which included reasonably sized portions of hummus, baba ganoush, tabouli, feta cheese and kalamata olives. These are respectable, if not particularly memorable versions.
The fatoush salad ($8.99) is another reason to skip the entrees. The base of romaine and iceberg lettuce is brought to life by the additions of chopped cucumber, red pepper, tomatoes, radish, red onions, lemony dressing and crunchy pita chips thrown in crouton-style. It's also huge -- easily three times the size of the side salad.
The hot appetizers offer the most interesting, delicious options. Vegetarian grape leaves (seven for $7.99) were served warm, the tart, tender wrappers filled with a savory mix of rice, chopped tomato, onions, mint and parsley. Larger groups should consider a double order -- grape leaves are like potato chips, one or two just won't do it.
Jasmine's version of sleek ($6.99) was easily the best dish on the menu. A plate full of lightly sauteed spinach, bright green and tender, was mixed with a cupful or so of savory black-eyed peas, toasted bulgur adding crunch and lots of sauteed sweet onions rounding out the flavors.
Stuffed eggplant ($8.99) turned out to be thick wedges cooked until silky and rich, slick with olive oil. The "stuffing" was really a topping of lightly cooked tomato sauce with chunks of sirloin and pine nuts. The overall effect was a bit oily, but quite flavorful.
Jasmine, like most Middle Eastern restaurants, had numerous vegetarian options, including one of my favorites, mujaddara ($5.99). Although cooked from the simplest of ingredients -- rice, lentils and onions -- when prepared well, this dish epitomizes the luxury of simplicity.
Jasmine's version gets some, but not all, of the details right. The proportion of rice, lentils and onions was good, and the lentils were very well cooked (just al dente, so each one pops between the teeth). Underseasoning, however, dulled the flavors of the dish and the "caramelized" onions had been handled without the requisite patience. Rather than slowly cooking them over low, even heat until they turned golden brown, these onions were translucent in the middle and burnt at the edges.
The best of the entree sections, notably, also are available as appetizers. Loubieh, a green bean stew, contradicts the current vogue of keeping all green vegetables brightly colored and a bit crisp. The mellowed beans still tasted sweet in the cinnamon-tinged tomato sauce. Slightly tough chunks of sirloin didn't add much to the mix, but a vegetarian version is available ($7.99).
Meat tended to be tough, whether it was chunks of sirloin, a dry lamb shish kebab or strips of lamb in the shawarma pita wrap ($7.99). Traditional shawarma is grilled on a spit with plenty of fat to keep the meat moist. Here, a few thin pieces of dry, gray lamb were overwhelmed by iceberg lettuce and slices of pink, flavorless tomato.
The best meat dish was the baked kibbee (appetizer, $9.99; entrée, $13.99), presented as a square cake made from a mixture of ground lamb and sirloin, bulgur and pine nuts. This dish was a little inconsistent -- moist and flavorful one week, it was drier and duller the next.
The cucumber yogurt sauce served on the side of the kibbee and several other dishes was thick and creamy, but it tasted like ranch dressing. It turns out they do make the cucumber yogurt appetizer, but the cucumber yogurt sauce comes from a distributor.
Many restaurants have some dishes that are better than others, but the greater inconsistency at Jasmine probably has to do with the varied sources for different portions of the menu. Some of it is ordered through distributors, an unfortunate practice, but one common at many mid-priced restaurants.
More rare, most of the Lebanese specialties are prepared by Nafle Abdulnour, who owns Nellie's Sandwiches in Oakland. She comes into the restaurant a few days a week to prepare the dips, the grape leaves, the stuffed eggplant and more. Nathan Hamilton, chef and kitchen manager, prepares the grilled meats, the rice and other components.
It came as no surprise that most of the dessert options are brought in as well. The baklava is from Little Athens in Sewickley, the chocolate cake and cheesecake from a distributor.
My advice is to order an extra appetizer and skip dessert altogether -- hold out for restaurants that make it themselves.
All restaurants are to some extent a collaboration, but at the moment, too many cooks at Jasmine have resulted in a disjointed, not always enticing, restaurant experience.
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