The Bavel menu offers a good selection of spreads and appetizers, several with descriptions so intriguing that we decided to forego the entrees so we could try more of the small plates. We started, as traditionally I assumed we should, with pita bread and a “Hummus Cannellini Masabacha” spread. This creamy spread, which was as flavorful as you’d wish your hummus to be, came with a side of zhoug—a spicy sauce that I’ve never had before but am delighted to have made the acquaintance of. Methinks I tasted jalapeños in the zhoug, but I’m not sure; regardless, it was delicious. Can someone please tell me if I could just buy this stuff somewhere, like at a Trader Joe’s or someplace? As undeniably delightful as the bean spread and the zhoug were, however, the bread that we were supposed to pair with the spread was weirdly disappointing, as if the chefs at Bavel mastered all the other signature Middle Eastern dishes but balked at learning how to bake bread. This “pita,” which was, in theory, meant to support any spread that it gets covered with, had the appearance of a pancake and the texture and tensile strength of a sponge cake. This flaccid pap was entirely unequal to the task of withstanding the weight of the substantial bean spread, which complicated attempts to eat the spread. Charlie ended up ordering an extra helping of this bread, but I think that was more out of necessity (the small plates were really quite small) and lack of alternatives (i.e., there were no other kinds of bread on offer) than a true appreciation of the bread itself.

Besides the hummus, we also ordered a “Bluefin Tuna Crudo,” the “Oyster Mushroom Kebab,” “Grilled Prawns,” and the “Roasted Sprouting Cauliflower.” My mouth watered at the description of the tuna crudo on the menu, but when it arrived, I discovered that “pomegranate broth” isn’t a suitable dressing on raw tuna after all. I ate one bite-sized chunk of fish and told Charlie he could finish the rest of that $32 appetizer. Served me right, I suppose, for ordering sashimi in a Middle Eastern restaurant. I mean, do they even have seas and oceans in the Middle East? So, yeah, that one was on me. It was Charlie’s choice to order the oyster mushrooms, and I’m not convinced that it wasn’t because he was under the impression that he was ordering oysters. The mushrooms were… forgettable. I base this verdict on the fact that I’ve already forgotten how they tasted or even how they looked. Honestly, I have no recollection of them at all, but the item is listed on our receipt (which we checked before paying), so I know that we did indeed have that dish.

So, is there any appetizer that I would actually recommend to future Bavel patrons? Yes, the grilled prawns were covered in a profoundly and interestingly flavorful sauce and were certainly one of the highlights of the meal. But the real star of the evening, for me, was the roasted cauliflower. This rather humble vegetable was elevated by the aromatic flavors of cardamom and rose petals, imbuing the dish with tastes that surprised as much as they satisfied. In the final tally, however, two good dishes out of five ordered does not yield a particularly impressive quotient.