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Lacto
Ovo
Mediterranean
Take-out
Middle Eastern
Lebanese
Non-veg
Serves meat, vegan options available. Lebanese restaurant with the typical veggie Mediterranean such as falafel, hummus, baba ghannouj, and grape leaves. Daily specials are sometimes vegan. Veg/vegan marked on the print menu. Open Mon-Wed 11:30am-8:00pm, Thu-Sat 11:30am-9:00pm.
2 Reviews
First Review by veganeats
mark m braunstein
Points +462
a Baba Ghanoush lovers’ paradise - Edit
The Binghamton tri-city area presents undue challenges for vegan visitors seeking to eat out. After my vegetarian host treated me to lunches on Tuesday at Grapevine Café and on Wednesday at Parlor City, for dinners I was left to my own devices. Tuesday night, I dined solely on freshly harvested local apples that I had packed for my trip, and savored my meal. Wednesday night, all out of apples, I happened upon Basha’s, bordering the upscale hotel where I had holed up for the nights. It is easy to pass by Basha’s small storefront amid the racing traffic turmoil of this dismal commercial stretch of typical American highway. In Binghamton, Vestal Parkway is a disaster zone of urban planning, if it had any planning. Competing with the neon glitz of IHOP next door and Wendy’s and Dunkin’ across the street, on its outside Basha’s appears unassuming. Don’t assume the rest.
Read moreAs you’d expect to find at any Middle Eastern eatery, there’s hummus and the other usual suspects. But Basha’s steps up to the plate and goes one step further. On its online menu you’ll see the words “vegan” or “vegetarian” or both clearly added to the descriptions of each qualifying dish. This is much appreciated as it leaves nothing to assumption, hope, chance, prayer, or guesswork. Ever on the prowl for the perfect dish of Baba Ghanoush, for dinner I ordered two takeout portions of Basha’s big BG, here spelled “Baba Ghannouj.” I wish I had ordered more to pack with me for breakfast and lunch for my drive home. I struck Baba Ghanoush gold here. This was the best BG I had eaten in the past five years, and probably in my entire life.
Not coincidentally, the other best BG had also been served at a Lebanese family’s restaurant in Mystic, CT, near where I live, but which closed five years ago due to the chef’s failing health. The Lebanese mom of that mom-and-pop (actually, bro-and-sis) restaurant shared with me the secret to her wonder dish. She roasted the eggplants almost daily and added no chickpeas as a filler. If you are a stranger to authentic Baba Ghanoush, don’t judge BG by the mass market glop sold in stores, as some contain so little eggplant that you would suspect it only because you read it in the list of ingredients.
By inference, Basha’s hummus is probably just as glorious as its big BG. The next time I visit Binghamton (which probably will be never, because who the heck would want to visit Binghamton), I will eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Basha’s, and will gorge on both.
Pros: the Baba Ghanoush, the Baba Ghanoush, the Baba Ghanoush
Cons: Binghamton, Vestal Parkway, Binghamton's Vestal Parkway
Guest
veganeats
Points +18
Bashas is a favorite - Edit
We get take out from Bashas quite frequently. Prices are very reasonable and their food is consistent in quality. Their Baba Wrap is a favorite of mine. Their falafel salad and hummus are also favorites. Worth checking out.
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