1. A welcome venue where we can talk and enjoy ourselves and not be interrupted by our children.
(It can be any venue, any activity and food does not have to be served)
2. Reasonable fees for great service.
3. A unique experience is what makes us return
La Ziza in Clifton New Jersey surpassed the criteria. On a Thursday night in May, we found many people sitting at outside tables at the back of the lot in a cute little fenced in area. We went toward the door of the and as we did so, our host greeted us and lead us inside. We found a lovely air conditioned restaurant with one other diner, and we it was tough to choose the comfort of air conditioning over being outside with most of the other diners. We chose inside and took a spot by the window to keep an eye on the action outside. I will say in hindsight the folks outside were having more fun. Everyone had a hookah, food and the music just added to the party atmosphere. Inside the large screen televisions provided lebanese music videos. The menu is just what my husband and I enjoy about middle eastern food. We ordered four appetizers: Spicy Potatoes, Changlish (Feta cheese, tomato, onions and parsley doused in olive oil), Muhammara (Red Pepper paste and walnuts) and Foul (Fava Beans with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil). We ate them slowly and enjoyed each pungent unique dish. We loved all of the salads, however the potatoes were french fries sprinkled with parsley, red pepper and other spices and just not the baked seasoned crispy yet soft potatoes we have had at other middle eastern resaturants. Now, if we had it to do over again, I think I would have tried their falafel. The man next to us was smoking a hookah pipe and we noticed there was no whiff of it in second hand form. When we were almost done eating our first course, we were very curious and so we ordered a hookah pipe. It was about $14 and we learned that it was a pot of water at the bottom and a grapefruit filled with citrus flavored tobacco on top which was also topped with hot cole to keep the tobacco warm. When you inhale from the long attached pipe with your own personal plastic mouthpiece cover, your mouth and lungs get a whiff of citrus flavoring and as you exhale the smoke you actually feel like you have freshened your breath. It was not like anything I have ever smoked before. It was light and clean and enjoyable. There was a slight heady effect, but nothing that felt drug induced. My husband and I had two hours of relaxing conversation and enjoyment while occasionally smoking our citrus tobacco.
We had no children with us, were able to have uninterrupted conversation and an interesting and new experience. The food was good. If we were not vegetarians, we might have had more choices. We did finish the evening by sharing the Grilled Sea Bass which was very good. The truth is other restaurants in Paterson offer really inexpensive and delicious vegetarian appetizers, so if you have not try La Ziza before you try the other restaurants that I will be blogging about later you might think the food is excellent.
The Hookah experience really made La Ziza a memorable date night for us and we will be returning to this lovely venue. Please do try it and let me know what you think of it. Perhaps as I continue to blog, I will find a restaurant that offers the Hookah with better food, however for now...this really is a fun option for a unique date night experience.
La Ziza Lebanese Cuisine
973-772-2700
342 Crooks Avenue
Clifton, NJ 07011
