Phoenicians

Heather and I dined at Phoenicians on Central Avenue in Colonie on Friday night, and we were glad we did. The food was excellent and the service was friendly. We are both fans of this relatively new Lebanese restaurant.

This is not a large restaurant, but it is newly built and very clean. The walls have painted on them a mural of scenes from Lebanon. From our seat, we would see the vertical rotisseries in the back cooking what would become our dinner. The staff is very friendly; the owner was visiting every table shaking hands with the customers. I had never seen anything like it, and I enjoyed it.

We both ordered the schwarma, which proved to be a good choice. This was just the right portion of food -- enough to be full but not enough to be bloated afterwards. The chicken schwarma was served with rice, salad, hummus and tzatziki sauce. The presentation was beautiful, the duller colors of the chicken and rice contrasting with the bright tomatoes and hummus. The shavings of chicken were nicely spiced and just delicious. The rice was moist and flavorable, the salad fresh and covered in olive oil. I usually do not like tzatziki sauce, but I was dipping my pita bread in it for the entire meal.

This small restaurant has proven that in any economy, if you offer fresh food and good hospitality, you will get customers.