Lebanese in Denver

The service is peculiar and the droning music even weirder at Mecca Grill, a mini-mall storefront with a saffron-stained dining room. But the food -- herby falafel, hummus, gyros, lemony fattoush, shawarma, kabobs and grape leaves -- is undeniably good. The best dish: the bold-flavored lamb shank, an extravagantly huge hunk of meat that arrives propped against a mound of fluffy rice scented with Mideast spices and submerged in a pungent soak of lamb-y juices, garlic, spices and tomatoes sweetened with carrots.

Ali Baba is a Lebanese restaurant, a Persian restaurant, a Mediterranean restaurant with hints of Syrian and Saudi Arabian modernity and haute cuisine. It’s also a mini-chain with locations in Denver, Golden and Boulder, all of which offer the same comfortable, slightly foreign setting, the same attentive service, the same expansive menu. Our favorites include simple chicken kabobs, deeply marinated and seared hot, as well was more kabobs of beef, each tender chunk touched with something sweet that tastes of honey and brown sugar. Grilled lamb chops, rubbed with garlic, salt and black pepper, are redolent of saffron. There are also curries, sandwiches, hummus, baba ghanouj and gyros, as well as strong Turkish coffee, banana milk and chai to wash down your exotic meal.