What do you think of when you hear the word dessert? Do you think of ice cream? Cookies? Cake? All of the above? There are so many different kinds of desserts out there making it hard to narrow down the best because all are good and people have different tastes. We even wrote a blog about unique desserts in our Curious Communities to get people to branch out and try new things. What most people around here probably don’t think about with desserts is baklava and trust me, they should start. It is one of the most popular and traditional desserts in Mediterranean Cuisine. Baklava is a pastry made of layered filo dough, filled with chopped nuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey. It is meant to be flakey crunchy, and gooey. The best place to get this delicious pastry in Iowa City is none other than Oasis Falafel.

Located in the Northside Neighborhood, Oasis opened in the summer of 2004 offering Mediterranean food with baklava always in the plans. Oasis does not make their own baklava because it is a hard and time consuming dessert to master. So starting out, Oasis sourced it in from a business in Chicago. A little while later, the owners met a woman at the Iowa City Farmers Market selling jams and other pastries. After talking to her, they asked if she could make baklava. She made it for them and they liked it so much they started getting it sourced from her and have been ever since. Her business is called Barb’s Garden & Pantry out of Park View, Iowa. Oasis says their average order is 200 pieces a week. The main ingredients (no copying) are filo dough, unsalted butter, walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, water, honey and lemon juice. They choose honey over syrup and walnuts as their main nut. Oasis says what makes their baklava stand out over others is the flakiness combined with the crunch making every bite perfect. It is a great dessert after any meal so branch out and try some today!