Bedouins dance on my taste buds

Folks, there are now two periods in my life: the days before I went to New Yasmeen Bakery in Dearborn, Michigan and the days after. That division came yesterday.

Don't get me wrong: Ann Arbor has its share of Middle Eastern bakeries/delis. For the rest of my life I will be grateful to Exotic Bakeries for providing a nearby place where I could get hummus, tabbouli, and majaddara with a smile and dip pita bread away with abandon. And how could I forget the grocery store Jerusalem Market around the corner from EB where I could always stock up on frozen patties of falafal?

But even these places kowtow to New Yasmeen (ext. review here). In fact every Middle Eastern deli, grocery store, and restaurant that I've been to in Southeast Michigan, save for one, uses pita bread from New Yasmeen. How much of an endorsement is that?

In this post-NYB era, I've already seen many wonders:

A 50-foot deli counter. (I only show the non-dessert half here.)


Chicky shawarma sandwiches for $3.18.

Baby pita bread. Baby pita bread!


If you ever find yourself within, say, 500 miles of Southeast Michigan, you should stop by. And after you're done at New Yasmeen, wander east on Warren Avenue to another place where I went buggy-eyed, Shatila Bakery:


Shatila's not a deli, though, so I'd recommend getting your shawarma on at New Yasmeen and then going to Shatila for sweets (ext. review here). Just like I did.

By the way, what day is it? It's Day One in my post-NYB life.