I knew Queen of Sheba, one of my Summer Avenue go-to places, was part of that furious flurry of restaurant openings just before Christmas, but I wasn’t able to get there right away. 

When I did, I discovered a few things.

Taste of Summer: Two meat markets, a Queen and the Kay

The first is that this new place is much larger and definitely fancier than our humble Summer Queen. It’s in a restaurant space that has been more than one place, but I remember it best as Rain. I should’ve expected something elevated by the name, as after all, the new place is officially Queen of Sheba Imperial Restaurant. There’s that.

And the menu has expanded, which owner Hefdhallah Al-Ghadry said would happen with the larger kitchen and dining room. You’ll find new items from the grill, including kabobs, more sandwiches, and more special combos, which is where we end up with a $10 Deal.

But first, I went to try out the restaurant and ordered my Summer Avenue standby: Lamb haneeth, which is lamb (you get the pieces you get) served over a bed of fragrant and warmly spiced Basmati rice with a few vegetables. It came with a cup of peppery lamb broth that was supremely satisfying on a rainy day, and I was pleased with the whole thing.

My friend ordered the meat shawarma sandwich, and really, you would think we were at different places as he did nothing but complain the whole time. There was nothing wrong with it — the sandwich was hearty gyro meat rolled in a lavash and dressed with tomatoes, lettuce, tahini, pickles and a bit more onion than necessary. His complaint was that a guy a table or two over had a large platter that included fries, and his $13.99 sandwich came with nothing. That was an ordering issue, though, not anything the restaurant did wrong. But it sent me back to the menu for a more careful study of it.

$10 Deal: Now reopened for dining in, Panda Garden offers a lot for a 10-spot

It turns out the platter at the neighboring table was a deal: Two sandwiches with fries and an assortment of pickles, tomatoes, olives and sauces for $17.99. They call it the family shawarma, and it’s listed on the menu with chicken, but you can get half chicken, half gyro meat for the same price.

So it was back for another visit (and more will follow), this one with the purpose of a $10 Deal. Sure, the meal is $17.99, but it’s for two and actually fed three people, as two of us split it at the restaurant and took home ample leftovers to feed a third.

Everyone preferred the chicken, which is made with pressed chicken breast carved from a big upright rotisserie at the grill, so my advice would be to stick with the combo as listed on the menu. But you’ll be given the choice, and it’s up to you: Mix it up if you want.

A new Poncho for the old Pancho’s space

This is a much more ambitious restaurant than the Summer Avenue location but also one with the potential to attract a new crowd of diners who can return again and again and never grow bored with the large menu. I’ve long known that, at Summer, I could order a meal of whole lamb — but I knew this only because I was told, not because it’s on the menu.

Now it is, along with a quarter lamb feast ($150; the whole lamb is priced upon request). There’s a lamb burger, which I’ll be trying, and a fried chicken sandwich, which I won’t because there are so many other dishes that have my interest (there will be some lamb liver consumed soon, don’t you worry).

There’s also a fairly chichi juice bar at the front of the restaurant that offers fresh juices, ice cream, smoothies and mixed fruit bowls.

It’s a lot to take in compared to the interesting yet fairly simple fare on Summer, but I plan to get back soon and start on it. For now, know that two can dine for $20 if you want to take an exploratory visit. We’ll get into the Yemeni food soon.

The changing seasons of Summer Avenue

Queen of Sheba Imperial Restaurant, 1250 N. Germantown Parkway, is open 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. At present and through the spring, the restaurant closes from 12:20-2 p.m. on Friday for prayer; that time changes a bit with the season. Call 901-454-3144.