After a weekend of robotics judging in Burlington, activities wrapped up around 7:30pm. The I-89 route back to my home in New Hampshire isn’t exactly heavily populated with dining establishments, and many of the few options start closing at 8pm, so I consulted my list of places in the Burlington area that I wanted to check out, and decided to check out Zaytoona for some Middle Eastern food before heading home.
In the last few years, South Burlington (which is one of those communities with a geographically-confusing name; most of the town is distinctly east, and not south, of Burlington itself) has done a lot of development, especially around the new library. Zaytoona is nestled into a small building just across from the new library. It’s a fairly cozy spot, with about eight tables in a modest dining room, but the staff (just two on my visit) are quite efficient at turning tables, so don’t let the small dining room discourage you. Much like another of my favorites when visiting the parents in Arizona, Haji Baba, while the owners of Zaytoona are Jordanian, when assembling Zaytoona’s menu they aimed at a much broader (and especially for Vermont, more relatable) “Middle Eastern” menu, drawing from Jordanian, Lebanese, Syrian, and Turkish influences. The popular items include their chicken shawarma (wrap or plate), falafel and hummus combo, or various mixed grill and mezze platters.
Enjoying their “Lemon Refresher” (a variant of lemonade, I think with some rose water to round out the flavor), I looked over the menu. While I was tempted a bit by the falafel, those that have read my Haji Baba review know that I find it really hard to resist a good shawarma, so I ended up ordering the chicken shawarma bowl.
And I’ll have to say, this is a great bowl. This is built up from the bottom: A bed of lightly seasoned rice, an Arabic salad of chopped greens, cucumber, and tomato, a healthy portion of hummus, another good portion of thin-sliced, marinated chicken (with notes of garlic, cumin, and turmeric) that’s been roasted and shaved, and a very, very garlicky toum (garlic mayo) applied across the bowl. Everything here really hits the mark: the chicken, albeit starting to cool, is nicely crisped and flavorful, and perfect for dabbing in the toum for one of those great flavor combination. The hummus is smooth, creamy, and also garlicky, one of the better renditions I’ve had in a while. And the rice and salad round out the bowl nicely. This is a seriously good meal; I often find myself craving the chicken shawarma from Haji Baba (which I visit virtually every time I visit Arizona), and the rendition of this dish at Zaytoona is about 9/10 on that scale, which is impressive.
I enjoyed Zaytoona. This is small, casual Middle Eastern spot that punches above its weight, with great service, generous portions, and great flavors. I definitely want to come back and explore more of the menu.
