The Phoenician

For the past three years on February 14, Tim and I have made reservations, dressed up, endured long waits in painful high heels (the high heels was just me, not Tim), and spent a lot of money on some good and some not-so-good food.  We have tried eating at Pomegranate (not-so-good for V Day), Millie’s (very good, but extremely long wait), and Zeus’s Gallery (very good).  Unfortunately, Tim and I haven’t enjoyed these Valentine’s Days of past.  One of us has been sick, or grumpy, or sad on all of them.  This year we decided to be free and just go to a normal dinner and a movie. 

To that end, we took the recommendation of RVA Foodie (who, incidentally, I have started using as my personal consultant – I followed his advice on voting day and on Valentine’s Day), and visited the Phoenician, the new Lebanese restaurant on Broad Street.  I’m glad we did.

We were crunched for time because the movie started at 7:00 and we worked until 5:00.  We got to the restaurant and admired the interior – very lush, very romantic.  Gentle lighting, maroons and golds on the walls and in swaths hanging from the ceiling, and nicely spaced booths and tables throughout the premises.  We were seated quickly, and after only a moment, our friendly waiter came over to take our drink orders.  The Phoenician had a nice selection of Lebanese and Armenian beer, as well as some domestics, and a pretty extensive wine list.  While our waiter got our drinks, Tim and I perused the two pages of appetizers on the menu – everything from hummus to babbaghanoush to Lebanese cheeses to spinach pastries to falafel.  Although we wanted to sample all the appetizers, we held off, saving our hunger for the main courses. 

The menu featured about 10 entrees for dinner.  There were also about 10 sandwiches on the menu, but they were served for lunch only.  Tim ordered beef schwarma and I ordered chicken schwarma.  Our entrees came very quickly.  The chicken was very tender and juicy, and was nicely seasoned.  It was served with rice pilaf and green beans with stewed tomatoes.  On the side, we each received an order of tahini sauce.  I of course, drizzled the entire side dish of tahini all over my chicken – it was delicious and added a lot to the taste of the meal.  I gobbled up all of the chicken and rice and tried to cram the last few forkfuls of beans in, but I couldn’t make the space.  Tim was equally impressed with his beef schwarma.

We didn’t have time or room for dessert.  The entrees were reasonably priced – about $14-$15 each.  I do wish that they offered the sandwiches for dinner so there would be more variety (I was really craving a falafel sandwich for my meal, but could not get it after 3:00).

I highly recommend that everyone go to the Phoenician and savor the pleasures of the atmosphere, the staff, and the food.  It was all very good.  And Tim and I actually had an enjoyable Valentine’s Day (even though the movie was quite long and a bunch of binders fell on Tim’s head when we got home).  Thanks for the suggestion RVA Foodie!

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