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Start a Top 5 for Middle EasternEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Rome Sentinel and Syracuse University Newhouse (NCC News). Updated August 2026.
Zeina's Cafe and Catering · Utica
A downtown Utica Lebanese cafe opened in the early 1990s by Layla Zeina, who arrived from Lebanon in 1991. It anchors the Rome Sentinel's global-cuisine series and the paper's feature on Utica's Lebanese community, which named it among the area's well-known establishments. Order the stuffed grape leaves, fried kibbeh, and beef kafta or shawarma, then finish with baklava and Turkish coffee.
Phoenician · New Hartford
A New Hartford Lebanese restaurant, family-owned for more than forty years and known for its lunch buffet. The Rome Sentinel's feature on Utica's Lebanese community named it among the area's well-known establishments. Build a plate around the chicken kebabs, hummus, falafel, and stuffed grape leaves.
Karam's Middle East Bakery · Yorkville
A Yorkville bakery and Lebanese kitchen run by Segean Karam, profiled by a Syracuse University journalism piece on the area's Lebanese immigrant community, where Karam framed the food around fresh, healthy cooking. Come for the hummus, tabbouleh, stuffed grape leaves, and fresh pita bread.