Queen Sheeba - New York City

They canceled my order on Grubhub without any explanation, and when we tried to visit the restaurant on Friday, we found it closed at 6 PM instead of the advertised 10 PM. I'm giving House Sheeba -20 points for this experience.

This restaurant appears to be closed. If it isn't, the information provided is very misleading. Yesterday (8/21), it was listed as closing at 10 PM. I arrived just before 5 PM, and all the gates were down. I tried calling the restaurant, but the number was out of service. ???

The split lentil soup ($2.99), which also came in a small paper cup typical of NYC delis, was another standout. It featured tomato and onion, though the broth was a tad oily and salty, and it's worth noting it likely wasn't vegetarian. Feeling deprived of vegetables, we ordered the Mushakal Bilforn (baked vegetables; $12.99), but I suspect we received the Mushakal Adie (stewed vegetables; $12.99) instead. Regardless, the assortment of tender, stewed eggplant, squash, potatoes, green peppers, and carrots was delightful. Our large Aqdat Dajaj (boneless chicken with assorted vegetables, onions, tomatoes, and spices; $14.99) was somewhat misleading, as the container was mostly filled with rice and just a small portion of stewed chicken. Nevertheless, the dish was delicious—tender, moist, and clearly made almost from scratch with a vegetable-forward approach. We also ordered Lahm Sughar (small chunks of boneless lamb or beef, cooked with fresh spices, onions, and tomatoes; $16.99) with lamb and hummus, but received beef instead. This was the only dish we didn’t particularly enjoy. The hummus was excellent, but the beef was overly salty, tough, and overcooked by our standards. The sambosas ($3.99) were quite reminiscent of Indian cocktail samosas, both in shape and spice (cumin, cardamom). Ours were stuffed with ground beef and were delightful. Our order included wonderful homemade pita bread, which had a pleasing texture—crispy and occasionally charred in some spots, while tender and fluffy in others. I loved this variety, akin to finding a great Bavarian soft pretzel, and it seemed likely that it had been made in a traditional taboon. We also received several small containers of sahawiq, a condiment strikingly similar to Mexican salsa verde, which I absolutely adored. I enjoyed it so much that I nearly drank it, even if it left me with garlic and onion breath for days! While we weren’t thrilled about the unexpected substitutions, the food was too fantastic to ignore. The vegetable dishes on the menu look so enticing that I can't wait to try them all!

Can't go wrong with anything! Babaganoush is the greatest I've ever tasted. Try the ground lamb stew and stewed chicken. Freshly baked bread for all courses. Yemen tea has incredible flavour. Fantastic!!!

They cancelled my order on grubhub with no reason and when we went to go to the actual restaurant on Friday we saw it was closed at 6 instead of 10pm like adversed. -20 points from House Sheeba