Lebanese Eatery Takes Garlic To New Heights

Restaurant review

XX 1/2 Karam's, 340 15th Ave. E. ($$) Lebanese. Dinner ($10 to $15) 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday. No lunch. Beer, wine. Major credit cards. No smoking. Reservations: 324-2370. -------------------------------------------------------------------

"There's no such thing as too much sex or too much garlic."

So reads the T-shirt worn by Anis Karam as he moves swiftly from his open kitchen through crowded tables at this small, amiable Middle Eastern bastion of potent, unabashedly earthy flavors near Group Health Central on Capitol Hill.

Karam's not only features that ebullient slogan on the restaurant's upper garments, it leads off its menu with it, as well. And they mean every word of it.

At least, so far as the discreet eye can tell, as it pertains to garlic.

Anis Karam, Lebanese born, came to the U.S. neither to cook nor espouse the virtues of garlic (or sex), but for a higher education (he has a master's degree in political science and a Ph.D. in public administration).

Instead of being called upon to administer the public, however, he was repeatedly asked by friends to administer more Karamage or Baba Ghannouj or lamb shish kebabs. And six years ago, Anis and his wife, Julie, along with his mother, Rose, opened doors to a frequently ethnic clientele.

A small daily menu

The menu is limited: six appetizers and five entrees; one dessert. But to those who have come to know the restaurant, that's enough.

Start with the Karamage ($5.75), a homemade "cheese," that is really goat-milk yogurt, drained until it has firmed to the consistency of rich ice cream. It is seasoned with (you guessed it) garlic and peppermint and then topped with "zharta," a Mideastern blend of thyme, oregano, sumac and sesame.

With ripped triangles of warm pita bread and a cold glass of the house white wine ($10 for a half carafe of Quarry Lake Blanc de Blanc), it is a heady beginning to a dinner that gets more aromatic by the minute.

Anis Karam doesn't merely serve garlic. He believes in it. He is dedicated to it:

"Garlic is good for you," reads the menu. "It is a blood purifier and invigorator and even stimulates interferon production. . . . is particularly effective against organisms which are difficult to destroy with antibiotics. . . . still acknowledged as a powerful aphrodesiac."

Pass the sauce.

The Baba Ghannouj ($4.75), silky, smoky with its charbroiled, pureed eggplant, is finished with lemon juice, garlic and tahini. Both the Baba Ghannouj and the Karamage are available at some local supermarkets.

The entrees include a nightly char-broiled fish (Samak Mashwi: $11.95), which lately has been halibut. It's served with tahini-garlic sauce and hummus, plus a choice of lentil soup or tossed green salad.

Garlic is a theme

Karam's Garlic Sauces are served over almost everything that comes out of the kitchen. They are truly bracing; you may want to request that on some more subtle dishes (the Char-broiled Chicken, for example), the sauce be served on the side.

The Kibbeh Mahshi Mashwi ($11.95) is a good introduction to the flavor profiles that define Karam's. Finely chopped lean lamb is mixed with onion, parsley mint and bulgur (cracked wheat), and stuffed with stir-fried onions, diced tomato, more parsley, walnuts, pine nuts, peppermint, cinnamon and allspice.

The Kibbeh is then char-grilled and served over rice, "Smothered with Karam's Garlic Sauce." This is not hyperbole.

The effects are intense, immediate and not at all unpleasant. But, again, you may desire more restraint from the saucier.

I enjoyed especially the Lahm Mashwi ($11.95, lamb shish kebabs), marinated cubes of exceptional Ellensberg lamb, char-broiled with onions. Very fresh-tasting, springy in texture, tender and medium rare as ordered. It is served over slightly curried, plump white rice.

Farareej Mashwi ($10.95), broiled chicken, is marinated overnight in a mixture of lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil and, of course, garlic. It's a terrific half-section of chicken, but the flavors, as noted above, tend to be overwhelmed by the white garlic sauce that completely covers it.

On the remote chance you have room for dessert, try the Baqlawa ($1.95). It isn't the supersweet, cloying confection you've probably found elsewhere. Light with crushed walnuts and almonds, the wafers of thin pastry are covered with a delicate sauce of orange blossom essence, rose water and a touch of sugar.

Turkish coffee ($1.95) kissed with cardamom seeds is a must. So is a mint.

Closed this weekend for Bumbershoot, it reopens Tuesday.

(Copyright, 1993, John Hinterberger. All rights reserved.) John Hinterberger, who writes the weekly restaurant review in Tempo, makes visits to restaurants anonymously and unannounced. He pays in full for all food, wines and services. When he interviews members of the restaurants' management and staff, he does so only after the meals and the services have been appraised. He does not accept invitations to evaluate restaurants.