Skip to content
  • Image
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Podcasts
  • Email
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Contact
The Arab Daily News

The Arab Daily News

Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem

  • About
    • About
    • Our Writers
    • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
    • Book Store
    • Contact
    • Submit Book Reviews, Press Releases
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Corrections Policy
    • Profile on Ray Hanania
    • Submit Press Release
  • Features
    • Food
    • Book Review
    • Humor
    • Movies
    • Travel
  • Arab US Community
    • Arab Stores Targeted
    • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Heritage America resources
    • Directory
      • Groups & Organizations
      • Mosques, Churches
      • Restaurants
      • 2008 & 2014 Arab Media Directories
    • National Arab Heritage Month
    • Video: Chicago Arab History
    • Video: Photo Array of Chicago Arabs
    • Overview of Arabs in America
    • Hanania standup comedy
    • Arabs on the Titanic
    • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
    • Arab News Ray Hanania Radio
    • Arab Radio Podcast intro
    • Radio Baladi Detroit
    • TwoGuys on Politics
  • Ray on Tiktok
  • Subscribe Ray’s Columns
  • Archive 2004-2013
  • Toggle search form
  • Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio Show small
    Challengers in Illinois’ 6th and 10th Congressional Districts Face Voters on The Lightning Strike Activism
  • Zohran Mamdani, New York City Mayoral candidate
    Mayor-Elect Mamdani Appoints Education Veteran Kamar Samuels as Schools Chancellor To Deliver Educational Excellence Civil Rights
  • Taybeh (Taibe) Ralf Lotys (Sicherlich), CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
    Taybeh exposes claims Christians are “treated better in Israel” than in Arab countries Arab World
  • Senator Jeanne Shaheen
    ICYMI: Shaheen Secures Repeal of Caesar Act Sanctions on Syria in Annual Defense Bill Arab World
  • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio violated International rule of law
    Secretary of State Rubio rebuffs Rule of Law and defends war crimes by Israel Human Rights
  • CAIR sues racist Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
    CAIR LDF, MLFA, SPLC and Akeel & Valentine Sue Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Over ‘Blatantly Unconstitutional’ Executive Order Activism
  • Halil Demir Zakat Foundation Executive Director
    Arab American Chamber of Commerce Honors Mr. Halil Demir for his Humanitarian Leadership Activism
  • Orland Park Mayor Jim Dodge receives the American Arab Chamber of Commerce Best of the Best Awards 2025 on Dec. 9, 2025
    Illinois Arab Chamber presents “Best of the Best” awards honoring community leaders and activists Activism
  • American Arab Chamber President Hassan Nijem presented Fayez Khosindar with the "Best of the Best" award for 2025 for defendign the rights od Limo and Uber Black Drivers
    Union leader Fayez Khozindar honored for defense of limo and Uber Black drivers O’Hare prayer tent Activism
  • CAIR Urges Congress to Demand Rep. Randy Fine's Resignation After His Call for a Genocide of All 'Mainstream Muslims'
    CAIR Urges Congress to Demand Rep. Randy Fine’s Resignation After His Call for a Genocide of All ‘Mainstream Muslims’ Activism
  • Racist xenophobic Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
    CAIR denounces defamatory namecalling of racist Ron DeSantis American Arabs
  • Kat Abughazaleh 9th DIstrict Congress 2026 candidate democrat
    New Ninth District Poll Shows Abughazaleh Tied for First Place Activism
  • AHRCs Calls for Unity in the Face of Hatred: Dearborn is an All-American City American Arabs
  • Instragram Photo by former employee protestor https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRNrg2gkZHS/
    Microsoft worker disrupts Ignite Conference keynote speech, protests target conference venue in San Francisco, Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Microsoft European hub in Ireland Civil Rights
  • Sebastia Courtesy Peace Now
    Israel Civil Administration Plans to Seize 1,800 Dunams in Sebastia — the Largest Antiquities Expropriation to Date Activism
Zwar lamb kabob and kufta with white and yellow rice

Zwar ranked the Best Middle East restaurant in Chicagoland suburbs

Posted on June 8, 2024June 8, 2024 By Ray Hanania No Comments on Zwar ranked the Best Middle East restaurant in Chicagoland suburbs
SHARE ...
          
 
  

  • Tweet

Click here to subscribe FREE to Ray Hanania's Columns

Zwar ranked the Best Middle East restaurant in Chicagoland suburbs

Chicagoland’s best Middle East Arabian restaurant offers a special exotic entertainment show now every Wednesday, completing their great food menu with the mesmerizing Belly Dancer Tina every Wednesday from 7 PM until 9 PM. Enjoy a great show along with the best tasting Middle Eastern and Arabian food menu in Chicagoland at Zwar, 9328 W. 159th Street in the Jewel-Osco mall complex.

