6 routes to Mediterranean delight

If you like shwarma as much as you do po-boys, lentils as much as red beans and rosewater-infused iced tea as much as sweet tea, you’re not alone, especially in Baton Rouge.

Locals have savored great local Greek and Lebanese food for nearly 30 years. Today, more than two-dozen restaurants specialize in Mediterranean food throughout Greater Baton Rouge. Everyone seems to have a favorite spot and a standard order, but here are some of the more noteworthy options you’ll want to work into your rotation.

Meat Moussaka

This is quintessential comfort food. Albasha’s moussaka features thin layers of tender eggplant and potato, ground meat with tomato sauce and creamy Béchamel sauce. Rich and decadent, it’s as addictive as good lasagna, but lighter in texture and with a wider range of spices. Beforehand, try Albasha’s pan-fried halloumi cheese. It’s drizzled with olive oil and a smattering of salt, thyme and fresh garlic—the way fried cheese should taste.

Albasha

5454 Bluebonnet Rd.

2561 Citiplace Court

4250 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd.

17316 Airline Highway, Prairieville

albashabr.com

Turkish Potato Salad

Simple and unassuming, Café Med’s Turkish potato salad is nothing more than potatoes cooked soft, sliced, then drizzled with olive oil, lemon juice and a generous dusting of paprika. Somehow, everything comes together in this light, tidy dish. Formerly located on Third Street, Café Med also does a mean vegetarian moussaka, and some seriously flavorful baba ghannouj.

Café Mediterranean

4347 Perkins Rd.

Hummus

Every Greek and Lebanese restaurant worth its salt makes fresh, tangy hummus daily, and you will find it at all of them. But one of the city’s freshest, tangiest and perhaps most surprising hummus dishes is at Chelsea’s Café. The Perkins Road Overpass eatery-cum-bar prepares hummus fresh daily and serves it warm with lots of thick pita wedges, a thin slab of crumbly feta, fresh tomato and Kalamata olives. It’s not a bad budget-friendly meal in itself. There’s a well-rounded balance here of olive oil, salt, pureed chickpeas and tahini, the ground sesame paste that gives this dipper its nutty back. And it’s not overwhelmed by garlic.

Chelsea’s Cafe

2857 Perkins Rd.

chelseascafe.com

Za’atar

The earthy, ruddy spice mixture planted on the tables of Roman’s Café is called za’atar, a classic Middle Eastern condiment that this longtime Capital City eatery provides as an addictive amuse-bouche. Diners drag pita through pools of olive oil, splashed with balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with Roman’s za’atar, which features toasted ground sesame seeds, ground thyme and oregano. A pita was never so happy.

Roman’s Café

5350 Government St.

7731 Perkins Rd.

9634 Airline Hwy.

Falafel

One of the world’s great street foods, falafel is best when its outer layer is so crunchy that it takes a couple of strong incisors to make it yield—how a good hush puppy should behave. Too many are dry, but not so at Atcha Bakery, where the wonderfully brittle surface hides a moist, flavorful chickpea patty. While you’re waiting, peruse the vast homemade baked goods and sample the memorable pistachio baklava.

Atcha Bakery and Café

3221 Nicholson Dr.

Chicken shwarma

Sit down or walk through, Serop’s earned its way onto the Baton Rouge palate in 1979. More than any other local restaurant, it’s made chicken shwarma ubiquitous lunchtime fare. There’s a reason. Serop’s all-white meat chicken is marinated in red wine vinegar, olive oil, oregano, thyme and lots of salt and pepper, then vertically broiled, which gives it those crispy bits you look for in each bite. Order it with hummus and rice or atop any number of salads including Caesar, spinach or the composed Mediterranean.

Serop’s Café

7474 Corporate Blvd.

6301 Perkins Rd.

Serop’s Express

18169 Highland Rd.

712 Jefferson Hwy.

504 North Fifth St.

seropscafe.com