Bayou Eats: Athena

Athena Restaurant is an authentic Mediterranean cuisine restaurant serving a variety of Greek and Lebanese dishes unique to Northeast Louisiana.

article by VANELIS RIVERA, styling by TAYLOR BENNETT, photography by BRAD ARENDER

The section of Sterlington Road that parallels the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) is an affluent food strip lined with college student fast food favorites, fried chicken stops, hometown BBQ feel-good, sandwich pit-stops, an Asian-fusion hole-in-the-wall and a sports-centric bar and grill. Pocketed in a small, reserved retail center is an alternative lunch and dinner option that may cut the monotony of your quick-stop go-tos. Athena Restaurant is an authentic Mediterranean cuisine restaurant serving a variety of Greek and Lebanese dishes unique to Northeast Louisiana. Cultivate your tastebuds with a flavor of two rich cultures intertwined.

Most are not unfamiliar with Greek food and Greek culture, but Lebanese food may leave you thinking—Leba-what? Lebanon, a sovereign state in Western Asia, is bordered north and east by Syria and south by Israel, while the island of Cyprus neighbors west across the Mediterranean Sea. Culturally, religiously and ethnically diverse, Lebanon inspired most of the dishes on the restaurant’s menu. Athena is family-owned and managed by Issam Jaber. Issam’s father, Imad Jaber, is Lebanese and traveled to America in the 1980s, while Issam’s mother, Rasha Jaber, is from Iraq and came to America as a little girl. Issam’s parents met in college while attending Tulsa University. They later settled in Monroe, Louisiana to start their family, now a total of five children. In 2010, the Jaber’s bought Athena from its former owner. At the time, Issam, the family’s second-eldest son, was attending Louisiana State University, but in 2012, Issam took the role of owner and manager, transforming the menu to meld with a more authentically Mediterranean flair. His mother created all the recipes, incorporating the family’s heritage and the region’s palatable characteristics. Further assuring the authenticity of their meals, the restaurant gets most of its Mediterranean ingredients from Dallas and New Orleans, instead of settling for whatever the local stores may have.

A family-owned restaurant means a family-run kitchen. Mostly, family in the kitchen keeps meals as genuine as possible, not only in preparation but also in execution. Issam’s brother-in-law, a “full blooded Lebanese,” lived in Lebanon his whole life, until he moved to Monroe two years ago to be the main chef and run the kitchen. Issam’s younger sister, Rima, is a server and helps him run the front, while she attends graduate school at ULM. Younger brother Abdallah is also a server at the restaurant but only part-time, since he will start his freshman year at ULM this fall. Mom and dad poke in to help Issam run the restaurant every once in a while, but Issam leads full-time.

Athena moved to its new space in December of 2014. The locale offers a front patio dining space canopied by a black arched tarp. Walking in, you’re met with a fully stocked bar, back-lit with bright string lights. Able to seat eight, the bar lines the right wing of the restaurant. Beers on tap include Michelob Ultra, Stella Artois, Flying Tiger and Amber Abita. A versatile drink menu is available, including specialty drinks and wine selections. Three flat screens surround the bar area, perfect for lounging on game nights. A warmly lit, spacious dining area is complemented with sepia and apricot toned walls and minimally decorated with Mediterranean-inspired art deco, including classic paintings, two life-size Grecian statues and two attractive crystal chandeliers. Three booths are available and about ten tables that can be arranged to fit the size of any dinner party.

Opening the menu at Athena’s may be daunting at first. “I’ve never had that food,” you may think. Or thoughts of, “That’s weird. I can’t pronounce that,” may force you to explore the options in their ‘American Flair’ section of the menu, but BayouLife wants to guide you through Athena’s menu in order to inspire your palate, and perhaps, coax you into trying dishes that you won’t need to pronounce correctly in order to enjoy.

Because the Ottoman Empire, now Turkey, ruled most of the Mediterranean region between roughly the 14th and early 20th century, the culture of the region is well traveled and shares a common history that includes overlapping cuisine. Greek cuisine is often considered lighter than most Turkish and Lebanese dishes, which typically are more spicy and savory. Either way, the region of the Levant, eastern Mediterranean expanding from Greece to eastern Libya, relies on what archeologists term the “Mediterranean triad”—wheat (in the form of flatbread), olive oil (soaked into bread or drizzled on dishes), and grapes (made into wine or vinegar). The simplicity of the Mediterranean diet as well as its emphasis on fresh ingredients and colorful eating is often sought-after by health conscious diners.

