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StarEast Cafe satisfies hunger for Middle East flavors

— Dinner at StarEast Cafe in Portland is necessarily early, certainly inexpensive and for the most part satisfying, if you don't mind the informality of ordering at the counter and busing your own table.

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Gordon Chibroski

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If you want more coffee close to 7 p.m., when the business closes, it might not be available. But although the early closing makes a dinner here an odd challenge, it is worth doing just the same.

The lamb stew held tender meat in a tomato broth, and the curried chicken soup was spicier and more intriguing. Stuffed grape leaves, mild hummus and crisp and chewy flatbread might be the best things there.

But since I didn't have the chance to taste the falafel or the kofte kabob, a mildly spiced, grilled ground meat dish unavailable on my visit, those Middle Eastern standards might be even better.

Saad Albeshir, StarEast's owner, arrived in the United States from Iraq 15 years ago. He bought the building and decided he could start a coffee shop and restaurant in it -- though he had never run a restaurant.

On the phone, Albeshir said he will make a custom salad, if you request one. I asked during my visit if he had one on the menu, and he said no.

It was my familiarity with the salad made by a chef from Syria that inspired me to visit StarEast in the first place. The food of the Middle East is perfect for hot summer days, and a refreshing salad of chunks of cucumber, tomato, garlic, lemon juice and chopped parsley and mint, with toasted flatbread broken up and tossed at the last minute, is a dish as appetizing in the heat as any on Earth.

The refreshing flavors of lemon and parsley were at work in some of the dishes I did taste at StarEast. The slightly overcooked stuffed grape leaves were simmered in a lemony broth, and bright with a tart lemon flavor. The vegetarian rice mixture is offered for customers who have tended to prefer that, although occasionally meat-and-rice-stuffed grape leaves are also available.

Sumac, a dried red berry from a shrub related to cashew and mango trees, is used in the kofte kabob, which is usually available every day. It's made with beef and lamb mixed with subtle spices and ground twice.

Flatbread is cooked just before it's served. It's hot, crisp and chewy, and made with just flour and water. This bread went well with the mild hummus ($4.50) touched with cumin. A tiny dish of tabouleh on the hummus plate displayed a generous amount of parsley and lots of vibrant lemon flavor, and I would have preferred a larger serving.

Water costs $1.25 for bottled and free for tap if requested, and is a good drink with this food. Customers are not permitted to bring their own wine.

Chicken soup ($5.99) tuned up with curry held carrots, green beans and corn in its savory broth. Lamb stew ($5.99) was plain and straightforward, with a tomato-based broth, celery chunks and white potatoes.

A shish kabob ($8.89) made with chunks of chicken is accompanied by yellow basmati-style rice mixed with chopped mint, a ''super basmati'' or premium quality rice, according to Albeshir. He uses a seven-spice mixture on the meat after it's marinated in olive oil, vinegar and garlic for two nights.

Vegetables are bought daily from Market Fresh, a locally sourced produce company.

StarEast also makes pizza with the same dough as the flatbread. Turkey bacon, green pepper, mushroom, olives, broccoli and onions are the toppings, with tomato sauce and mozzarella.

A selection of pastries from the glass counter made a fine end to our meal. StarEast makes its own date balls ($1.50) rolled in sesame, coconut or ground pistachios. One holds a lot of date, and you could easily split it between two people.

The baklava and other pastries come from a famous Detroit bakery called Shatila, according to Albeshir, that makes only Arabic pastries.

Indeed, the amazingly tender baklava ($1.50 each), with golden-brown flaky pastry and sugar, was full of the richness of fresh ground nuts. Another confection, Bird's Nest, was made of crisp shredded dough that sandwiched ground pistachios flavored with rosewater and sugar syrup, intriguing flavors that won it one companion's judgment as best of all. A third pastry was a long, thin cookie rolled in chopped pistachios.

We craved a cup of strong Arabic coffee flavored with cardamom, but it was not available. Second best was the regular coffee made with beans from Yemen, a good strong cup of Joe.

N.L. English is a Portland freelance writer and the author of ''Chow Maine: The Best Restaurants, Cafes, Lobster Shacks and Markets on the Coast.'' Visit English's Web site, www.chowmaineguide.com.