Taheni opens in Deer Park

Deer Park's halal food scene is getting even stronger, with the addition of a new Palestinian-owned shawarma spot, Taheni. Originally from Brooklyn, its first Long Island location was in Lindenhurst.

Taheni is owned by the Deib family, who hail from the Palestinian village of Mas-ha in the West Bank. Cousin Abu Baker is a partner in the Deer Park location, which opened in October. His menu is streamlined and focuses mostly on sandwiches, bowls and shawarma wraps, as well as original creations like a smashburger on a fluffy potato pita bun ($9).

Although the menu does have a hard-to-find dish called manakish, which is popular in countries across the Levant and usually consists of a flatbread topped with ground meat and/or za'atar spices. Instead of being open faced, here it's folded up like a quesadilla and stuffed with feta cheese and tomatoes ($7.50). It doesn't have the same spectacle, but is still tasty and snack-worthy. Shawarma is prepared on the grill rather than on the spit here, Baker said, because it's easier to control portions without wasting the unused product at the end of the day. 

Other happy surprises include a Turkish soda called Camlica in a red can that looks like Coke, but tastes more like Sprite. And the french fries, beautifully seasoned and super crispy, are almost a destination by themselves.

Taheni, 175 Bay Shore Rd., Deer Park, 631-274-5334, taheni.com. Open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.