Sindibad

. . . and the voyage to East Cambridge

On the Cheap by Alison Cicchetti

Sindibad, a couple of blocks down First Street from the CambridgeSide Galleria, does great business at lunch, when its long, open room fills up with a crowd from the high-tech companies headquartered nearby. At dinnertime, though, it's almost vacant. The Abbas family, which opened the restaurant five years ago and named it after Sinbad the Sailor (they added the di in the middle to reflect the Arabic pronunciation), has never had complaints about the food, so they continue to relish the midday rush, and wonder where everyone is at dinner. The food, as you might guess, is Middle Eastern, served by one of the Abbases and accompanied by a constant supply of pita bread. The lunch and dinner menus vary slightly in price; each offers soups, salads, appetizers, vegetarian entrées, and combo specials. Go for a generous serving of shwarma, rice, and salad for $7.95(at dinner), or make a meal out of a couple of appetizers. A vegetarian could spend $5.50 on the warak arish (a/k/a stuffed grape leaves) and add falafel croquettes ($3) to fulfill a day's protein requirement. Sindibad's desserts are tempting, too, but you'd better hope that they didn't serve the last baklava at noon.

Sindibad, located at 145 First Street, in Cambridge, is open Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Call (617) 492-2421.

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