IN AUGUST, Anaheim’s Little Arabia district received its official designation from the city after years of petitioning. Aref Shatarah and his wife, Magida Shatarah, quietly opened their first restaurant in the heart of the community in 2021. They distinguish themselves with a repertoire of Palestinian dishes more commonly seen in home kitchens than on restaurant menus. Start by scanning the daily special. On a recent Saturday it was mshakhan (also commonly spelled musakhan), roast chicken and onions piled on flatbread that’s stained nearly purple with sumac. The dish was traditionally consumed in autumn — eaten by hand, composing bites of bread, chicken and onion — to taste and assess the year’s first local olive oil pressings. Al Baraka’s crisp, rich, lemony-bright version, generous enough for three to share, conveys that essence. Come any morning of the week for a soul-warming Levantine breakfast of creamy, dense fatteh, or eggs and fried potatoes sparked with cumin.

• 413 S. Brookhurst St., Anaheim, (657) 220-5296