You may notice that the sampler platters are referred to as mazza (also spelled mezze). It’s a traditional manner of eating, similar to tapas, where small dishes are shared among a table, placing emphasis on communal eating. The Athena sampler pulls from the appetizer section of the menu, where there are a few familiar foods you’ve probably crossed before. Athena’s hummus, arguably a staple of the region and a quickly growing Western favorite, is made fresh daily. This dip is made from chickpeas, a touch of garlic, lemon, and a sesame oil dressing called Tahini, made from ground hulled sesame. Another traditional dip is the baba ganoush (baba is the Arabic word for “father”) made from eggplant with a touch of garlic, lemon and Tahini. The Grecian dip, also known as tzatziki (pronounced “tsah-see-key”), is a sauce made out of sour cream, cucumber, olive oil and garlic. Enjoy all three dips with warm pita slices, a flatbread that’s soft and slightly puffed.

The falafel is a great vegetarian option, as versatile on the menu as an appetizer, sandwich or main dinner plate. Stemming from colloquial Egyptian Arabic meaning “pepper,” falafel is a deliciously seasoned patty prepared from ground and dried vegetables. The hand-rolled grape leaves, also referred to as dolam, stuffed with meat and rice can also be served vegetarian. If you’ve seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, then you’ll recognize the word moussaka. As an appetizer, it is served as a vegetable baked with onions, spices, garlic and tomato sauce. As a dinner special, it is served with layers of sliced eggplant, thinly sliced potato and stuffed with ground beef, topped with mozzarella cheese and specialty spices. A new appetizer option, kibbe, Lebanon’s national dish, is a meat pie made from finely minced meat, bulgur or burghul (cracked wheat), minced onions and Mediterranean spices.

Most people skip over the salad options of a menu, but two distinct Lebanese and Greek salads are worth your attention at Athena’s. The Lebanese bread salad, fattoush (a word combined from Arabic and Turkish), is made from toasty bites of pita bread mixed with fresh garden vegetables, an age-old recipe. Tabbouleh, the world famous Greek salad, is made of finely chopped parsley, tomatoes, mint, onion and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Meat enthusiasts are bound to love the dinner specials. According to Issam, the chicken shawarma plate is what customers most often come back for. Shawarma is an Arabic word for “turning” and most likely refers to the cooking method of the meat, which is commonly packed-down slices of meat on a vertical spit and grilled for as long as a day, rotisserie style. The chicken shawarma plate is served with hummus and rice. The gyros plate (from the Greek and pronounced “yee-ros”) is lean lamb and beef seasoned with oregano and broiled on the vertical grill, served with hummus, rice and salad. Other meat options include a 12 oz. ribeye steak aged 21 days and marinated in a special blend of spices, a filet mignon wrapped in turkey bacon, another filet mignon cut chateaubriand style, and two lamb chop dishes.

A familiar word on the menu will be kabob (also spelled “kebab”). These skewered delights are served with rice pilaf, hummus, feta salad and pita bread. You get to choose from chicken, beef, lamb, shrimp or kefta, which is fresh ground beef, finely chopped onions and parsley mixed with Middle Eastern mild spices. Kefta pockets are also available as a dinner special.

Out of the five dessert items on the menu, the apple pie skillet and fresh baklava are customer favorites. The apple pie dessert is served straight out of the oven on a fajita-size skillet and topped with vanilla ice cream. It’s perfect for sharing with a friend! On the more traditional side is the baklava, a sweet Old World dessert made of layers of filo dough filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with syrup. Though the baklava is not made in-house, it is shipped in from one of the premium distributors of authentic Mediterranean pastries in the country based in Michigan, called Shatila Bakery. Enjoy the desserts with a delectable shot of espresso of Greek/Lebanese coffee served in an elegant saucer boasting traditional Middle Eastern patterns.

You won’t want to leave Athena’s without exploring the grab-and-go mini market, featuring Turkish mineral water, mango juices, Lebanese coffee, Lebanese rose water, Italian olive oil dipping mix, bottled pine nuts and grape leaves, among other curiosities.

So the next time you drive on Sterlington Road, look out for the black sign reading “Athena Restaurant: Mediterranean Cuisine.” Let the gold bust of Pallas lead you into a savory exploration of dishes that have traveled across continents and stood the test of time.

Athena Restaurant is located in 1530 Sterlington Road and is open for business 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Call them at 318-855-8153 to take advantage of their new pick-up window or to find out about catering options. Follow them on Facebook for posts about specials.