Open Sesame is a hidden gem. A small place in the East Village which you could easily pass and not see. I last visited Open Sesame on a Saturday. They open at 5:30 pm on Saturdays and we arrived early so we decided to walk around the East Village until the restaurant opened. We returned at exactly 5:36 and there was only one table left with additional seating at the bar. The place is nearly full in 6 minutes?!? There are 2 reasons for that. The first is that the food is outstanding. The second is that it's a fairly small place. Only 8 or 9 tables and the bar.
You will enter this Lebanese restaurant through the red curtains guarding against the outside world. Inside, you will find what you might expect for Mediterranean decor in a restaurant. It's simple and adequate. The music in the background adds to the relaxing vibe in the room. On one of the walls behind the bar there is a framed projector screen (about the size of an average television screen). On this visit, it was showing an old silent film called The Thief Of Baghdad which was actually fairly amusing to watch while eating. On many occasions you will be greeted by the same manager who always remembers you as an old friend or, at the very least, does a good job of faking it. He seems to take time to visit with all of the customers personally and make sure you're happy with your experience.
We started out with the Hummus because the hummus at Open Sesame might be the best in Iowa or maybe even Utah. It's the kind of hummus that makes a strict carnivore uncomfortable and causes him to question his dietary identity. Besides that, it was hummus and there is only so much more you can say about it after the last sentence.
I ordered the Phoenician steak. It comes with asparagus and potatoes. Aside from it being a high quality steak, they season it with their own secret blend of Mediterranean spices and that really sets it apart from similar dishes at other establishments. I know it's a secret blend of spices because I asked what they used and they said it was a secret blend of Mediterranean spices. Attempting to bribe the server to see just how secret the secret really is didn't feel like an idea that was beneath me but yet didn't feel appropriate either. If any of you are just slightly more uncouth than I am and can pull that idea off.....I'll give you $5 to tell me the secret. Until then, the Open Sesame is the only place that I know of to get a steak like that.
So there we are, enjoying our meal, talking and watching the silent film when the music gets louder and a belly dancer makes her way into the room! She was beautiful and very talented. I say belly dancer but to be fair...she was equally talented at making the rest of her body dance too....but let's not split hairs here! Almost everyone in the room was amused except for one lady. There's one in every crowd. Yeah, that's right, lady! Just sit there and eat your hummus and pretend that you don't see what's going on! There was also one toddler who was mesmerized by the dancer. You and me both, kid! I just have had the time to develop the self-control allowing me to keep my lower jaw closed and force myself to blink every few seconds or so. You'll get there. But seriously, she was very good and definitely added to the authenticity of the dining experience. I wonder where one learns to dance like that.
Others in our party had the Gyro as well as the Falafel Salad. I tried both and kind of wished I had ordered the gyro. Not because one dish was better or worse than the other but just because the gyro was awesome and I haven't ordered it at Open Sesame yet. For this trip, I have to give a 4 pint (out of a possible 5) rating. Open Sesame is a 5 pint home-run hitter any day of the week but this time they forgot the asparagus with no explanation. I didn't notice right away because of the dancer but I can't give a 5 pint rating if you forgot part of the order....unless....you were out of asparagus and called in a belly dancer to distract the patrons so they wouldn't notice. That would be brilliant and call for 5 pints!
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