Joe Foodie
Sahara: The Middle East of the Midwest
For decades, Sahara has brought fresh and flavorful Middle Eastern cuisine to the East Side — from its raw juice bar to its shawarma.
There's nothing fancy about Sahara. Unassumingly positioned on Harper between 8 and 9 Mile, its plain outer decor is matched by its less than elegant interior. While some might see this as a negative, I see it as charming. There's no showiness to Sahara. They're serving fresh, healthy food in a simple, welcoming fashion. Sahara opened on July 5, 1968, in Detroit at Outer Drive and Warren. In 1994, the restaurant moved to St. Clair Shores into the building where it still resides. Owned and operated by the Hammoud family, all food is prepared in house with most of the cooking overseen by Walid Hammoud. Sam, Walid's brother, runs the front of the house and is big reason why visiting Sahara is so enjoyable. He makes sure each guest is …
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Donna Hamama
4:28 pm on Thursday, December 30, 2010
I do have to correct you about how you get the bitter taste into baba ganough, it's from a piece of the skin that is burned in the baking of the egg plant. Without that small piece of burnt skin, baba doesn't have that special flavor. My favorite meal at the Sahara is their muajjudra with fried onions. It's just like my mother's. Sam is the best, I love him. Donna more ›