Taste of Lebanon: Andersonville Lunch Staple Since ‘96

Written by Vocalo Radio on March 28, 2024

Taste of Lebanon fits the description of many generationally-loved Chicago staples: Good prices, better food, small menu and nothing fancy.

Manned by Ali Faraj, the Foster Avenue storefront is a no-frills family-owned restaurant in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood, serving up shawarma and falafel to hungry neighbors for decades. Taste of Lebanon was opened by Faraj’s father in 1996, after trying his hand at numerous business ventures. Since then, the eatery has consistently served Lebanese street food out of a fast-paced kitchen.

Born at Edgewater Hospital — which is now luxury apartment building Anderson Point — just blocks down Ashland Avenue from Taste of Lebanon, Faraj considers himself a Chicagoan through and through. Faraj loves supporting Chicago businesses, from gyms to restaurants, especially in his neighborhood.

“It’s not just Taste of Lebanon that makes Andersonville great, it’s every single little business in this neighborhood,” he said. “We help out each other.”

Faraj has worked in his parents’ restaurant since he was 14 years old, and the menu has stayed just about the same since then. Taste of Lebanon serves traditional Lebanese street food including shawarma, hummus, baba ganoush, falafel and more.

“Everything’s really good. Some of the best cuisine in the world,” Faraj said. “It’s up on the list, if you ask me.”

Taste of Lebanon is located at 1509 W. Foster Ave, just west of Clark Street.

For this segment of This Is What Chicago Sounds Like, Ali Faraj discusses the menu and memories behind Taste of Lebanon.

Ari Mejia: Okay, I am walking up to Taste of Lebanon on Foster, just a touch west of Clark. It has an awning that’s red and white with a tree, which I believe to be a cedar tree, says Taste of Lebanon across the front. Let’s go in.

Ali Faraj: My name is Ali Faraj, I’m partner in Taste of Lebanon and this is what Chicago sounds like. I was born in Edgewater hospital in 1985, right down the street. Parents are Lebanese. I’m Chicago, to be honest with you. I mean, I was born and raised here. I eat up and down this neighborhood, I all over Chicago.

I just have people come and eat here, lunch, and spend money here. I love supporting local business. I’m always up and down eating on Clark Street, just supporting what I can around here. From the gym, to the restaurants, to the bars. Yeah, Hopleaf, just all these great places. It’s not just Taste of Lebanon that makes Andersonville great, it’s every single little business in this neighborhood. We help out each other.

This place is a family-owned, run business. I’ve been here pretty much since I was 14 years old. In the beginning, honestly, it wasn’t something I wanted-wanted. But this is what it turned out to be, which is not that bad. And it could be better, could be worse. But yeah, we have the best customers, friends that come here. My dad opened this place up, I believe, in late ’96, early ’97, after trying a bunch of business ventures. Some of them didn’t work out, some were okay. But he just decided to open up a little falafel shack and — have a great day! And that’s what it’s become.

Very small. Small menu. Fast pace. More like Lebanese street food, I would say, shawarmas, falafels. We have lentil soup. Just a small menu. Everything’s really good. Some of the best cuisine in the world. It’s up on the list, if you ask me. Yes. Business didn’t just happen overnight here. Like how busy we have been. It’s a long process where we just stuck with it, and early in ’90s It was definitely nowhere near this busy. It was like 20% of what we should do today, if that. It was my dad here by himself, like Monday through Saturday by himself. No employees, no nothing, and he just stuck with it. We came, we helped him out. This is what it’s become. Yeah. You just gotta hang in there, stick with it. Yeah.

Why do you think people love this place so much?

It’s really good. Affordable. Quick. Good people work here. It’s a neighborhood place, people come here for lunch, in and out. Nothing fancy. Just a good lunch spot.

So what is the most popular thing on the menu, would you say?

For the meat, it’s definitely chicken shawarma. You know, people love chicken. It’s also my favorite, I eat chicken a lot here.

Can you describe a chicken shawarma?

Spices, we marinate it overnight. It’s grilled, some toppings on it however you’d like. I usually do it like lettuce, tomato, tahini, we could add pickles, garlic, however the customer likes it. And for vegetarian, of course, the falafel wrap. Honestly, that’s another reason why we survived the pandemic, we stayed small. A lot of big restaurants shut down they just… too much. We stayed small. I’ll be honest, our rent is fair. This building’s a little bit old. It’s a little bit run down, but it worked out for us.

My name is Ali Faraj, I’m partner in Taste of Lebanon and this is what Chicago sounds like.

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