Cheap Eats: Sunnin

As much as I love "haute cuisine," I equally, get extra excited about amazing authentic hole-in-the-wall spots like Sunnin in Westwood. Sunnin is a tiny, totally divey Lebanese restaurant with simply fantastic cheap food. Don't be fooled by the dingy facade and the questionable interior- rather, hop up on to a barstool and order away. The menu is quite large, and after reading through it, my boyfriend and I definitely over ordered. We started with hummus (though I was unimpressed with the Pita-quite dry), then moved onto a mixed pastry plate.


These was a filo dough esque thing with cheese, a spinach fatayer, and two different meat pastries- one super delicious and moist, the other marginal. I was unimpressed with the falafel (nothing is better than Mamoun's in NYC) it was a bit gluey and slightly bland, but I really enjoyed the deep fried cauliflower with tahini. I would suggest ordered the cauliflower and asking for a lemon wedge to squeeze atop because the dish needs some acid.


The couple that sat next to us ordered a chicken b'stilla and told us that it was a dish that takes 20 minutes to make so they usually call in advance to order it. Interestingly b'stillas are usually associated with Moroccan cuisine and are filled with pigeon rather than chicken. The b'stilla is also interesting because it contains sugar and is topped with cinnamon and powdered sugar, so it blends the line between sweet and savory. Chicken and sugar anyone?



Overall the food was very good and I can't wait to go back. My top picks for Lebanese-ish food include: Beverly Falafel, Sunnin, Sham, Marouch, and Carousel.

Sunnin
1779 Westwood Blvd.
310-477-2358

(and high five to Linda for the recommendation)