The rice is right at Laziza Lebanese restaurant in Spotsylvania
Date published: 9/27/2007
By NANCY DEARING ROSSBACHER and STEPHEN W. SYLVIA
FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR
She:
The Bard wrote that a rice by any other name would smell as sweet.
He:
That's not what he wrote.
She:
Well, if he had, he'd have been wrong. There's rice, and then there's Laziza's rice, which smells sweeter. The scattery mounds of Laziza's version were a hallmark of the entrees on a recent visit to the new Lebanese restaurant. Laced with almonds, infused with cinnamon and generously topped with pine nuts, the rice was outstanding.
And if the rice is right--or, in this case, gently seasoned to perfection--it's a sign that someone in the kitchen is paying attention.
He:
Someone--presumably manager and co-owner Mike Saba--is also paying attention to the dining room. The decor in the whistle-clean dining room is spare but tasteful, with judiciously placed oil paintings (for sale) and linen napery on bare tables.
She:
With 16 appetizers, indecision can kick in. To counteract it, there's the mezza platter ($10.95), featuring rice-stuffed grape leaves, fried kibbeh (ground beef, onion and pine nuts in a cracked-wheat shell), and cakes of falafel (too salty for me on this visit). Served alongside were a lemony hummus and fresh pita bread of a wonderful thinness.
But the winner was the Sambusek appetizer ($6), three puffy, golden-brown triangles filled with oniony ground beef and pine nuts. It was the sort of appetizer that makes you want to say: "Scratch dinner. Let's just have more of this."
He:
Scratching dinner would have been a mistake. The ouzi ($10.75), somewhat misleadingly billed as "a baked leg of lamb," was actually shredded lamb atop that magical rice. The tender morsels were greaseless and flavorful.
The sheikh al mihshi ($9.75) was generous: two thick slices of fork-tender eggplant stuffed with ground beef and pine nuts, topped with a hearty tomato sauce.
She:
The items listed under "Large Salads" well deserve the capital "L." The beef shish kebab salad ($9.95) was an outsize serving of mixed greens and chunks of green pepper and scallions. Atop were plentiful cubes of marinated, charbroiled beef.
He:
The dessert choices are simple: a buck for a square of flaky baklava or five bucks for a mixed plate of baklava variations, the most intriguing of which had shredded wheat as the backbone.
She:
Speaking of bucks, three of us went through one tea, three smoothies (I recommend the banana-chocolate), two appetizers, one Large (capital "L") salad, two entrees, and the whole-shootin'-match dessert. We skated for an affordable $70.
He:
Last thoughts: pleasant surroundings and service, with well-prepared traditional Lebanese fare.
She:
Note to owners: Patent that rice.
Nancy Dearing Rossbacher and Stephen W. Sylvia publish a Civil War magazine together. She likes to cook. He likes to eat. To reach Rossbacher and Sylvia, e-mail them at editor@nstcivil war.com. Or call 540/374-5448 with comments about today's restaurant review.
LAZIZA
Address: 4256 Plank Road, Spotsylvania (next to Ukrop's)
Phone: 540/548-4555
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily
Prices:
Soups, salads and appetizers: $3.25-$11
Sandwiches: $6
Entrees: $8.50-$12
Children's menu: $4.75-$6.25
Wine and beer available.
The scoop: Upscale casual, clean, wheelchair-accessible, nonsmoking, noise level low to medium, major credit cards accepted.
