Once you have entered this bustling roadside restaurant and cafe, you will be asking yourself why you’ve never been before. Karam’s Middle East Bakery opened in 1975. It started as only a bakery, but expanded into a restaurant with a robust take out business as demand soared. A bakery case and counter dominate the storefront. At lunchtime, a line of customers snakes up to the register, with Segean and Mary Ann Karam, the couple at the helm of restaurant operations, at the cashier. The Karam’s epitomize of the spirit of the cafe and local area: the walls are covered with awards and honors they’ve earned, such as a Living Legend award from the Oneida County History Center.
Behind the counter, a system of controlled chaos oversees the churning out of sandwiches, bundles of spiced meats and falafels with fresh vegetables, coated in thick tahini sauce and wrapped up in house-made bread. As you wait in line, be sure to check out the selection of Lebanese ingredients and products on the shelves, from Cortas pomegranate molasses to Cafe
Najjar Lebanese ground coffee. Karam’s is more than a bakery and restaurant: the small grocery section, stacked with a plethora of Middle Eastern delights such as phyllo dough and lentils, help locals access high-quality ingredients that would otherwise be difficult to find.
Karam offers take-out and as well as the option to dine in. I opted for take out, joining the hoard of other hungry people patiently waiting for their tinfoil wrapped meals. Though, seeing as the the menu for dine-in, scrawled on a white board looked far more extensive and enticing than the takeout menu hanging over the register, I will definitely opt to dine in when I make my return to Karam.
No matter how or when you are eating at Karam’s, the first and final stop of your trip should be the dip fridge. No meal would be complete without the incredibly lemony hummus or smoky baba ganoush. In fact, I’m more likely to drive back for the sole purpose of procuring those two dips. Grab the larger size and share the love with your friends (or keep it all to yourself). The labneh wasn’t very tangy, but it still helped brighten the wraps, especially the chicken and beef. Don’t skip the za’atar bread or the pitas, which Karam’s bakes fresh daily and sells to local grocery stores, farms and other restaurants.
If you are looking for a sandwich, get the falafel wrap. While the falafels are lacking a little bit of crunch, their herby flavor with the crunchy lettuce and nutty tahini make a great bite. The kibbie, or kibbeh, on the menu is not the fried ball that some might be familiar with, but more of a soft, spiced ground meat without much texture. In a wrap, kibbie loses its shape and bleeds into the rest of the fillings. The bright pickled turnips redeem the wrap a little, but not enough to justify choosing it over another option.
For another solid lunch option, try the Chicken Freedman. Where the chicken over rice is a simple chicken and rice dish with a sauce, the chicken freedman boasts other toppings, such as lettuce and onions. According to an Observer-Dispatch profile, this dish is named after a regular, local orthopedic doctor and friend of the Karam’s, Dr. Peter Freedman, who would always build a custom bowl that other people began asking for. While both the falafel wrap and chicken freedman are tasty, inexpensive lunches, make sure to get hummus or baba ganoush for a needed zesty kick to the meal.
To top off your meal, make sure not to miss out on the baklava, which is made with Karam’s own special syrup. If you can handle caffeine, get a cup of Turkish coffee. Be careful—Turkish coffee is usually served in a cup around the size of an espresso shot, but the large size at Karam’s comes in a cup the size of a drip coffee. Filled to the brim with the strong, sweetened coffee, this Turkish coffee promises a dangerously large and delicious caffeinated drink. When you visit Karam’s Bakery in Yorkville, be sure to walk out with a coffee, a sweet, a zesty dip and some of their house-made bread. Come for a quick lunch, and leave with a full stomach and a new go-to spot.