By Ray Hanania

Every week I receive 3 or 4 emails mainly from readers of my columns asking me to recommend the best Middle East restaurants to visit so they can enjoy some authentic Arabian foods.

I always respond the same way: The number one restaurant offering Middle Eastern, Arabian food is Zwar, located at 9328 W. 159th Street in the plaza just adjacent to the Jewel-Osco center off 94th Avenue in Orland Park, Illinois.

Zwar has the absolutely best foods and the quality of their food is consistently the best.

One of the top meats in Arabian food is lamb but the lamb kabobs need to be cooked to perfection and they always are.

Zwar restaurant hosts the amazing belly dancer TINA every Wednesday from 7 to 9... don't miss this beautiful experience
Zwar restaurant hosts the amazing belly dancer TINA every Wednesday from 7 to 9… don’t miss this beautiful experience

 

A dish I always recommend is the shish kabob plate which consists of a skewer of lamb, chicken or “kufta” which is an Arabic word for mildly spiced ground steak with parsley. Sides include white and red long grain rice.

And every order received a small serving plate of a special garlic dip, hummus (garbanzo bean) dip and th popular and healthy baba ghanoush made from crushed and spiced eggplant. These sides are eaten using the freshly made Arabian or “Syrian” Pita Bread.

Zwar lamb kabob and kufta with white and yellow rice
Zwar lamb kabob and kufta with white and yellow rice

There are many restaurants offering Middle Eastern and Arabian food but consistency isn’t always guaranteed.

Zwar gives you the best quality of meats and side dishes on a consistent basis. I eat there all the time and I hope you get a chance to enjoy the food.

Zwar dip dish hummus garlic baba ghanoush
Zwar dip dish hummus garlic baba ghanoush

Beginning this week, Zwar is offering Belly Dancing entertainment every Wednesday evening from 7 PM until 9 PM.

The Belly Dancing to the Middle East music is very respectful for family entertainment and is a Middle Easter entertainment tradition that goes back to the earliest days of the Middle East thousands of years ago.

Zwar, one dining area
Zwar, one dining area

Dancer “Tina” will add that extra experience during your meal to bring you back to the exotic atmosphere of the Holy Land.

Make sure to say hello to the owner at Zwar, Saedah, or “Sue.”

She always welcomes news customers and strives to make their experience the best each and every time.

Lamb and kufta kabob on rice with salad
Lamb and kufta kabob on rice with salad

Zwar Restaurant
9328 W. 159th Street
Orland Park, Illinois
Call 708-223-9133 for reservations.

Zwar Turkish coffee
Zwar Turkish coffee

 

Zwar Pita bread wedges
Zwar Pita bread wedges

Click this link to watch a Tiktok video of Zwar rated by “The Food Guy” at NBC Steve Dolinsky.

Click this link to watch “The Food Guy” Steve Dolinsky review on NBC TV

Click to get Info
  • About
  • Latest Posts
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania
Syndicated columnist, radio host, writer at Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.  

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at [email protected].

Follow RayHanania at Twitter
Ray Hanania
Latest posts by Ray Hanania (see all)
  • Challengers in Illinois’ 6th and 10th Congressional Districts Face Voters on The Lightning Strike - January 6, 2026
  • Arab Center Analysis: Israel’s declining support among American Evangelicals  - January 1, 2026
  • Mayor-Elect Mamdani Appoints Education Veteran Kamar Samuels as Schools Chancellor To Deliver Educational Excellence - December 31, 2025
NVP: 224

  • Tweet

SHARE ...
          
 
  
 
          
 
 Tweet 
American Arabs, Bloggers, Commentary, Entertainment, Food, Middle East, News, NewsWire, Opinion, Ray Hanania, Spotlight Tags:Arabian food, belly dancing, Best Middle East Restauraant, entertainment weekly, exotic dancing, Illinois, Middle Eastern food, Orland Park, Turkish coffee, Zwar restaurant

Post navigation

Previous Post: New York blocks Jill Stein’s ballot access in presidential bid
Next Post: Candidate Jill Stein vows to fight for justice for Israelis and Palestinians

