Tanoreen

If the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge carries any associations in the minds of most Americans, they swirl around the feet of Tony Manero. For food-savvy New Yorkers, however, Bay Ridge rings a very different bell: Tanoreen. Rawia Bishara's inventive take on Levantine cooking regularly tops Zagat's list of the city's best Middle Eastern restaurants and compels even the staunchest borough-phobes to make the long subway journey out.

Tanoreen rewards grazing. You might get a simply average dish --- we found the lamb-stuffed grape leaves no better or worse than anyone else's rendition of that hoary standard --- but you'll come across some gems. The shulbato, which is cracked wheat, chickpeas, peppers, eggplant, and squash tossed in a tomato sauce, embarrasses other starchy sides, while the Arabic cheese and olive pie inspires discussions of opening a Middle Eastern pizza parlor. The standouts, however, were the crunchy/cool/sweet eggplant Napoleon (breaded eggplant slices layered with baba ghanoush and served with a basil and tomato salad) and the earthy musakhan, a pie of chicken, pine nuts, almonds, carmelized onions, sumac, and a host of other spices. They inspire a fever that lasts long beyond Saturday night.