What if I told you that you could eat some homemade Mediterranean food in a casual environment, and then get up, mid-bite, and grab a beer out of the fridge, like you might do at home? And what if I told you that you could choose six others from more than 750 unique (and counting) beers to take home with you? What if I told you it was at a restaurant called, curiously, Daddy's Place, which sounds like a sports bar and looks like a gas station but is most assuredly neither of those things? Confusing, right?
Let's set the record straight. First, the location in question, on Northampton Street in Easton, did spend time as an Esso gas station a while back and more recently, Northampton Glass. It does not provide passersby with a lot of flash: imagine a cinderblock exterior painted a muted grey-blue and a jigsaw puzzle of a parking lot. The interior, which has been completely renovated and boasts a large kitchen, looks very little like either incarnation. But ever since October 18, 2013, it's been known as Daddy's Place and has been turning out some great Middle Eastern fare—and then some.
Such is often the nature of mom-and-pop joints; you know, the kinds of establishments that you drive by all the time, and think to yourself, “I should try this place” or “I keep hearing about that place.” Maybe you don't ever get a chance to veer off and investigate. That's what we're doing here with this column. I brake for food, ask the questions, and report back. In this case, I put the brakes on for an ethnic food for which I have a deep abiding love, a cuisine whose bright, clean flavors and cooling ingredients such as mint, parsley and cucumbers, are so naturally refreshing on hot and humid days.
So, what's in a name? Well, it emerged from the suggestion of Rafqa, the six-year-old daughter of owners Sharbel and Lena Koorie. “We thought it had a nice ring to it,” says Sharbel. When it was pointed out to them that Mom's in the kitchen, the Koories both laugh and Lena says, “On our new logo it will say ‘Daddy's Place but Mommy's in the Kitchen.'” Sharbel says, “You know that quote from that movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding? She's the neck and I'm the head!” He's referring to the conversation about the man being the head of the household, and the mother saying to Toula, “The man is the head but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants.” Cue laughter.
With the rest of their children mostly grown (the oldest is 24), the Koories were at a little bit of a crossroads. Lena, 42, came to the United States from Lebanon when she was almost 18. She always loved to cook, and worked in the Easton Area School District cafeterias for many years. When Rafqa started to approach school age, they thought, what next? “We were getting to that point where if we waited much longer to take a risk, it would be too late,” Sharbel says. Lena adds, “It would have been much harder to do something like this when the kids were younger.”
“We make all of these items from scratch; there's nothing in the freezer.”
That “something like this” is a 50-60 seat casual restaurant with outdoor seating, a TV and full-fledged bar. Unlike other beer-centric eateries that can and will put together a six-pack for you from their list of bottled beers, Daddy's Place just happens to stock and sell them from their refrigerated cases. We're mostly talking about craft beers (many local and regional selections), although you can find well-known, large domestic brands, too. “Everyone's individuality is represented here; plus you can always expand your horizons. We want to get to 1,000 before the end of the summer,” Sharbel says. He's not kidding, either.
When I stopped in there, just a few weeks before for some of their ridiculously addictive fattoush (salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, romaine, sumac and more sumac), I asked for the beer count and was told, “about 650, but it's always changing.” Sharbel mentioned the “Beermuda Triangle” and how “we're right in the middle of it,” between Two Rivers Brewing and Porters' Pub, and just around the corner from Black and Blue. All destinations are known for their thoughtful craft food and beers.
Okay, enough about the beer. There's plenty of other good stuff to discuss, too—the food. The Koories are a bit taken aback by the response from customers. Sharbel says they thought most people would come in for the beer, but in his estimation it's “65 percent food, 35 percent beer. It's getting to the point where it's a good idea to have reservations on Thursday through Saturday nights. We hadn't anticipated that,” Sharbel says.
If you don't get too distracted by the dessert case when you walk in, the first thing you're likely to see is the enormous oven and someone at work making pita bread. Lena estimates they make 300-400 loaves per week. “The bread is a big deal,” Sharbel says. It's unusual that you can receive fresh pita like this right on the premises. The Lehigh Valley definitely has a Lebanese population; but the Forks Mediterranean Deli offers a comprehensive menu of sandwiches and traditional fare (minus a deep fryer) and grocery items, but doesn't have the ability to bake on site. Soumaya and Sons in Whitehall is a bakery and deli that sells tons of pita, along with grocery items. Neither of them have liquor licenses.