Related Posts

  • Copies of the Des Plaines Valley News, The Reporter Newspapers, The Regional News, and the Southwest News-Herald. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    How do you explain a newspaper to today’s youth? Baby Boomers
  • Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat shake hands at 1993 White House peace signing with President Clinton. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    New Poll: Majority of Palestinians support Two-State Solution Arab World
  • Palestinians need a civil rights movement American Arabs
  • American Arabs share in 75th Pearl Harbor remembrance American Arabs
  • Book cover "The Road to Nablus" by author Bassam Hadi
    New book: The Road to Nablus American Arabs
  • Inspiring post-in notes from students in Algiers. Photo courtesy of Abdennour Toumi
    Algerians want regime and Elite change  Abdennour Toumi

More Related Articles

An expensive television Christmas Story. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia An expensive television Christmas Story Baby Boomers
FBI Badge & gun. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Court reinstates lawsuit from Muslims coerced by FBI to spy American Arabs
Mansour Tadros, publisher of Chicagoland's The Future News Newspaper, and Christopher Kennedy, the son of the late U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, speaks at a governor's candidates forum Sept. 16, 2017 at Reza's restaurant in Oak Brook hosted by the American Muslim Task Force. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania Arab American empowerment continues to grow American Arabs
Alderman Pawar Speaking at the Dedication of Honorary Lee Sandlin Way. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Muslim candidates running for offices in Chicago and Suburbs American Arabs
Jackson speaks at Orland Park Mosque Syrian refugees: heroism of Rev. Jesse Jackson American Arabs
Khorasan exists, Al Qaida leaders say Ali Younes

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Ray Hanania's 4 times a week columns at https://RayHanania.com at Substack

Enter Your Email to Subscribe to Ray Hanania’s Columns

  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Arab Center Washington DC
    Arab Center Analysis: Israel’s declining support among American Evangelicals 
    January 1, 2026
  • Akram Baker
    Akram Baker remembered, worked at Orient House in Jerusalem with the late Faisal Husseini
    December 12, 2025
  • 10-01-25 Arab Center Web Ad 300x300
    The CMCC and the US-Israel Alliance: Collusion or Enforcement Mechanism?
    December 5, 2025
  • Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
    Construction in the E1 Area: Preventing Palestinian Geographical Contiguity
    October 27, 2025
  • Netflix Mo Series courtesy of Wikipedia
    Mo Amer’s “Mo” on Netflix is more than just a great comedy series
    September 6, 2025

Creative Commons License
All work on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

The Lightning Strike Radio Sun 8-10 AM

Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio Show
Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio Show
  • NEWS
  • Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio Show small
    Challengers in Illinois’ 6th and 10th Congressional Districts Face Voters on The Lightning Strike
    January 6, 2026
  • Zohran Mamdani, New York City Mayoral candidate
    Mayor-Elect Mamdani Appoints Education Veteran Kamar Samuels as Schools Chancellor To Deliver Educational Excellence
    December 31, 2025
  • Taybeh (Taibe) Ralf Lotys (Sicherlich), CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
    Taybeh exposes claims Christians are “treated better in Israel” than in Arab countries
    December 31, 2025
  • Senator Jeanne Shaheen
    ICYMI: Shaheen Secures Repeal of Caesar Act Sanctions on Syria in Annual Defense Bill
    December 19, 2025
  • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio violated International rule of law
    Secretary of State Rubio rebuffs Rule of Law and defends war crimes by Israel
    December 19, 2025
  • New-iTunes-1400-x-1400-The-Ray-Hanania-Show-Podcast-Icon-300-x-300.jpg
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png
  • Podcast-iTunes-Logo-Chi-City-Hall-1985.jpg
  • powerpr300x300ad.jpg
  • terroristbookcover-300-x-300.jpg
  • NEWSWIRE
  • Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio Show small
    Challengers in Illinois’ 6th and 10th Congressional Districts Face Voters on The Lightning Strike
    January 6, 2026
  • Arab Center Washington DC
    Arab Center Analysis: Israel’s declining support among American Evangelicals 
    January 1, 2026
  • Zohran Mamdani, New York City Mayoral candidate
    Mayor-Elect Mamdani Appoints Education Veteran Kamar Samuels as Schools Chancellor To Deliver Educational Excellence
    December 31, 2025
  • Taybeh (Taibe) Ralf Lotys (Sicherlich), CC BY 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
    Taybeh exposes claims Christians are “treated better in Israel” than in Arab countries
    December 31, 2025

Follow Ray Hanania at
Twitter
Facebook
TitkTok
BlueSky
RayHanania Columns

Click here to get information on The Ray Hanania Radio Show and its podcasts

Copyright © 2026 The Arab Daily News.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme