Should we start calling the pocket in West Philly around 45th and Walnut “Little Beirut” or maybe “New Lebanon”? The corner is anchored by the Association of Islamic Charity Projects mosque on the northeast corner, Saad’s Halal Restaurant on the southwest corner and now Manakeesh, a Lebanese bakery and cafe, in the old bank building on the southeast corner.

After much anticipation, Manakeesh, named after its most popular dish, opened this week with a dazzling interior and vast assortment of Lebanese fare. The menu is built on the manakeesh, a Lebanese flatbread sandwich that is made to order in front of you. The standard manakeesh features zaatar, a mixture of thyme and olive oil spread on the bread before it is baked. Other traditional favorites are the cheese manakeesh, which includes an assortment of vegetables, and the lahm bajeen – minced lamb.

These are just three of the nearly 20 different kinds of manakeesh made to order. Some have a distinctly American twist, like manakeesh with pastrami or sausage, egg and cheese. But as vital as the manakeesh is to the menu, this place has a lot more to offer, including several kinds of baklava, cakes, salads and coffee. Oh the coffee. Perhaps the most prominent feature behind the counter at Manakeesh, besides the exceedingly friendly staff and the brick oven shipped over from Lebanon, is the Mac Daddy of espresso machines – the Excelsior. It’s orange and chrome and looks like something that might have come out of a Detroit auto factory in the 1950s.

Yunis Ali works the Excelsior.

The general manager of Manakeesh, Abd Ghazzawi, essentially grew up in the neighborhood. He attended the mosque school across the street from Manakeesh and has invited some of his old friends to work at the cafe. The result is an inviting atmosphere with a lot of chatter. That, he said, is the point. Ghazzawi hopes that Manakeesh becomes more than a cafe and bakery, but a “community centerpiece.” You can hear much more on his thoughts about the neighborhood around Manakeesh and the cafe itself in the interview below.

So stop by and give Abd and the others a hearty mabrouk (congratulations in Arabic). It’s been a long wait, but it was worth it. Here is the full menu.

Interview with Abd Ghazzawi:

This is from Kate Krauss. Her friend Maureen’s cat is still missing from the Windermere Court Apartments fire. Here’s a flyer (click to enlarge):

Update: Local 44 can’t handle any more donations. They need shoppers. Tell everyone and anyone you know who lived at Windermere to get over there now. The folks at Local 44 had to rent a U-haul already to store the stuff they inevitably will have left over.

Update: Craig wrote about another collection at IsShoes, Alice Burbage’s women’s boutique, at 120 s. 61st St. The store is collecting from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. today. Call for other times to 215-471-5555.

We know of two clothing drives for the victims of the Jan. 10 fire at Windermere Court Apartments in West Philadelphia.

Local 44 (44th and Spruce) will set up tables along Spruce Street outside of the pub to collect clothing donations from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Try to bring things that would be useful to folks now. So winter clothes would be best. Fire victims should stop by to get what they need.

A reader, Natalie, tipped us off to the clothing drive at Drexel’s Alpha Pi Lambda (33rd and Powelton). They are accepting cold weather clothing for fire victims from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The organization will accept donations of gently used hats, gloves, scarves, jackets and blankets at its house at 33rd and Powelton. Those who cannot give clothing can donate cash, which will be used to buy clothes for the drive. Those displaced by the fire who need clothing should stop by.

Several news outlets are reporting that six students were stabbed near the El stop at 46th and Market Streets this morning. The teens reportedly got into a fight at the train station.

The students were taken to hospital but the injuries are reportedly not life threatening. Five of the students were from Boys Latin High School and the sixth was reportedly a student at nearby West Philadelphia Catholic High School, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Inquirer interviewed Byron Pugh, who runs a CD stand at the El station and said the fights between students are a regular occurrence.

Incidentally, the Inquirer story concludes that while police were investigating the stabbings a man robbed the nearby CVS at 48th and Market.

The Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts has extended the entry deadline for the West Philadelphia Gospel Choir Competition to January 31. Choirs can compete in one of three categories in the April 2 competition: Traditional Gospel; A Cappella; and Contemporary (Jazz/Rap). The winners in each category will open for the vocal jazz group Take 6 on April 30th at the Annenberg Center and receive a $250 cash prize and archival recording of the performance.

More information, including an entry application, is available on the Annenberg Center website here.

Here’s a story from NBC 10 on the tireless work by City Kitties, a West Philadelphia based feline rescue organization, to help cats lost and found from the Jan. 10 Windermere Court Apartments fire. The organization has a list of recovered and missing cats, including photos when possible, on its website here. Well over 100 people were made homeless from the fire at 48th and Walnut Streets.