Furn Saj Restaurant & Bakery

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — What they’re cooking at Furn Saj represents the country of Lebanon, the cuisine of which usually gets lumped together with a bunch of other stuff and labeled ‘Mediterranean food’ by folks who couldn’t locate the sea of the same name on a map, a vast area that touches 22 countries across Europe, Africa, and western parts of the Middle East. The cooking is just as shimmeringly multicultural, historical, and diverse as the region itself.

So yes, Furn Saj is the new Lebanese kid on the block, a recently arrived Los Angeles transplant that is quickly becoming a city favorite if the lines out the door are any indication. Behind and above the counter, the large menu may shock and overwhelm you at first, especially if you’ve come unprepared, listing upward of 40 dishes, all clearly labeled but absolutely illegible to anybody without a telescope.

The competence of a Lebanese restaurant usually rests in its hummus, and the hummus here is the best I’ve found anywhere, unbelievably creamy without any hint of the grittiness that can plague lesser versions. Even after a stint in the refrigerator this stuff maintains its creamy texture and lacks that crusty film that usually forms with the passage of time.

The hummus may be consumed with bread, and a place named after bread (the ‘furn’ is the oven that makes the Middle Eastern flatbread known as ‘saj’) should have excellent bread, the type that’s hot and soft and leaves a light dusting of flour on the fingers. Two giant pieces of this will come with most sides, like the baba ghanouj, also excellent, singing with bold, smoky, rustic notes that linger in the mouth. The intense charred eggplant flavor this imparts may be the best thing in the house.

The cheese boreg is a revelation, a fluffy little cloud of oven-baked bread (mana’ish) shaped somewhere between a star and a flower and stuffed with a bubbling little cloud of white cheese. No one will be surprised to hear that this is delicious. Similar versions of this pillowy bread can be found filled, sprinkled, shaped, or topped with things like spinach, spices, meats, or egg.

I’ve looked far and wide for creamy clouds of garlic paste that rival the stuff at Zankou Chicken, and this might just be it. It’s not as pungent or as perfect, but it packs a punch, and it’s magically fluffy, thick, and tangy all at the same time. The folks here scratch-make this on the regular and serve a little portion with most dishes, otherwise it’s available at an up-charge to be slathered on anything and everything.

The majority of the menu is done incredibly well, but it is easy enough to go in the opposite direction. The wraps are usually where the value is, roughly burrito sized and shaped things about the length of your forearm, slightly more narrow than what you’d find elsewhere, but here they’re overly sauced and not brimming with the filling of your choice. The beef shawarma, what there is of it, is way too salty, and the bulk of the insides will be cheap things like lettuce and french fries. 

Instead, I go for the plates, usually the chicken kabob, though the chicken shawarma is also good in a pinch, served as a big heap of lightly charred chicken breast pieces that are well-marinated, nicely seasoned, and full of flavor, but they can be a little dry. That side of garlic paste comes in handy. 

The rice is above average for a fast-casual place, and the standard-issue salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, and onions gets artfully placed in a bowl of lettuce and has a nice vinegar tang. On its own, this is called the soujouk salad and it is crisp and refreshing.

Most servings will keep you fed for at least two meals, though even that’s up for debate. On one visit, the guy at the next table got the same thing I did, heaping mounds of rice and chicken and vegetables and salad, and took a swan dive head first onto his platter as if someone had fired a starting gun. Every bit of his food was gone in 10 minutes flat. I guess your mileage may vary

The parking lot outside Furn Saj is what hell looks like these days, especially on a weekend, followed by a long line to order and a fairly lengthy wait while your food is prepared. Instead, it’s nice to come here during the week; note they are closed on Mondays.

Written by Joy

Thanks for reading. The Joy of Food blog celebrates eating well, traveling often, and living la dolce vita. San Diego, California is home base, but thoughts are from all over. Reviews and photos help to highlight wonderful (or not) food experiences from around the world.

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