Azar's Natural Foods Cafe & Market

Azar's Natural Foods Cafe & Market Restaurant Review:

Since the 1980s, the Azar family name has been synonymous with fresh Mediterranean cuisine. While you wait for your baba ghanouj wrap or falafel in the casual café, scoop up zingy, yogurt-rich labane garlic dip or nourishing chicken soup (boasting fresh vegetables, tender hand-pulled chicken and homemade stock). Or shop the connected market, an exotic emporium for olives, spices, halva, phyllo and wines from the Bekaa Valley, and Azar’s own wholesale products (also available in other stores). Entrées such as stuffed salmon and lamb shank topped with curry vegetable sauce belie the humble surroundings, and graceful extras like pita and hummus make every meal (even take-out) special. Gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan selections abound. With food this clean and healthy, dessert is well deserved, so try “Awesome Lia,” a shredded-wheat pastry with mascarpone, honey and nuts, or homemade rice pudding. Spiffier versions, open on Sundays, are in Virginia Beach’s Hilltop North and Norfolk’s Ghent.