Last month, Aljazeera became the latest offering in the burgeoning African/Middle Eastern food scene developing on the 4400 block of Chestnut Street. The latest eatery to take over 4403 Chestnut Street, former home to the short-lived Sudanese joint Al Khartoum Echo, might be also West Philly’s first-ever Middle Eastern buffet.

Owned by Samir Kassem of Upper Darby’s Falafel Exotic Cuisine, Aljazeera features an all-day, all-you-can-eat Halal spread of Middle Eastern staples like moussaka, yellow rice, stuffed zucchini, chicken curry, and beans with lamb meat for a flat price of $10.95. But guests visiting the new restaurant won’t taste dishes from just one Middle Eastern nation. According to the 48-year-old Kassem, who also acts as cook and manager, the daily-changing buffet menu represents the flavors of all countries in the region (he said he named the buffet Aljazeera, which means “The Island” in Arabic, for this fact.)

When West Philly Local visited Aljazeera yesterday, we had found ourselves standing in a dressed-down joint with a few tables and chairs, a simple buffet set up, and a few local residents chatting away. We had a chance to sample some of those buffet dishes upon the owner’s request and found ourselves noshing on hearty (albeit a tad greasy) home-style delicacies with just the right amount of salt, and a subtle but lingering kick. In the words of Kassem: It’s like your mama’s cooking. Continue Reading

The 4400 block of Chestnut Street is developing a nice inexpensive African/Middle Eastern restaurant scene. The northwestern bookend of the block is the Pakistani kabob spot Wah-Gi-Wah (“spectacular” in Punjabi). The block’s culinary fulcrum is the Ethiopian cafe and restaurant Kaffa Crossing and now on the eastern end of the block is Al-Khartoum Echo Restaurant, a recently opened Sudanese joint.

Al Khartoum maintains the block’s reputation as a solid place to go for inexpensive curry (lamb or chicken, $5.99), shish tawook ($6.99) and kufta ($6.99), but the more adventurous might dip into the Sudanese fare. Examples include molokhia, a stew like dish made from molokhia leaves and a generous amount of herbs and spices usually served over a bed or rice ($5.99).

It appears that there are several options for vegetarians, including staples such as falafel and okra, but you’re advised to ask about most dishes, because many use a meat stock.

Another restaurant, which looks like it will specialize in gyros, appears close to opening next door to Al Khartoum, so the food choices on this little stretch of Chestnut will likely grow even more this summer. Maybe some day it will get its own “stroll.”