If you saw the outside of this establishment, you wouldn't expect much. The name is unimposing and unimaginative and the building is a circa 1970's cindercrete box on 109 street next to a petrol station with the filthiest bathrooms ever (another story). You'd be wrong though. This is a damn fine restaurant.
It boasts good food, reasonable prices, attentive servers, inoffensive if unoriginal décor and a spectactular wine list. The only downside was the indoor temperature, which approached that of a meat locker.
My compatriots and I simply struggled to choose from the extensive and delicious-sounding menu. The Parkallen, with three branches all run by the same family, is known equally for its outstanding Lebanese food as it is for its pizzas, making it a good choice for dining parties with members of widely differing tolerance levels for "different" food. We eventually settled on a few selections from the appetizers and Tapas-like "Lebanese Cuisine" menus.
First came the Baked Goat Cheese Rolls (4 for $8.00), delicate, soft goat cheese wrapped in vine leaves and baked briefly, then served with a wedge of lemon. These were absolutely yummy. They could have been further perfected by a slight adjustment in the balance between the softness of the goat cheese and chewiness of the vine leaves in order to avoid the problem of the cheese oozing out quite so much when they are cut. However, I wouldn't say no to these little parcels of cheesy goodness again, even without further tweaking.
Along with the rolls came the fatouche, a chunky salad of romaine, cucumber, red onion, green pepper, tomato, radish, toasted pita chips, parsley topped with a tangy, lemony olive oil dressing. It was delightful and fresh and I couldn't stop eating it. It provided a good counterpoint to the richness of the goat cheese rolls. When our server came to clear the plates to prepare for the remainder of the meal, we told him under no circumstances was he allowed to take the dregs of fatouche at the bottom of the almost finished bowl.
These items were quickly followed by a number of Lebanese sharing dishes: Lebanese Style Rice ($9.00), Fatayre (4 for $12.00) and Sheish Tawouk (4 for $16.00). We also ordered the Kafta, which did not arrive, but by the time we realized it was missing, we were full to the point of purging and told our server not to bother. I do intend to have the kafta when I return, as kafta has been a favourite of mine since I discovered Greg Malouf and Bedoin Kitchen in Melbourne.
The Lebanese style rice came seasoned with exactly the right amount of cinnamon and nutmeg, and sprinkled with toasted almond slices. The rice, which was an excellent accompaniment to the rest of the meal, was firm and flavourful which was a relief after some of our recent Edmonton dining experiences. The fatayre are moist and scrummy little triangle-shaped "pies" of spiced ground meat wrapped in thin yeast dough. They were so good, I ate mine in less than 2 minutes and then instantly regretted it, quietly coveting my dining partners' plates for the remainder of the meal. The Sheish Tawouk, grilled chicken skewers served with a garlic-lemon paste were my least favourite item. The chicken was done nicely and was juicy and excellently charred, but the garlic paste lacked flavour other than garlic and was slightly bitter. It could have been improved by a dash of salt and a squidge more lemon. Which is not saying much, as it was better than average anyway.
The wine list was incredibly impressive and recently won an award from Wine Spectator as one of the best in the world. It certainly is a million-dollar collection. It seems out of step with the rest of the establishment though. It's the sort of wine list you'd expect to see at a 5-star London restaurant where meals run to more than 10 times what we paid. A large proportion of the list is devoted to wines that are out of reach (the most expensive clocking in at $4399 and the vast majority over $100) for 99.9% of the diners at Parkallen. I strongly suspect the list was created as a way to justify a personal love for wine and an extraordinary collection by making it a business expense. There appeared to be little in the way of wine by the glass, which meant I couldn't order wine as I was the only red drinker there. That was disappointing. Impressive though it is, the wine selection doesn't really fit with the rest of the restaurant.
We managed to soldier on to the desert menu and shared three very different selections: Blueberry and Vanilla Crème Brulee ($7.00), Ismalyia ($6.00) and Apple Square a La Mode ($6.00). The brulee scored the highest with us. It was just the right amount of creamy, not overly vanilla-y and had a gorgeous crunchy top and an impressive number of hidden blueberry treasures inside. The Ismalyia was a square of firm creamy custard, topped with finely shredded filo pastry and crushed pistachio nestled in a pool of rosewater syrup with more pistachios. It was a typical Lebanese sweet, with "sweet" being the operative word. As a general rule, I find Middle Eastern sweets too cloying, but if you like them, it was a fine specimen. I do love the use of rosewater, which was not overpowering in the way that it can sometimes be. The apple square was a nice twist on the usual date square and was lovely and soft and warm. Definite comfort food.
We'll definitely go again and probably take guests. Parkallen would lend itself well to a dining party expecting great food at fair prices but without the fuss and drama of a formal atmosphere. It would be a good choice for a group of "30 somethings" catching up on a Friday night over a good meal, nice wine and lots of tipsy chatter.
Score: Food: 6; Service: 5.5; Atmosphere: 4.5; Wine List 7. (score legend)
Hours: Mon-Thurs 11:00am to 10:00pm; Fri 11:00am to 11:00pm; Sat 4:00pm to 11:00pm; closed Sun.
Wine: 685 selection ranging from $25 through $4400
Cuisine: Lebanese/Mediterranean
Cost: $10 to $30 per person, depending on selection and the number of courses
Meals: Lunch and Dinner
Credit cards accepted: American Express; MasterCard; Visa
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