From The Peopling of New York City

Contents 1 Visiting A Middle Eastern Restaurant 2 The Menu 3 The Decor 4 An American Institution

Visiting A Middle Eastern Restaurant

Our foray into Egyptian culture has been challenging. Although we set out originally to find information about the population of Egypt, we found it necessary to broaden our search to Arabs in Staten Island. Likewise, we were unable to find a true Egyptian restaurant, much less one in Staten Island. Instead we opted to visit Tanoreen Caterers and Restaurant, a restaurant in the Bay Ridge, Brooklyn area. The restaurant itself specializes in a variety of Middle-Eastern foods, which includes Egyptian tones into its decoration and foods.

The Menu

The food was mostly decorated with parsley around the edges, and with lemon and pine nuts on the food. Appetizers included hummus, falafel, along with meat pies (with spinach and feta cheese alternatives. Entrees consisted mainly of lamb, chicken, and vegetarian dishes. Keeping with halal law, no pork is available in the menu. Before the meal, pita bread was served, as a Chevy’s might serve tortillas.

There were also more Western meals available. For the non-adventurous, chicken fingers and French fries were available, as well as chicken sandwiches and eggs and potatoes (though the latter was a breakfast item). All items on the menu were written in Arabic, with a sub-note in English beneath each name. Additionally, utensils are laid out with every meal, so that using one’s hands is not mandatory to eat (similar to how Phomac gave utensils to those unfamiliar with chopsticks).

The Decor

We concluded that the restaurant was decorated with three key things in mind: luxury, comfort, and tradition. The tables and seats were made of oak, and the staff was dressed in sharp, black suits, with chandeliers lighting the place. Each seat was heavily cushioned, with ample space between each table. The walls were lined with sand-colored paper, to represent the area from which the food originated, and each chandelier seemed candle-lit. There were also various Muslim verse books on shelves along the wall, and even a replica of the famous King Tutankhamen’s burial mask was perched on one such shelf (proving again how “Arab” encompasses multiple countries). Each person is given a small bowl of warm water to wash his or her hands in, the reason for this being that most Arab food is eaten by hand.

An American Institution

When we interviewed Rawia Bishara, founder and co-owner of Tanoreen Caterers and Restaurant, about how her restaurant has kept its roots while adapting to New York, she said, "To me this place is as American as it can get. New York is built upon having really mixed people and ethnicity. To have this place here, next to a Chinese restaurant, near an Italian restaurant, all on the same block. I've been here 35 years and to me this is very American.”