Fodor's Expert Review Ima

With a name that means "Mom," Ima honors the owner's Kurdish-Jewish mother, who inspired many of the excellent traditional Middle Eastern offerings served in this century-old stone house just a few minutes from the Machaneh Yehuda market. This is a great place to try Kurdish kubbeh soups, made with beets or pumpkin and blessed with softball-sized meat-and-semolina dumplings. The modest array of salads includes hummus and baba ghanoush, as well as stuffed grape leaves, stuffed vegetables, and wonderful kibbeh (seasoned ground meat deep-fried in a jacket of bulgur wheat).