The Mediterranean diet is a name researchers gave to how people around one sea have eaten for a very long time: olive oil, beans and lentils, bread, lemon and herbs, vegetables in quantity, and fish and poultry more often than red meat. We're a Lebanese restaurant on Herndon Avenue, not a diet program. Some of what we cook lines up with that pattern and some of it happily doesn't, and this is an honest account of which.
What the Name Actually Describes
Mediterranean cooking isn't one cuisine. Lebanon, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Italy and Spain all sit on that water and none of them cook alike. What they share is a pantry. Olive oil where another kitchen reaches for butter. Chickpeas and lentils doing real work instead of sitting off to the side. Bread at nearly every meal. Lemon, garlic and herbs carrying the seasoning. Vegetables in quantity, because that's what grows there.
Researchers put a name on that pantry in the middle of the last century, and the name stuck. That's where the phrase comes from. It describes a regional habit, not a menu, and no restaurant invented it.
Where We Overlap, and Where We Don't
Here's the part most restaurant websites skip. We're a restaurant. We cook Lebanese food from recipes this family has used since 2003, and we cook it to taste good.
The overlap is real, and it's mostly that pantry. Olive oil, chickpeas, lentils, bulgur, parsley, lemon, garlic, tahini, tomatoes and cucumbers come through our kitchen daily because Lebanese cooking runs on them. Our hummus is chickpeas and tahini, made in house. Our tabbouleh is more parsley than grain. Our warak enab are grape leaves rolled by hand around rice, tomato, parsley and lemon.
The rest is a restaurant menu, and we're not going to pretend otherwise. We fry falafel. We char-grill kefta and beef kebobs over open flame. We make baklava from scratch every day and we're not sorry about it. If you came looking for a plan, we're not it. If you came hungry for Lebanese food, sit down.
What's Actually on the Plate
Specifics are more useful than adjectives, so here are the ones you can point at on the menu.
- Olive oil, lemon and garlic do most of the seasoning work. Toum, our house-made whipped garlic sauce, is on half the menu.
- Chickpeas turn up as hummus and spicy hummus, and with fava beans in the falafel. Lentils show up in the soup. Bulgur is in the tabbouleh, the kibbeh shell and the pilaf.
- Parsley is a main ingredient, not a garnish. Tabbouleh is mostly parsley.
- Tahini, made from sesame, is in the hummus, the baba ghannouj and the sauce that comes with several plates.
- The grill does the rest. Shawarma and gyro are char-grilled in small batches and sliced fresh when you order.
If You Want the Vegetable Side of the Menu
People ask which dishes lean on vegetables and legumes rather than grilled meat. That's a question about what's on the plate, so it has a plain answer.
- The Vegetarian Delight puts stuffed grape leaves, falafel, house-made hummus, bulgur pilaf and tabbouleh on one plate with pita. Dinner adds baba ghannouj.
- Falafel comes as an appetizer, as a wrap, or as the Falafel Bowl.
- Tabbouleh is fine-cut parsley with tomato, onion and bulgur, dressed in lemon and olive oil.
- Fattoush is lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion and parsley with fried pita chips and sumac.
- Warak enab are grape leaves rolled by hand, served cold.
- Hummus, spicy hummus and baba ghannouj all come with pita, and the Flight of Dips brings three dips in one order.
One thing worth saying plainly: the Family Mezza platter is not a vegetarian order, because the lavash on it contains kefta, a ground beef and lamb blend. If the whole table is vegetarian, order from the list above. Our vegetarian page lays out more of it, and anything you need to know about ingredients is on the allergen guide or from your server.
Eating This Way in Fresno
We're at 1025 E Herndon Ave #106, at First and Herndon in north Fresno, open 11am to 9pm Monday through Saturday and 11am to 8pm on Sunday. Mo Hmaidan opened the place in 2003 and his son Tarek owns and runs it today.
Walk-ins are welcome. If you're bringing six or more, call (559) 261-2747 ahead so we can seat everyone together. The full menu and the appetizer list are both worth a look before you come.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Mediterranean diet?
It is a name researchers gave in the mid-twentieth century to a regional way of eating: olive oil rather than butter, beans and lentils in quantity, bread at most meals, lemon and herbs for seasoning, plenty of vegetables, and fish and poultry more often than red meat. It describes a habit across a whole region, not a menu and not a meal plan.
Is Mediterranean food the same as Lebanese food?
No. Lebanon sits on the Mediterranean, so Lebanese cooking shares that pantry, but Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Italy and Spain are all Mediterranean too and none of them cook alike. Phoenician Garden serves Lebanese food from family recipes. Mediterranean is the wider region; Lebanese is what comes out of our kitchen.
Does Phoenician Garden have vegetarian dishes?
Yes. The Vegetarian Delight brings stuffed grape leaves, falafel, house-made hummus, bulgur pilaf and tabbouleh on one plate with pita, and dinner adds baba ghannouj. Falafel comes as an appetizer, a wrap or the Falafel Bowl. Tabbouleh, fattoush, warak enab, hummus, spicy hummus and baba ghannouj are all meat free.
Is the Family Mezza vegetarian?
No. The lavash on that platter contains kefta, a seasoned ground beef and lamb blend, so the Family Mezza is not a vegetarian order. A vegetarian table can order the Flight of Dips, falafel, tabbouleh, warak enab and fried cauliflower instead.
Where can I eat Mediterranean food in Fresno?
Phoenician Garden is at 1025 E Herndon Ave #106 in Fresno, at First and Herndon. We serve lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday from 11am to 9pm and Sunday from 11am to 8pm. Dine in, pick up, or order online for delivery.
