Star-Telegram
Friday, March 21, 2003
Belly up to the buffet
special to the Star-Telegram/ Marcus Junius laws
Celaborelle Phoenician Buffet/ 2257 Hemphill St. Fort Worth (817)922-8118
(picture) At Celaborelle Phoenician Buffet, diners can pile their plates with (clockwise from left) pita bread, stuffed grape leaves, saffron rice, stuffed cabbage, veggie meatloaf, roast chicken and more.
THE CUISINE: Middle Eastern
THE SCOOP: The chef is Youssef Hedary, oldest of four brothers who have followed their parents footsteps in operating high-quality Middle Eastern restaurants. The mother, Leila, runs the longstanding Hedary’s on the west side, off Camp Bowie Boulevard; brother George handles Hedary’s in Dallas; brother Marios helms Byblos on the north side; and brother frank recently opened a restaurant in Las Vegas.
Youssef Hedary first opened Celaborelle at the end of 1998 with full menu service, but he had to close it in early 2001 after the lunch chef at Hedary’s Camp Bowie left and he had to take over duties there.
The first time around, there were frequent complains of slow service. So he has reopened it as buffet only. Diners can’t complain when they’re moving at their own pace.
THE AMBIENCE: The old house still boasts the same simple decor as before, Gorgeously sleek hardwood dominates.
THE CROWD: We were the only people when we arrived at 7 p.m. on a Saturday night. Eventually another family showed up. Hedary says that much of his crowd are longtime Hedary’s and Byblos fans who live on the southside.
THE FOOD: We’re not normally fans of buffets, but this one wasn’t bad. The options included standard Middle Eastern choices and some of Hedary’s and Byblos signatures, including ablama. which is baby yellow squash stuffed with a concoction of ground sirloin, onions and pine nuts. The squash was perfectly cooked, The shaik el mehshe consists of thick slices of steamed eggplant with stewed tomatoes, the sweet and bitter flavors complementing each other nicely.
A large side of brisket had been freshly smoked on pecan wood. I was tender with a lovely pinkish rim near the outer edges. Vermicelli rice was a little undercooked— some of the grains were hard. Hummus was not as garlicky as we like it. Once we were seated, our waiter delivered a basket of steaming house-made pita bread.
There was also a spanich-and-lentil soup, tahini, tabbouleh, yogurt, green and black olives, and other sides and garnishes.
For desserts, standard pistachio baclava rounded out the meal. We were lucky enough to come on a night when Hedary also had fresh kataifi, which is baklavain a shredded, bird’s nest dough.
THE BUFFET: The hot foods were covered, so we had to lift each lid to see our choices. We also has to slice the brisket ourselves.
THE SERVICE: Adequate, although when we first arrived it took several minutes before anyone realized we were there. After that, water and bread came in a timely fashion.
THE PRICES: The buffet is $5.95 for lunch and dinner. There is no alcohol, so it’s BYOB. With tip,we had dinner for two for about $15.
THE DETAILS: Open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. daily. Smoke-free; wheelchair-accessible.
Mark Lowry
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