Archive: Around Town

Monday night. Matthew and I decided last minute to go down to the DMV mall on Third Street, Ithaca, to try out a new restaurant that we had heard about. We called for reservations and found out that Mira's Mediterranean Bistro had actually opened that day after having a soft opening over the weekend for family and friends. When I found that out, I wondered was it really fair to judge them on their food and presentation before they really had time to get the details of functioning hammered down. They were game and we were hungry for Mediterranean food since we had not been to either Aladdin's (College town), or Pita Gourmet (Cortland), in quite a while.

For those of you who have not been in Ithaca bowling, or visiting Department of Motor Vehicles in a long time, there used to be a fine restaurant called Dijon in that small mall area. Dijon was delicious European food, rich and heartburn stimulating, priced beyond our weekly budget allowance. It had since gone out of business and Samira and Billy Reamer of Lansing have opened a lovely Bistro in its place. Samira has 10 years of experience working in fine restaurants in the area (The Heights Café and Grill & Zaza's Cucina). She has taken this experience and with the support of her husband and family has opened a beautiful small restaurant focusing on the rich, bright, flavors of the Mediterranean: Italian, Greek, Moroccan, and the Lebanese and Syrian foods that she grew up with. Let's go on a tour!

The façade of the restaurant is a lovely cool shade of azure- the deep blue of the Aegean Sea. Upon entering you find yourself in the fore of the restaurant highlighting a pretty little bar and waiting space. The floor underfoot is cool large black and white terracotta tiles laid in a checkerboard pattern. The ceiling is high and the decoration on the wall is an artful design of china plates in shades of blue on one side and mirrors on the other that make the comfortable seating for 51 seem even more spacious. Large, comfy, deep red, overstuffed seating lines the side under the mirrors. I am picky about seat comfort, because of a bad back, and I found even the regular chairs to be quite comfortable and un-distracting. The blue theme is echoed on the tables by the placement of deep, cobalt blue water glasses, beautiful in their own right.

Although Monday, the restaurant was doing a brisk business and there were comfortable happy faces all around. You could show up in your regular clothes or dress up for the night and feel quite at home. Upon being seated we had a look at the wine list. It is well appointed with a range of flavors and origins that would suit anyone. Wine is available by the bottle or glass. Samira says that they have given precedence to some of the newer blends that are hitting the market and inspiring wine drinkers, yet the classic heavy hitting Italian Barolo and Silver Oak, Cabernet Sauvignon have their spot as well. If you are a beer drinker, you will find a whimsical array of beers from the local classic ‘Ithaca Apricot Wheat' to the Italian ‘Peroni' and the colloquial ‘Old Speckled Hen'. Non-drinkers and kids have something fun too- Fizzy Lizzy sparkling beverages and Ithaca root beer and ginger ale.

The dinner menu shows Mezze (Appetizers) mostly in the $6-7.00 range and Entrees listed from$13-17.00 in general, ranging to $21.00 and $23.00 for the ‘ Cilantro Scented New Zealand Rack of Lamb' and the ‘Middle Eastern Spice Rubbed, Prime Angus Sirloin' respectively. I'll get back to the lamb later, but they are not kidding about the scent. As I came home and entered our house I realized that my fingertips were still perfumed by the cilantro. It was such a beautiful scent I would have considered using it as bath oil. The menu might seem limited to some, who are used to pages and pagers of offerings, but as you experience each dish you realize that a myriad of tastes are represented. They are so delicious, that you will keep returning to favorites rather than feel the need for further distraction and culinary effort. Samira and Billy promise to rotate new favorites onto the menu as the seasons progress.

Billy and Samira Reamer

In the Mezze section, the Italians are well represented by ‘Caprese Salad' (home-made mozzarella, tomato, and basil oil), ‘Bruschetta', and ‘Calamari' (battered deep-fried squid). The Caprese was very refreshing. The tomato was well ripened and full of sweetness, and the basil oil a bright piquant note draped upon the bright white, tender medallions of fresh mozzarella. We did not try the Bruscetta, but the Calamari is currently the best I have had anywhere in Tompkins County. The oil was not heavy. The batter clung completely and fried sharply crisp and herb enhanced. The squid itself can be easily overcooked to a rubbery texture, but this squid was in its ‘nth' moment and had just been cooked enough, thus it was tender and flavorful and carried its fresh flavor from the sea. There was a ‘Romesco Sauce' (blended roast red pepper and almond) for dipping the Calamari. I did not taste it due to nut allergies, but Matthew was entranced with the flavor and kept trying to decipher it to no avail.

