"Buonessimo! My wife and I enjoyed a somewhat novel and delicious dinner at Ariana 's a few days ago. We were seated promptly, and given a rather nicely bound menu. Our server was a pleasant young man in a baseball cap. We went thinking Greek Cuisine, and my wife did stick to that plan. But after checking out the menu, I ventured into new territory. We tried a dish called mantu for our appetizer. Our mantu consisted of 4 5 delicate dumplings filled with ground beef and finished with what I believe were three sauces: tzatziki, pumpkin, and tomato. We both loved it. For my entree, I choose lamb Sabzi Chalaw, a flavorful but mildly spiced stew with spinach. It reminded me of the Indian dish, saag paneer. It had a rich cooked all day depth of flavor. We later learned that both dishes were cuisine from Afghanistan. My wife stayed traditional with chicken souvlaki. The chicken was cooked and seasoned perfectly. Both meals were served with a small Greek salad and Basmati rice. We recommend asking the server to bring the dressing on the side. We regretted not having done so, because our salad was overpowered by too much of the strong but tasty dressing. We capped our meal by splitting the toasted almond cake, which reminded me a bit like tiramisu, but without the espresso undertones and with a cold ice cream like layer between the sponge. As we finished this delightful meal, the owner/chef wisited our table and we chatted with him for a while about his background and cooking philosophy. The ambiance at Ariana 's is pleasant, but the bathrooms are in need of a facelift. If you want to try sone unique dishes that are passionately prepared, we highly recommend Ariana 's."
