The founder of the original Firdous has a brand-new operation, Lavash Cafe, with an even larger
menu than he maintained at the highly regarded restaurant he ran at 9th Avenue and N. High
Street.

The most elaborate decoration in the new space is an array of fabrics along the south wall. The
seating is simple, and, for the few tables, the semi-open kitchen is huge.

The space is not at all noisy, and there's no television.

The tabbouleh ($4.50) is an excellent version of the Middle Eastern salad: very fresh and cut by
hand -- the parsley wonderfully balanced with just enough bulgur wheat, onions, lemon juice and
olive oil.

The hummus ($2.50) is incredibly smooth and well-balanced between chickpeas on the one hand and
garlic and tahini sauce on the other. The baba ghanouj ($3.50), creamy with tahini, has a good
roasted-eggplant flavor, and the excellent and unusual Lavash salad ($4.50) -- Jerusalem salad at
the original Firdous -- is the same in its sumptuous use of tahini dressing on diced cucumbers,
onions, tomatoes and mint.

The falafel ($2.50 for six, or $4.50 as a sandwich) has the same spices as before and the same
high-quality tahini sauce on the side.

One new item is the pungent chicken shawarma ($5.50 as a sandwich), an excellent rendition of
what is usually a beef-and-lamb dish.

Also new: roast leg of lamb ($9.95), served in mildly cooked slices along with sliced eggplant
and carrot.

The lamb-and-beef keftas ($5.50 as a sandwich) balance cumin, coriander, garlic and onion; and
are expertly grilled above charcoal.

Most sandwiches can be ordered as entrees garnished with salad and long-grain rice with slivered
almonds.