There are ‘Hand-cut Pomme Frites' (french-fries) that were very satisfying and thankfully not over salted as is the case in many restaurants. There are two dipping sauces for the fries: a cinnamon infused ketchup and a black olive aioli. The fries were great on their own, but I have to tell you the cinnamon ketchup was a pleasant surprise. Who would have thought those flavors would blend happily. But they do, and thus we kept alternating between the two flavors, the aioli being gentle and the richness of the black olive apparent. Matthew describes the ketchup scent as reminding him of his grandmother's kitchen and the flavor is completely addicting.

We also tried the ‘Mediterranean Tapas Plate' which had a variety of offerings: humus, babaganoush (made by Mira's father Gibran, in the centuries old way over an open flame), and Foule Mudammas (fava bean dip) partnered with pita wedges, fresh watermelon salad, and Shankeesh (a home-made spiced cheese). The humus is delicate, light and faintly garlicky; the babaganoush was rich, earthy with an intense smoky aroma from the open fire searing of the eggplant. We kept roaming from one flavor to the next, exclaiming with happiness. Each bite was better than the last for the pairing of flavors and fresh herb tastes. I need a quart of the spiced cheese to take home for the refrigerator - perhaps we can convince them to retail it on the sideJ. What is apparent as you eat these foods is that you are only making yourself healthier with each bite. How lovely to indulge and not feel a bit guilty because it is all fresh and loaded with vitamins and goodness. The tapas plate rotates daily in its offerings.

We were quite full, but for our readers we valiantly carried on into the entrée tasting.
In the entrees, Italy is represented by ‘Fresh Summer vegetable Risotto' ( I will try that next time) and ‘Roasted Little-neck Clams over Linguini'. Lebanon provides: Marinated chicken kabobs, Beef kabobs, and green beans and stewed tomatoes with Lebanese rice. Greece provides a fine lamb offering and the middle east provides: ‘Za'atar crusted Yellow fin Tuna', ‘Seared Salmon with Chermoula Sauce', and ‘Tahini-baked Rockfish'.

First we tried the rack of lamb. It was a beautiful, professional, five star presentation. The flavor matched the aesthetics. The lamb was seared on the outside to a delicate crispness. Each cut face presented perfect medium rare rosy perfection. The lamb was honored in the cooking. As I mentioned before, the cilantro and garlic oil drizzle on the plate clamored for you to get every drop. All your senses are tended to. The two sides were equally tasty: the cool potato salad blended with herbs, onion, tomate, and feta was refreshing and the seared green beans a fine accompaniment.

Next we tasted the ‘Tahini Baked Rockfish'. It was served in a cassoulet dish. First take a serving off the top. Flavors of tender white fish and caramelized onion intermingle in your mouth. Your eyes roll back with joy. Then you dig deeper and find the thin sliced potatoes that have been simmering in a thickened creamy blend of fish juices and tahini (sesame paste). Oh my goodness! The taste is sensuous and entrancing. You would have thought we were starving the way we went at that dish. I was jealous of my husband's every bite. We might have to get two the next time out. It was the pinnacle of all we had tasted. When discussing it with Samira, she admitted that this dish was her and her Billy's favorite, as well.

We felt bad that we had not tried the bean and tomato dish before the rockfish. All else paled in comparison. We dutifully tasted the vegetarian dish and it was fresh, and sweet with sun-draped tomatoes stewed with the string beans. I detected a faint hint of mint in the herb seasoning. A nice addition to the herb flavors that we had already experienced. The Lebanese rice went well with the vegetables and absorbed some of the extra juices although the rice was buttery and rich in its own right.

For dessert we were brought a sampling of their home-made Baklava: many layers of delicate puff pastry painted with butter and layered with finely chopped walnuts and honey. There is a faint hint of cinnamon to tie all the flavors together. I had a small dish of raspberry sorbet, an excellent finish to a meal with so many diverse flavors. We came home with wide smiles on our faces and we slept the sleep of the blessed even though we had eaten more than we should, and not a hint of indigestion. We hope that you have an equally remarkable experience. Mira's Mediterranean Bistro is a bright welcome note on the diverse Ithaca dining scene.

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