Staycation..

..to the Middle East.

My husband is from Lebanon and according to him, nobody does sweets like the Lebanese.  But when you aren't able to go to Beirut and enjoy Al Bohsali, the next best thing is Sarkis Pastry in Anaheim.

Sarkis has all the traditional Arab pastries and many French as well.  Why French too?  Well in case you forgot your world history, Lebanon was a French colony, hence the awesome French pastries.

In we go :)

Decisions, decisions

Arab sweets, in Lebanon known as B'alawa

In Lebanon, Arab sweets are known as B'alawa.  We know them here as Baklava, the western pronunciation.  The important thing to remember is that Arab B'alawa is not the same thing as Greek Baklava.

Greek Baklava is made with honey and walnuts, I am personally not a fan of Baklava.

Lebanese B'alawa on the other hand is made with a simple syrup (sugar and water, boiled and thickened) and pistachios or pine nuts - can you say delicious?!

"Znoud el sit" - cream filled pastry, one of my favorites

"Kol wa shkor" meaning - Eat and say thank you

French section filled with cakes and tarts

  The kids ended up with some great French pastries.  Son 2 is not a fan of chocolate, can you guess which pastry he chose?

Pastries for the kids

I chose Bourma and Kol Wa Shkor.  Bourma is filled with pistachios wrapped in shredded dough and the Kol Wa Shkor have very thin sheets of filo wrapped around pine nut filling.

Bourma and Kol Wa Shkor - my favorites

Best of all, though is the Knafa which is traditionally served for breakfast.  Knafa is made with a cheese bottom and a semolina topping.  Sounds weird, but tastes delish.  You serve it by warming it up in the microwave and then pouring simple syrup over the top.

Knafa - breakfast of champions!

Interested in more than dessert on your staycation?

Hit Zankou Chicken for dinner first, luckily it is right next door to Sarkis.  Zankou is run by some Lebanese-Armenians and they have awesome chicken and to die for garlic paste.

The best ever garlic paste.  As in top secret recipe garlic paste.

You might want to buy some extra garlic paste while you are there, seriously, its that good :)

Enjoy!