Babylon Restaurant: The Place for Families and Couples

Whether it's a date night, a family reunion or a jonesing for some Mediterranean excellence, has you covered and then some.

Located on Kinderkamack Road, their spacious dining room's clean look begins with high ceilings and a pristine wooden floor. The glass tabletops are placed on white tablecloths giving the dining area a clean, sophisticated look as well as making the cleaning process a bit easier if a guest happens to drop a morsel.

The ample dining room space could have 10 more tables jammed in, but they went for comfort and kept it light.

While waiting to be seated we couldn't help but notice that Babylon is a place where friends meet up, as there were a couple of large parties, several families and a couple of dates happening. And this was just a Wednesday.

The waiter reviewed the menu and made recommendations, speaking in depth about the ingredients with a passion for the food. Given his enthusiasm, it made sense to follow his lead through some of the menu's greatest hits.

We began with a warm Turkish flatbread and the coban salatesi, "sheperd's salad" ($7.95). With generous portions of bread and salad, the cool and warm crispness of the bread crust and cucumbers played well off each other. The salad's light vinaigrette is a best supporting actor to the tomatoes, cucumbers and parsleys top-billing.

The bread also complemented the baba ghannoush ($5.95), a cold appetizer combining fresh garlic, tahini and oil to accent the flavorful mashed eggplant. The feta rolls cheese ($7.95), sigara boregi, were a great hot appetizer to go along with the baba ghannoush. The crisp fillo dough is filled with warm feta cheese that was not over-cooked and allowed the integrity of the cheese to remain intact.

For an entree, we tried the Doner Kebab ($13.95), a gyro dish filled with generous layers of charcoal-broiled lamb and beef served over bulgur wheat and white rice. The bed of romaine lettuce was topped with a grilled hot pepper and plum tomato. The meat sat on top of the rice and wheat and made for dynamic bites when meat, grain and grilled tomato came together. The grilled plum tomato brought a sweetness to the dish.

After enjoying the entrée you may be in need of a pick-me-up and their Turkish coffee ($4) provides just that. For dessert, we tried the Bottom of the Pan ($3.95), a cold, custardy delight that has a flan-like consistency with a hint of toasted almond flavor.

Babylon further shows their pastry chops with their take on Baklava ($3.95). You won't see any frills here, but what you'll find is a tour de force in technical cooking. Every piece of the dessert from fillo dough to nuts was spot on and the bite-size morsels were perfect for sharing.