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When it comes to grub, West Roxbury's historically been limited, squeaking by on pizza shops, subs, and Latin that, while good, leaves you no choice but to bang chicks from Winsor. Outfitting the West with Lebanese, the folks at Al Wadi.

From the father-son duo behind South End stalwart Nicole's Pizza, Al Wadi's the manifestation of their family dream to open an upscale Leb joint, and's located in the completely overhauled former Spring Blossom space, now elegantly outfitted with plush brown suede & leather banquettes, marble pillars, a 12-seat mirrored bar, and imported Egyptian chandeliers sporting jewels dangling from golden crowns of hammered metal (apparently Ozzy can still hang). Meaty Mid-East delectables include spiced lamb tartare w/ onions and parsley; Kibbeh Beseneyah, baked ground beef stuffed with minced beef/pine nuts & yogurt-cucumber sauce; and a mint-sprinkled grilled steak served over bulgur -- far healthier than Bulger, which'll murder your arteries. With guns. There're also exotic large-portion plates like a tahini sauce'd sea bass & mixed nut tajine, turnovers stuffed with spinach/lemon/sumac, olive oil sauteed gourmet sausages, and chicken wings dressed in garlic and cilantro known as Jawaneh, which explains why it doesn't come with breasts.

To satiate your sweet tooth, they're baking traditional pastries, from pancakes stuffed w/ sweet cheese, to cream layered, rose water syrup'd shredded dough, also what parents suspect they did if you went to Latin and ended up at Not Harvard.

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Score all the essentials at AlWadiBoston.com