YPSILANTI, MI -- Middle Eastern pastries come in various forms, shapes, sizes, colors and unique spins.
Kunafa is a popular item at Cravings Dessert Lounge. The Middle Eastern pastry shop at 2643 Ellsworth Road in Ypsilanti offers four types of the sweet and syrupy dessert with melted cheese, including a unique fusion. Owner Nasser Nemer spent three years casually making kunafa for friends and family and slowly began rolling it out into a business, which opened in July, from the encouragement of his surroundings.
“We’ve done it based on a modern and simple concept,” Nemer said. “We have many different Middle Eastern pastries, all kind of baklavas, Turkish desserts, kunafa, Greek baklava, along with the traditional Middle Eastern baklava.”
Nemer’s traditional baklava contains cashews, pistachios and walnuts, while the Greek version is made of finer and higher quality pistachios, he said. Both are layered with phyllo dough.
Other similar items include lady fingers doused in a sweet syrup and pistachios; hareesa, which is a semolina-based cake containing various nuts and cashews, and namoura, a similar pastry Nemer makes with almonds. Other sweet and nutty desserts to try include maamoul, a date-filled cookie, and ghraybeh, a shortbread cookie he says will melt in your mouth.
Kunafa is a staple dessert item in the Middle East. Each region has a special way of putting a spin on the cheesey, doughy and textured dessert coated in pistachios and a fragrant syrup. Nemer’s unique spin involves bowls packed with other sweet treats.
“Our most popular item turned out to be something we started as a joke,” Nemer said.
He uses kashta, a creamy milk; sugar and starch; shredded kunafa; strawberries; blueberries and mango topped with pistachios. But the bowls can be individually customized. Other staple items in the kunafa territory include a Lebanese kunafa with kashta as the base, Turkish kunafa with fine pistachios and heavy cream or cheese, shredded kunafa with cheese, and kunafa Nabulsi, traditional to the Palestinian city of Nablus, which uses Nabulsi or ackawi cheese.
The pastry shop also serves Turkish delights, a sweetened jelly-like cube that may have a rosewater flavor, along with various cakes, like an overload chocolate cake, peanut butter explosion and tiramisu. Nemer also carries unique ice cream flavors, such as moose track, cappuccino crunch, almond coconut, pistachio, and booza, a stretchy ice cream-type dessert.
“I’ve been in food business for 22 years. I’ve been serving customers and dealing with food since 1998 so we’re well-experienced with customer service. The concept is kinda new to me but it didn’t take us long,” Nemer said, who opened Ahmo’s restaurant on Dexter and Maple Road in Ann Arbor. “I was surprised at the amount of people in the community supporting my business. Fifty percent of non-Middle Eastern people come and enjoy the experience.”
Customers can stop by from noon to 10 p.m. everyday. About eight people can enter the cafe, due to the state-mandated coronavirus restrictions.
More Washtenaw County local eats:
Local Eats: A taste of the Middle East at Ann Arbor-area’s Palm Palace
Local Eats: Have a taste of Italy in Ann Arbor at Mani Osteria & Bar
Local Eats: Ypsilanti’s Bird Dog Baking opened at the start of Michigan’s coronavirus lockdown
Local Eats: Grab some gourmet delights at The Broken Egg in Ann Arbor
Local Eats: Authentic Lebanese street food served up at Ann Arbor’s Pita Kabob Grill
Local Eats: Soul food restaurant serves up comfort in Ypsilanti Township
Local Eats: New Ann Arbor-area restaurant features burrito bowls
Local Eats: Hola Seoul embraces virtual locations during pandemic
Local Eats: Five things to know about Haymaker Public House in Ann Arbor
Local Eats: Recently re-opened Blue Nile Restaurant offers traditional Ethiopian food to Ann Arbor
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August 29, 2020 at 07:00PM
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Local Eats: Cravings Dessert Lounge infuses traditional with modern Middle Eastern flavor in Ypsilanti - MLive.com
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