Baba-Ganush

I randomly stopped by here months ago thanks exclusively to Mr K’s fascinating list of Phoenix Middle Eastern restaurants. I never got around to reviewing it so memories have faded a bit.
It’s a bit hard being objective on Baba-​Ganush because the family that owns this place was so welcoming and friendly to me. I was literally the only customer on that mid-​week night. What seemed like the family’s 13 or 14 year old daughter was my «waitress». So, I felt more like I was a guest in their home rather than a paying customer. When I was finished with my entrée (which was good, and filling), she came up to me with a plate of some unknown Arabic dessert I’d never had before, and shyly asked if I’d like to have some for free. It really would have seemed rude had I said no, so I accepted, and it actually tasted pretty good. I still have no idea what it was though.
In one sentence, I’d describe this as a family-​owned, somewhat haphazardly run restaurant serving standard Middle Eastern fare. If you’re in the area and feeling adventurous, go for it. But don’t drive your family from Gilbert to eat here.

I’m all for giving restaurants the benefit of the doubt but I also firmly believe first impressions are lasting. My initial experience at Baba-​Ganush was not a great one.
Every single table had salt or crumbs on it. It was not busy, despite being noon/​lunchtime. While we brushed crumbs off our table, the owner sat at the next table over watching television.
The layout of the menu is a mess. Two columns of plain text printed on white paper and laminated, yet items were crossed out with a pen and notes written in the margin. It was also full of typos. I’m not the Grammar/​Spelling Police but c’mon… «meat» was spelled «meet.»
Two empty containers of iced tea sat by the soda fountain. When a customer asked if there was tea made, she was told no and not offered to have some made for her.
That being said, the food was okay but nothing I’d call stellar, nor reason enough to return.
UPDATE: Shortly after writing this review I started feeling sick to my stomach. Now I’m just full blown sick. It ain’t pretty. Two words: bad hummus. Definitely not returning. :-X

Can you really go wrong with a place called Baba-​Ganush?
Baba-​Ganush is a fairly new (from what I can tell) Middle Eastern restaurant on Bethany Home Road. They also do the hookah thing, if you’re so inclined, and have lots of flavored tobacco on sale. Their dessert case has baklava and other pastries on display.
I had their chicken shawarma plate, which came with pita, salad, and a side of their namesake babaganush. The chicken tasted great and was well cooked, and the babaganush was excellent as far as babaganushes go. The salad was basically iceberg lettuce, though, and I would have probably swapped it with one of the other sides (like hummus, tabbouleh, or rice). I also got a side order of tabbouleh, which was good — lemon slices on top to allow you to determine how tart you want it to be.
The menu is standard Middle Eastern/​Mediterranean food, including items like gyros, dolmas, and Greek salad.
Friendly service and a clean restaurant.
I plan on coming back again.
4 stars.