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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
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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





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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].

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  • American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) welcomes two new board members - May 16, 2026
  • New expo in New Jersey to focus on Arab and Middle Eastern foods - May 13, 2026
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