{"id":21878,"date":"2024-04-19T03:02:16","date_gmt":"2024-04-19T07:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multi.nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/?p=21878"},"modified":"2025-02-13T09:40:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T14:40:33","slug":"atlantic-avenues-newest-entry-serves-up-lebanese-tacos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/atlantic-avenues-newest-entry-serves-up-lebanese-tacos\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlantic Avenue’s Newest Entry Serves up Lebanese Tacos"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Hannah Berman<\/a><\/p>\n

Brooklyn\u2019s Atlantic Avenue, longtime home to Arabic businesses, just welcomed its newest restaurant concept: Lebanese tacos.<\/p>\n

Maher Chebaro, chef and co-owner at El Cedro, is from Lebanon, and\u00a0has spent years learning about where Lebanese and Mexican food intersect.<\/p>\n

\n
\u201cI fell in love with Mexican food, then I fell in love with the country, and then I started discovering there’s so many intersections in the history between them,\u201d Chebaro shared. \u201cIf you take al pastor, it came from a taco called taco arabes, which came from shawarma.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The bandera dip at El Cedro is muhammara, labne and guacamole, in the colors of both the Lebanese and Mexican flags. Photo by Hannah Berman.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Lebanese taco idea won\u2019t come as a shock to people who know about the large Lebanese community in parts of Mexico. Starting in the early 1900s, Mexico saw an influx\u00a0<\/a>of Lebanese immigrants\u00a0fleeing widespread famine, the effects of World War I, and the 1948 Israel-Lebanon War. Many Lebanese settled in Baja California, Puebla, and Veracruz, among other places.<\/div>\n
\n

And according to Chebaro, the relationship between the cultures reaches back even further.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically, since the Spanish were the Moorish, you know, that’s when the Arabic influence came [to Mexico,]\u201d Chebaro said.<\/p>\n

These influences factored heavily into the menu at El Cedro.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to feature where [the cultures]\u00a0intersect more than fusion,\u201d Chebaro said. \u201cThe acidity, the herbs. I love both cuisines.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Makanek batata at El Cedro. Photo by Hannah Berman.<\/p><\/div>\n

Chebaro\u2019s restaurant now joins the older and more famous\u00a0Arabic businesses on the street, which include the legendary Sahadi\u2019s, opened by a Lebanese family that moved to its Atlantic Avenue location in 1948, and Yemen Cafe, which has served Yemeni food on the block since 1986.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The street] had that flavor to start with,\u201d Chebaro said. \u201cA lot of the neighbors, they know our food, it’s like their second cuisine, you know? So it’s really fun to be in an area where they already know most of the food.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chebaro’s culinary journey is vast. He ran several restaurants in Lebanon and Chicago, including\u00a0Falafill<\/a>\u00a0in Illionois. Then he took a 13-year hiatus from restaurants while working for wholesaler Ziyad Brothers Importing\u00a0and moved to New York in the meantime.<\/p>\n

Chebaro said he strongly believes in keeping his restaurants casual.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have no interest in that environment,\u201d Chebaro said of expensive eateries. \u201cI’ve done that for years, I’ve done really high-end restaurants. \u2026 Even though people are elevating tacos, you know, you can go and get our $200 taco, to me, I just want to keep tacos simple. Great ingredients, but the idea of a taco still, not elevated, but well done. A little bit innovative and good ingredients and a fun place to eat it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Accordingly, all the food at El Cedro can be ordered at the counter.<\/p>\n

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Lamb kamounia torta ahogada at El Cedro. Photo by Hannah Berman<\/p><\/div>\n

On the menu, there are five types of tacos, several intriguing tortas,\u00a0and an inventive meze plates list. This includes the bandera dip, a trio of guacamole, labneh\u00a0and muhammara dips, which are red, white\u00a0and green, like the flags of both Mexico and Lebanon. The dips are served with both chips and pita.<\/p>\n

One of the most fascinating dishes at El Cedro is the makanek batata, a dish featuring tiny, tangy beef sausages in a lemon and pomegranate molasses sauce, served on top of potatoes with caramelized onions, where every bite is a meaty, sour-sweet knockout.<\/p>\n

The lamb kamounia torta ahogada also stands out \u2014 it\u2019s a big fat torta, stuffed with braised meat with a\u00a0strong cumin flavor.\u00a0It\u2019s served in a bowl, and labeled on the menu as \u201cdrowned in sauce\u201d for a reason.<\/p>\n

Chebaro\u00a0said his favorite dish is the\u00a0quesadilla with the basturma, or cured beef: \u201cThis is my childhood, too, eating basturma sandwiches on the streets.\u201d<\/p>\n

El Cedro<\/a>\u00a0is located at 144 Atlantic Ave, and open Tues\u2013Sun, 11:30am \u2013 9pm.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Hannah Berman Brooklyn\u2019s Atlantic Avenue, longtime home to Arabic businesses, just welcomed its newest restaurant concept: Lebanese tacos. Maher Chebaro, chef and co-owner at El Cedro, is from Lebanon, and\u00a0has spent years learning about where Lebanese and Mexican food intersect. \u201cI fell in love with Mexican food, then I fell in love with the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5904,"featured_media":21879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,1158,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-whats-buzzin","category-buzz-worthy-restaurant-of-the-week","category-top-10-lists"],"yoast_head":"\nAtlantic Avenue's Newest Entry Serves up Lebanese Tacos - Brooklyn News and Events<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/atlantic-avenues-newest-entry-serves-up-lebanese-tacos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Atlantic Avenue's Newest Entry Serves up Lebanese Tacos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Hannah Berman Brooklyn\u2019s Atlantic Avenue, longtime home to Arabic businesses, just welcomed its newest restaurant concept: Lebanese tacos. 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