Nothing says comfort food like a platter of creamy hummus and soft, warm pita bread. Happily, the Nile Restaurant delivers comfort at its best, from generous portions and low prices to consistently tasty eats in a relaxed, albeit no-frills, space. Small touches, like complimentary sides of tender zucchini, onion and squash, and a lip-smacking red lentil soup to kick-start the meal, punctuate solid standbys such as falafel, baba ghanoush and shish kebabs.

During the dinner rush, you can expect a usual crowd of college students from the nearby university. Given the poor acoustics of the storefront space, it's almost impossible to ignore their assessment of the menu. High on the list of faves: kifta with tomato sauce (a blend of ground lamb and beef, topped with fresh tomatoes and baked to savory melt-in-your-mouth perfection), the whole red snapper, and the sizable veggie menu, including maklouba (a mix of sautéed cauliflower, carrots, chick peas and rice, topped with pine nuts and home-made yogurt). It's the schwarma reviews, though, that regularly bring down the house, with repeat customers claiming the thick pitas stuffed with thin, uber-tender, wonderfully juicy hunks of lamb or chicken are the best such sandwiches on the South Side.

The effort it takes to finish a piled-high plate here is a welcome distraction from the drab decor, which tends toward thin carpets, muted colors and mismatched artwork. But a bland background does little to dampen the spot-on flavors of these Middle Eastern dishes. And dessert (baklava, halawa and rice pudding for around $2 each) is a modest end to a satisfying, if belt-loosening meal.

Centerstage Reviewer: Kate Rockwood