Damascus Gate

"Can you fall in love with a cuisine at first bite?" Robert Sietsema's rave in the Village Voice led me to Damascus Gate; their fatteh bil lahmeh ($8.99) has already beckoned me back. Fatteh is a thick porridge of garlickly yogurt bolstered with bits of toasted pita; though chicken and vegetarian versions are on offer, it's the lamb, shown here, that will get your juices going.

Makdous ($5.99), baby eggplants stuffed with walnuts, spices, and garlic; Syrian salad ($4.99), tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, onions, lettuce, lemon juice, and olive oil; and kibbah maklieh (shown at bottom; $4.99) fried shells of cracked wheat around minced lamb and onions, are three worthy warm-ups. The kebab platters I've shared here were good, not great, but there's so much more to try that this will hardly hold me back.

Damascus Gate
7224 Fifth Ave. (72nd-73rd Sts.), Brooklyn
718-680-8844