How does one make the perfect baklava?
For Kholoud Albataineh, it starts with her creamy, salted garlic ghee, churned by hand. She cooks each layer of the phyllo dough to perfect golden flakiness, then fills it with chopped nuts and drizzles it in honey.
She sells her baklava and other Mediterranean pastries at Flame Grill, 8154 NW Prairie View Road, which opened in the Northland on Monday. It replaced another Mediterranean restaurant, BBQ and Kebab, which closed a few months ago.
The restaurant also serves lunch and dinner for dine-in or to-go.
Albataineh and her husband, Muhamed Bataineh, own the space, as well as Queen Sweets & Mediterranean Grill at 4107 N. Cherry St.
Flame Grill offers specialties like butter chicken with rice and pita, chicken shawarma, falafel sandwiches, tabouli, lamb chops and more.
Its appetizers include hummus and pita, stuffed vine leaves, and kebah or kibbeh (oval-shaped stuffed shells filled with beef, pine nuts and spices.)
Muhamed Bataineh, who’s from Jordan, owns Flame Grill in the Northland.
The couple’s restaurant is one of several new Mediterranean restaurants in the area. Zhoug Mediterranean just took over the original d’Bronx location at 3904 Bell St. last week.
In March, Jerusalem Cafe opened its 6029 Metcalf Ave. location in Mission, with plans to soon make its way to Power & Light.
At 13135 State Line Road, fast-casual restaurant Albeik opened in late February.