For centuries, Jordan sat at the crossroads of the Spice Route, where caravans rolled through and the spices stayed. The cooking that took shape there is distinct and, for Anas Aqel, co-owner and chef of Janie’s Amman, a source of pride. “Any area you go to in my country, any place you get in, you’re going to try the best food of your life,” he says. “Very tasty, very tasty, very tasty, that’s it.” One bite into his falafel and you believe him. Janie’s Amman, a fast-casual restaurant in a modest strip center near the Ringling College of Art and Design, bills itself as Middle Eastern-Mediterranean. Aqel calls the menu 100 percent authentic Jordanian, and the food makes the case: mezze and street fare imbued with Bedouin soul. Start with the mezze. Fire-roasted eggplant mashed with garlic and lemon gives baba ganoush a smoky depth. Hummus comes smooth; a scatter of sumac and a dollop of chili relish sharpen the whole affair. And the highlight: ground chickpeas fried into a crispy shell, fluffy inside, punched with garlic. It’s—uncharacteristically—red. “All falafel, when you look inside, is going to be green,” Aqel says. “I’m the only person who does it red on the inside.” The secret?  “All the stuff,” he smiles. Likely some of those spices that passed through his stretch of desert centuries ago. Aqel and his partner, co-owner and chef Abood Hasan, both came up through professional kitchens. They met in 2022, when Hasan walked into Al Forno at the UTC Mall as a diner and started asking questions of the manager. Turned out, they were both Jordanian, and Hasan had worked with Aqel’s brother for four years in Amman. After a stint at the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, Hasan joined Aqel at Al Forno. Soon, the two began plotting their own venture. Janie’s opened in January 2025. Working side by side from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., they feed office workers, students, and, naturally, a faithful Middle Eastern crowd.  The dish that Aqel promotes most proudly is chicken shawarma: layers of meat stacked on a vertical spit, shaved to order, then draped over savory rice or wrapped in saj bread with tahini and Arabic pickles. The secret to its succulence? Kiwi fruit—an age-old tenderizer whose enzyme actinidin breaks down muscle fiber fast, keeping meat juicy without turning soft. The rice, folded with peas and carrots, earns its bright yellow honestly. “Saffron, turmeric, curry, seven spice, black pepper… I put all this in my rice,” Aqel says without reticence. The caravan left plenty behind.  Recent menu additions include fried catfish and shrimp, Turkish coffee, mint tea and pistachio cake. For an American classic with Levantine swagger, the standout burger laces beef with lamb, served with spice-dusted crinkle-cut fries. A second location is already in the works.“We have the best recipes in the world,” Aqel explains. “Everything we make is good.” Whatever is in that falafel, it’s been a long time coming.