Things have progressed so quickly and taken on a life of their own that Lena hasn't had the time as of this writing to update the menu to reflect everything they're offering. If you don't see it, ask, chances are she can do it or is already creating it for others. For example, there's a whole entire bakery case worth of items that hasn't made it to the menu yet—baklava, carrot cake, various versions of their popular cheesecake, and their best-selling oversize spinach pie. She also sells their bread to the public, in extra-large 24-inch dimensions, perfect for ripping, filling and rolling up with your favorite ingredients. “We make all of these items from scratch; there's nothing in the freezer,” she says.
Freshness accounts for part of their success—your meal may take a few minutes to prepare because the food is best described as homemade, right down to the tangy labneh (strained yogurt akin to Greek yogurt.) But the spices for the Middle Eastern traditional dishes, imported from Lebanon, also help distinguish their food. “It's more expensive to get the spices this way, but the taste just isn't the same otherwise,” says Lena. You might detect the difference in their popular makanek appetizer of homemade Lebanese sausage cooked with spices and wine, which is also available in sandwich form with lettuce, tomato, onion and garlic. Or their fava bean salad, with chopped red onion, tomato and parsley, tossed with lemon juice, olive oil and, yep, “spices.” (These “spices” also lend their characteristics to an absolutely standout, zippy fattoush, but I already waxed poetic about that one.)
And finally, Daddy's Place wouldn't be a true Middle Eastern eatery without shawarma (chicken, beef and lamb), falafel, kabobs and kafta, plus mezze such as baba ganoush, mini savory pies and, of course, hummus. Order it Daddy's style, and it'll arrive topped with olive oil, beef and pine nuts and that bread we keep discussing.
The Koories—and their extended family, including Lena's twin sister—have set a tireless pace for themselves by opening early in the morning to serve three meals a day, starting with breakfast full of straightforward American standards. In the morning, you'll encounter eggs, omelets, breakfast sandwiches, plus pancakes, waffles or French toast.
If you're dining with someone who's disinclined toward culinary experimentation, it's possible to have a hamburger, mozzarella sticks, hot wings, pastas or grilled cheese. However, the quintessential hybrid, wherein a popular Americanized food meets classic Lebanese flavors, must be the za'atar pie. Never had it? Imagine a robust blend of sumac, dried thyme and dried marjoram blended with olive oil, salt and toasted sesame seeds. Now picture it spread, tomato sauce-style, across a perfectly round pita and warmed in the oven in less than five minutes. The Koories up the ante by offering different combinations with tomato, onion, mint and feta.
Before they decided to take the plunge and open their business, Sharbel says he spoke to his uncle Antonios K. Boulos, who owns Almond Tree Manor across the bridge in Alpha, New Jersey. He offered his nephew the following sage advice. “The most important thing is passion. If you don’t have the passion, it will show in the product.” The Koories possess plenty of passion, and it seems to be infectious. “We’re seeing a lot of people come in for the first time, and then come back in a week. The response has been overwhelming. It’s exceeded our expectations, without a doubt,” he says.
Before they decided to take the plunge and open their business, Sharbel says he spoke to his uncle Antonios K. Boulos, who owns Almond Tree Manor across the bridge in Alpha, New Jersey. He offered his nephew the following sage advice. “The most important thing is passion. If you don’t have the passion, it will show in the product.” The Koories possess plenty of passion, and it seems to be infectious. “We’re seeing a lot of people come in for the first time, and then come back in a week. The response has been overwhelming. It’s exceeded our expectations, without a doubt,” he says.
Before they decided to take the plunge and open their business, Sharbel says he spoke to his uncle Antonios K. Boulos, who owns Almond Tree Manor across the bridge in Alpha, New Jersey. He offered his nephew the following sage advice. “The most important thing is passion. If you don't have the passion, it will show in the product.” The Koories possess plenty of passion, and it seems to be infectious. “We're seeing a lot of people come in for the first time, and then come back in a week. The response has been overwhelming. It's exceeded our expectations, without a doubt,” he says.
